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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/34937-0.txt b/34937-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b69e896 --- /dev/null +++ b/34937-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2254 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Tieck's Essay on the Boydell Shakspere +Gallery, by George Henry Danton + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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 at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Tieck's Essay on the Boydell Shakspere Gallery + +Author: George Henry Danton + +Release Date: January 12, 2011 [EBook #34937] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BOYDELL SHAKSPERE GALLERY *** + + + + +Produced by Margo Romberg, Karl Eichwalder and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This +book was produced from scanned images of public domain +material from the Google Print project.) + + + + + + + + + + New York University + + OTTENDORFER MEMORIAL SERIES OF + GERMANIC MONOGRAPHS + + No. 3 + + TIECK'S ESSAY + + ON THE + + BOYDELL SHAKSPERE GALLERY + + + BY + + GEORGE HENRY DANTON + + + INDIANAPOLIS + + EDWARD J. HECKER, PRINTER + + 1912 + + + + + This Paper Is Dedicated + To the Memory + of + Oswald Ottendorfer + + + + +PREFACE + + +The material which was originally pland for my monograf in the +Ottendorfer series has since been independently publisht by Steinert in +his dissertation and book on Tieck's color sense and by O. Fischer in an +article, "Ueber Verbindung von Farbe und Klang" in the _Zeitschrift fuer +Æsthetik_. These three works renderd the publication of my material +superfluous, made a change of plan necessary and the result is that my +monograf has been very much delayd in appearing. + +As far as I know, there is no other study of Tieck's first critical +paper. I found it worth while to do this monograf because the comparison +with the original engraving brought out so many interesting facts, threw +light on Tieck's erly critical method, explaind his taste, showd his use +of sources and above all, contradicted the positiv assertion of Haym +that Lessing's influence is nowhere discernible. The meny interesting +facts about the gallery itself that came to light in the course of the +paper, the meny questions about it which I was unable to solv, may +perhaps become the matter of another article. + +The "Gallery" is for us now a revenant of a past and somewhat impossible +generation. A certain air of English commercial roastbeefism clings to +it. It is an England, the art of which knows nothing of Constable and +still less of Turner, an England which loves Shakspere without reading +him--as Tieck suspected--and whose gallofobia does not recognize the det +to France and the French elements in this very series. As an +interpretation of Shakspere, it is no more than on a plane with Colly +Cibber. Tieck saw this and felt it, but could not make clear to himself +what was wrong with it. The plates belong in parlors of the haircloth +age, where indeed, they may still often be found. It is before the day +of the painted snowshovel and the crayon portrait, but the delicacy of +the Adams' decorations has gone out and the new strength of Romanticism +has not come in. There is surely no tuch of the Elizabethan or Jacobean +spirit. + +I wish to take this opportunity to thank the various members of the +staffs of the Stanford University and the Columbia University Libraries, +of the Congressional and New York Public Libraries for their aid; +especially to thank Mr. Weitenkampf for his very great help on technical +matters. Mr. L. L. Mackall also furnisht me with very valuable +information. The paper underwent a most searching criticism at the hands +of Professor Wilkens, of New York University and I wish to express my +especial indetedness to him for his assistance in the matter. To +Professor McLouth my thanks are due for a constant kindly interest in me +as Ottendorfer fellow. Finally, it is a plesant duty to express my +appreciation of the benefits derived from that Fellowship and to thank +the Committee for having made me its third incumbent. + + G. H. D. + Indianapolis, Ind., September, 1911. + + + + + +TIECK'S ESSAY ON THE BOYDELL SHAKSPERE GALLERY + + +Tieck's attack[1] on the Boydell Shakspere Gallery[2] was his first +publisht critical production. It is significant to note that this first +essay in criticism delt both with Shakspere and with art, that is, with +the ruling passion of Tieck's life and with one of the strongest of his +secondary interests. The passion for Shakspere with the concomitant +sense of close personal relationship with him, came to be a major part +of Tieck's being and is clearly indicated even before this article.[3] +Tieck's decided aversion to the English national standpoint toward +Shakspere is strongly exprest in the essay. The man who later vainly +tried to convert Coleridge to a point of view with respect to the +dramatist that was opposed to all that was national and English, does +not, as a mere lad, hesitate to venture his douts as to whether the +English nation is equal to the task of illustrating its greatest +poet.[4] + +These illustrations are known as the Boydell Shakspere Gallery. They +were the idea of the engraver, Alderman John Boydell,[5] who wisht to +set up a great national monument to the genius of Shakspere and, at the +same time, to foster a school of historical painting in a land where +heretofore the portrait alone had attaind to any degree of +excellence.[6] The "Gallery" was begun in 1789 and was completed in +1803. At no sparing of expense to himself--the entire cost was upward of +£100,000--Boydell commissiond some of the best artists and engravers of +the time to portray scenes from all of Shakspere's plays. The oil +paintings, about 100 in number, were to be permanently housd in a +gallery bilt for the purpose in London and were to be bestowd on the +nation as a perpetual memorial to the great playwright's genius. The +Napoleonic wars, "that Gothic and Vandalic revolution," and the deth in +poverty of Boydell, renderd necessary the disposal of the collection by +lottery (1804). The lucky ticket was held by a London connoisseur named +Tassie. At his deth the collection was scatterd, tho subsequently a few +of the pictures were recollected and are now in the Shakspere Memorial +in Stratford.[7] + +The plates from these pictures are, all in all, no better and no worse +than engravings of the day are likely to be. It is illustration work in +which the story interest is the predominant feature. Interpretation of +Shakspere takes precedence over art, and even Boydell places the painter +below the poet and speaks disparagingly of the ability of the former to +understand and to portray. The purposes of the "Gallery" harmonize with +Tieck's point of view and his predilection for the interpretativ in +criticism minimizes the esthetic aspects of his discussion. + +Tieck's essay is in the form of four letters, and was written while he +was a student at the University of Göttingen. It had the approval of his +teacher, Johann Dominik Fiorillo, (himself afterward well-known as the +author of an extensiv history of art,) tho it was not especially written +under Fiorillo's gidance.[8] It was intended, on the surface at least, +as an open and emfatic protest agenst the too lavish praise of the +plates in the journals. The general tone, then, is polemic tho directed +agenst no particular person or article. + +In the preface to his critical works[9] Tieck asserts that the article +is a product of the year 1793 and that it was published in 1794. It +appeared in the _Neue Bibliothek der schÅ“nen Wissenschaften und +freyen Kuenste_, 55ten Bandes zweytes Stück, pages 187-226, which bears +the date 1795,[10] and according to the Messkatalog, did not appear till +Michaelmas of that year.[11] Tieck's memory, therefore, faild him as to +the date of publication and he has also fallen into a slite error, or +rather inaccuracy, in regard to the time of origin. The article could +not have been completed within the calendar year 1793, because a number +of the plates that Tieck discusses are dated December 24, 1793, and +could hardly hav got to the continent in the same year. While it may be +possible that the plates were postdated, there is no evidence of such +fact at hand. Moreover, the "Gallery" was reviewd in the _GÅ“ttinger +Gelehrte Anzeigen_ under dates about six months after the appearance of +the individual plates in England and these reviews, as will be shown +hereafter, were extensivly used by Tieck. In these reviews, the plates +are always spoken of as recently arrived. The prints were issued +regularly to the subscribers, of whom the University, according to the +Ms. catalog in the Boston Public Library, was one.[12] It is hardly to +be supposd that the young student would have erlier access to the +pictures than the reviewer for the semi-official university publication. +This reviewer was Heyne[13] who afterward mediated the publication of +Tieck's article. The article was no dout written before Tieck settled in +Berlin in the Fall of 1794 but its writing went out over the confines of +1793. The next series of plates appeard in June, 1794, and is not +included in Tieck's article, tho this is no proof that the article was +completed before June, since the plates probably did not arrive in +Germany till well in the Summer. + +Tieck's essay has been almost entirely neglected by Tieck scholars. It +is not a great piece of constructiv criticism, nor can it be said to +contain the ripe judgments of a mature mind. It is, however, a fresh +and, on the whole, convincing analysis of the plates and as such +deserves a careful examination. It will be seen that the article has a +very definit foundation in preceding criticism but that Tieck, tho +borrowing freely from one source at least, namely the _GÅ“ttinger +Gelehrte Anzeigen_, has not slavishly plagiarized nor has he been servil +in his adoption of the ideas of others. And it is also worth noting that +Tieck's criticism was regarded as sufficiently authorativ by Fiorillo to +have been used as a partial source for the latter's critique of the +Boydell plates. + +Tieck claims that the praise of the "Gallery" in the contemporary +magazines is excessiv. This claim is exaggerated. Meny important +magazines do not discuss the plates even where there was an excellent +opportunity. So, for example, Wieland's _Mercur_ and Nicolai's +_Allgemeine deutsche Bibliothek_ do not mention them, tho from time to +time engravings from other contemporary paintings are discust. For +instance, Nicolai's journal has one long discussion of the state of +contemporary art, especially of engraving (No. 110, 1792) but omits all +reference to the Boydell series. The criticism in Meusel's _Museum fuer +Kuenstler_ is on the whole, destructiv. One discussion, for example, +(No. IV, page 99) is a violent attack on engraving in general and calls +the "Gallery," "Diese die Malerei zu grunde richtende Gelegenheit," and +condems the "Krämergeist" at the bottom of the enterprize. The value of +line in engraving is, however, pointed out, and Bartolozzi and Ryland, +who had but little to do with the series are faintly praisd. Other +mention in Meusel's magazines is either entirely unoriginal summary +(_Museum_, VI, 352) or mere cursory comment (_Miscellaneen_, Stück 30.) +The articles on caricature (Neue _Miscellaneen_ X., 154 and Archiv I, +66) are so late that they cannot be taken into consideration in +connection with Tieck's paper. + +With the _GÅ“ttinger Gelehrte Anzeigen_ the case is different.[14] +Tieck saw and used its articles as a basis for his work, tho the credit +of having written the first connected essay from a single viewpoint +belongs to him. The not over laudatory criticisms of the _Anzeigen_ are +often paralel, even down to the wording of details with Tieck's +judgments, but it would be a mistake to suppose that Tieck used the +articles without having seen the engravings and without having given the +pictures careful consideration. The fact that Tieck follows the errors +of the _Anzeigen_ is significant, but it is equally significant that he +corrects the errors of the magazine from his stock of observd judgments. +Generally, where Tieck follows the _Anzeigen_ most closely he is at his +worst. The somewhat superficial and scanty remarks of the journal were +no surrogate for the clear vision and power of adaptibility of the young +man. Tieck's personal regard for Shakspere, which amounted to a real +passion, was entirely wanting. + +The use of the articles in the _Anzeigen_ must be shown in detail, and +Tieck's indetedness must be definitly brought out. Paralels will +sometimes show convergence and sometimes divergence of ideas, but in +general it will be seen that Tieck practically never used his material +without some personal addition. + +There is one set of cases which is peculiar and which deservs special +attention. The plates in question are: "Much Ado," III, 1, ditto IV, 2, +and "As You Like It," last scene. + +A word of explanation in regard to the Boydell plates is necessary. From +the original paintings there were two sets of plates engraved, known as +the large plates (L) and the small plates (S). The small plates were in +all but a few cases done from different pictures than were the large +ones. These large plates are those usually known as the Boydell Gallery. +Both sets were issued serially; the large set was also bound and issued +as a separate volume in 1803, and the small plates were used as +illustrations for the Steevens Shakspere edition of 1802, the letter +press of which also seems to have been issued in parts before the bound +volumes were finally put on the market. The bulk of Tieck's criticisms +applies to the large plates tho he has a few remarks on the small ones +as well. When he discusses the small plates, he always mentions the +fact, except in the three cases just cited. These are three of the cases +where L and S coincide in subject matter and where additional S plates +were afterwards printed as a gratuitous gift to the subscribers.[15] +These plates are among the first discust by the _Anzeigen_ (1791, page +1794) which mention the fact of the plates being for the Shakspere +edition, and that the extra plates are to be furnisht to make up for the +duplication of subject matter in these cases of L and S. This is what is +meant by the sentence, "Es wird sogar die Austauschung des einen Kupfers +künftig versprochen," a statement that corresponds perfectly with the +remark in the later Boydell catalog that this promis has been fulfild. +Tieck does not notis this statement of the _Anzeigen_ but treats these S +plates as if they were L, yet gives the names of the engravers of S. +This would look like a clear case of careless copying from the +_Anzeigen_ if it were not clear from the additions that Tieck makes to +the latter's criticism that he saw the plates too. The explanation of +the discrepancy may be that Tieck when he was writing his article +consulted the _Anzeigen_ for the facts in regard to the engravers, did +not notis that the S plates were referd to and carelessly copied down +what he saw. + +I shall now examin in detail some of the paralel criticisms. + +Much Ado, II; 4, G. G. A. 1791, page 1794: ... "wo in der Trauung statt +des Jaworts Pedro die Hero für keine reine Jungfer erklärt, und Hero in +Ohnmacht fällt; ... Das beste Stück von allen in Rücksicht der +Composition, Ausdrucks und Auswahl des Lichtes nur ist die Stellung der +Hauptperson ein wenig zu theatralisch; sonst aber alles gut geordnet; +schöne Contraste von Licht und Ruhe für das Auge." + +Tieck, page 19: "Das zweite Blatt enthält die Vertossung der Hero ... +und dies ist offenbar eines der vorzüglichsten. Das Licht ist sehr gut +geordnet, das Auge findet sogleich unter den Gruppen einen Ruhepunkt; +nur hat Hamilton dem Claudio eine zu theatralische Stellung und dem +Leonato zu wenig Ausdruck gegeben." + +Tieck carries the praise of the _Anzeigen_, the "Das beste Stück" of +which refers only to the group under immediate discussion, to the whole +series. He takes his main critical vocabulary from the prototype and +adds the original differentiation of Claudio and Leonato to which +reference must be made later. + +"Much Ado," IV, 2; G. G. A., 1791, page 1794: ... "ein Gemisch von +verkrüppelten, unedeln Caricaturen ohne alle Grazie ... Zu bedauren ist +die Kunst, die an den Stich verwendet ist; denn der Stich ist einer der +besten." Tieck's criticism of this plate is paralel in so far as he +praises the mechanical perfection of the engraver, who is Heath of S, +and not Simon of L. So far we have the blind following of the model. But +Tieck also makes the picture a basis for a long discussion of caricature +and of thoro condemnation of Smirke, who is also no favorit of the +_Anzeigen_. As Tieck's letters show a profuse use of the word +caricature, he need not be especially indeted to the _Anzeigen_ for it. + +"Richard III," I, 1, G. G. A., 1791, page 1795. Here Tieck's borrowing +is direct. G. G. A.: "Eine schlechte Composition, ohne Ausdruck." Tieck, +page 27: "Die Composition ist schlecht, alle Figuren sind ohne +Ausdruck." G. G. A.: "Eine Menge Reflexe, Wiederscheine s. w. aber alles +dieses macht keine Wirkung, und das Auge findet keinen Ruhepunkt." +Tieck, page 28: "und sucht durch unendlich viele Wiederscheine ... dass +das Auge bei den vielen Lichtmassen gar keine Ruhe findet." But again, +besides these verbal and associational paralels, Tieck has added a free +treatment of the composition, an examination of the drawing of the +figures, of which there is no hint in the model and, all in all, makes +the criticism his own. The impulse certainly came from the _Anzeigen_, +but the whole critique is a product of Tieck's self. + +"Richard III," IV, 3, G. G. A., 1791, page 1795: "Stellung gezwungen." +Tieck, page 28: "Der Mörder unnatürlich." Here Tieck borrowed the idea +and after an examination of the plate changed the wording. + +"As You Like It," II, 1, G. G. A., 1793, page 561: "Ein treffliches +Landschaftsgemälde." Tieck, page 18: "die reizende Landschaft." An +examination of the whole of Tieck's criticism shows that he has added a +characterization of Jacques, has discust the choice of this particular +subject, and in this connection shows especially that the plate under +discussion is only a vignette to the plays and not a part of the real +play itself. + +"As You Like It," last scene, G. G. A., 1793, pages 561-2: "Orlando, der +mit zeimleich ausgespreizeten Beinen." Tieck, page 18: "Seine +augespreizten Beine machen ihn widrig." Here Tieck has taken an +externality of the description and has given it a point. The use of the +word "widrig" gives a new tuch. + +"Romeo and Juliet," I, 5, G. G. A.: "die Hauptfiguren muss man suchen." +Tieck, page 29: "Die Hauptfiguren findet man nur mit einiger Mühe." +Notis, however, how Tieck then goes on independently to giv his own +point: "den Vater der Julie kann man nur errathen; Julie selbst hat +wenig Character. Tybald ist die ausdruckvollste Figur auf diesem +Blatte." Tieck also quotes in full the passage beginning, "If I profane +with my unworthy hand" which the _Anzeigen_ only indicates. This might +be laid to yuthful pedantry, were the whole not made far clearer for the +entire citation. + +"Romeo and Juliet," IV, 5, G. G. A., 562: "Julia nach genommenem +Schlaftrunk für todt gehalten, mit den Worten des Mönchs: Peace ho for +shame! ff. Dieser tröstend, die Mutter die Hände ringend, Paris Julien +umfassend, ein Stück mit vielem Affect" ... Tieck, page 30: "Julie hat +den Schlaftrunk genommen und scheint gestorben, ihre Aeltern sowie ihr +Bräutigam Paris sind in Verzweifelung, der Pater sucht Alle zu trösten." +In the discussion of the small plate which follows, the _Anzeigen_ +points out the changes which have been made on it, this being one of the +supplementary small plates for the 1802 text edition. Tieck also notises +the fact of the change but that he took his information not only from +the _Anzeigen_ but from an examination of the original is proved by his +additions to the information of the _Anzeigen_. Tieck's comment is, +"Mehrere unnütze Personen weggelassen." This reason goes at least one +step farther than the _Anzeigen_ comment. In the magazine, the effect of +the double light in L is adversly criticized. Tieck adds to this, "Der +alte Capulet hat auf beiden Blättern wenig Ausdruck." That both Tieck +and the magazine use the fraze "tut ... Wirkung" in this place seems of +secondary importance. A mere linguistic reminiscence, where it is not +connected with an idea, is not influence. This must be sought in basic +ideas, in hints which point the way for new lines of thought, in an +adoption of facts. An author like Tieck shows independence when he adds, +eliminates and remolds what he receives, even tho the form of the +thought clings often to him. + +So, then, when the _Anzeigen_ (1793, page 562) has the fraze "Julie in +dem Grabgewölbe erwachend," the fact that Tieck (page 30) introduces his +criticism with the words, "Julie erwacht, als der Mönch eben in das +Gewölbe tritt," is of slite consequence. This is a simple description of +fact. Of much more importance is the fact that the magazine goes on to +point out that not nature but the stage should be the model for the +painter in this case, a doctrin which Tieck not only does not mention, +but in fact, utterly rejects when the time comes to discuss it in the +course of the treatment. + +In the criticism of Schiavonetti's plate after Angelica Kaufmann (G. G. +A., 1793, page 903; Tieck, pages 16-17) Tieck agrees with the _Anzeigen_ +but is thoroly independent in his resoning and adds constantly to what +the magazine asserts. That both find the disguisd Julia beautiful is not +unresonable, and as the disguise is a part of the play it is not strange +that Tieck mentions it. In the same section of the magazine is a passage +which finds a later echo in Tieck. "König Lear reisst sich die Kleider +vom Leibe" (903). Tieck (32): "und reisst sich endlich die Kleider ab." +The verbal paralelism has significance here only because there are other +hints at this time which may hav aided Tieck: e. g., the fact that the +artist has departed from the scene as Shakspere portrayd it. Tieck is +definit in stating just who is added, which proves that he knew his +Shakspere and saw the plate. Tieck also points out the spiritual +difference between Shakspere and the "famous West," a distinct addition +to the matter in the _Anzeigen_. "Winter's Tale," II, 3, G. G. A., 1794, +page 9: "Der eifersüchtige Leontes lässt den Antigonous bey seinem ihm +vorgehalten Schwerte schwören, dass er das Kind, das ihm seine Gemahlin +geboren hatte, in eine Einöde aussetzen will. Sind gemeine Figuren." +Notis how in Tieck, while the general terms of the description are the +same, because following the line of least resistance in externalities, +the whole discussion takes on an individual character, and is expanded +into a critique of Opie's drawing which was always unsatisfactory to +Tieck. Tieck (page 21): "Der eifersüchtige Leontes lässt den Antigonus +schwören, das Kind auszusetzen.... An den Darstellungen aus diesem +Stücke ist viel zu tadeln, vorzüglich an dieser ersten Scene. Leontes, +die Hauptperson, ist steif und ohne allen Ausdruck, alle übrigen +Personen sind dick und plump gezeichnet und ganz ohne alle Bedeutung. +Leontes lässt den Antigonus, so wie Hamlet seine Gefährten, bei seinem +Schwerte schwören. Schauspieler und Zeichner aber fehlen, wenn sie es so +vorstellen, wie Opie es hier gethan hat. Die alten Schwerter bilden oben +am Griffe ein Kreuz und auf dieses legte man die Hand, in Ermangelung +eines eigentlichen Crucifixes.... In diesem Blatte entdecken sich auch +bald viele Fehler in der Zeichnung. Das Auge wird von der Hauptperson +auf die Lichtmasse, folglich, auf das Kind hingezogen; die Hauptfigur +tritt gar nicht genug hervor, sondern hängt mit den hinter ihr stehenden +zusammen; die Köpfe im Hintergrunde sind eben so gross, wie die der +vorderen Personen. Alles verräth den ungeübten Künstler." As an example +of Tieck's rejection of the opinion of the G. G. A., the discussion of +"Winter's Tale," V, 3, will suffice. This is the statue scene which +Tieck absolutely condems on account of poor engraving, expression and +posing. Where the magazine says "Die Statue, der man es doch sehr gut +ansieht, das es eine lebende Figur ist, macht grosse Wirkung." Tieck +(22) contradicts thus: "Die Statue ist sehr unnatürlich, sie sieht mehr +einem Geiste, als einem Menschen ähnlich." + +There are, finally, three further cases in which Tieck takes a hint from +the _Anzeigen_ and develops it. "2 Henry VI," III, 3, (1794, page 10): +"Kardinal Beauford ... ein scheuslicher Anblick, in mehr als einem +Verstande." Tieck (page 25): "Dieses abscheuliche Blatt." But Tieck, in +a passage too long to quote, goes on to giv cogent reasons for not +liking the picture, not one of which is derived from the _Anzeigen_. The +other passages from the "Merry Wives" (I, 1 and II, 1, G. G. A., 1794, +page 970; Tieck, 11-12) take the hint that Smirke drew caricatures and +not human beings and borrow the adjectiv "widrig." With this slender +borrowing Tieck develops a full discussion of Smirke and of these +plates with no further assistance from the _Anzeigen_ than a hint on the +engraving of textiles. + +These passages on "Henry VI" and on the "Merry Wives" are doubly +interesting, however, because they show that Tieck's judgment of Smirke +and Northcote offers a very close paralel to that of the magazine. +Tieck's reasons are fuller, but they show no more ability in Tieck than +in the reviewer of the _Anzeigen_ to understand some of the most +characteristic features of English humor as exemplified in Smirke, while +the pupil and biografer of Sir Joshua fares badly because of his alleged +bad composition and poor light effects. It will be shown later that on +both of these latter questions Tieck held views quite independent of the +_Anzeigen_. + +Of Kirk's plate from "Titus Adronicus" the G. G. A., 1794, page 970, +says, "Den Ausdruck an der Lavinia abgerechnet ein gut Stück." Tieck +(28) begins with a weak, "an dem Blatte ... ist vielleicht viel zu loben +und wenig zu tadeln" but "rights himself like a soldier" thus, "Man +sieht, dass der Künstler eine sehr richtige Idee von der Composition +hat, und dass er seinem Gegenstand mit Geschmack und Delicatesse zu +behandeln weiss. Er lässt uns die abgeschnittenen Arme der Lavinia nur +vermuthen; der geschickt geworfene Schleier entzieht unserm Auge den +unangenehmen Anblick," etc. + +The examples and paralels alredy given cover practically all of the +points of similarity between Tieck and his model. They show that Tieck +used the _Anzeigen_ constantly and minutely but they can not fail to +impress the reader with the fact that Tieck invariably rises above the +plane of the jottings in the magazine in form and in substance. The +content of Tieck's criticisms is very much greater than that of his +prototype and the form is far more polisht. These apercus of Heyne did +not prevent Tieck's independent thinking; they never fettered him. He +followd them in a number of places in his paper and once or twice falls +into their error thru youthful carelessness or misapprehension. They did +not often confuse his judgment or hamper his vision. He never ruthlessly +plagiarizd them. That they were a source can not be denied, but that +they form the real basis of Tieck's critique is not for a moment +tenable. This came unquestionably from himself, and he must be given +credit or blame for the good or bad in it. + +Tieck set about the task of criticising the "Boydell Gallery" with no +diffidence, but with many misgivings, amounting almost to prejudises, as +to the valu of the set of plates. He was aware that this work was +intrinsically in a class which is, all in all, artistically inferior. +His judgments are objectiv, but they promis no prescience of a higher, a +more spiritual attitude toward art. Art in this case servs +interpretation and the struggle away from what the plates represent has +hardly commenced. Tieck feels that the whole group does not do Shakspere +justis, but he nowhere says that the subjectiv interpretation of the +poet must remain the lasting one for the individual; indeed he asserts +quite the contrary on the very first page of his paper. It is to be +expected that Tieck's common sense and fancy should rebel at the +platitudinarianism of the pictures; that at times he is no more than on +the plane of the sentimental "Enlightenment" is also to be expected. The +valu of the study is in such harsh negativ criticism as it exercises +where emfasis is false or where bad taste prevails in the performance of +the artists' task. + +Tieck came to the work with a good first-hand knowledge of Shakspere and +this lessens the juvenile and jejune qualities of his work. He is weaker +on the comedies than on the trajedies, for the former require a keener +sensing of English life than it was possible for Tieck to hav obtaind at +the time of writing. But even for the comedies, some of his observations +are very just and show that he could interpret Shakspere with sense and +precision. The present discussion will attempt to find out by a careful +examination of the plates just what Tieck saw in these pictures and how +far his interpretation was right. The results should show, in a general +way, something of the powers of interpretation possest by the youthful +Tieck, and how this power of interpretation conditiond his judgments. + +The general theoretical standpoint upon which the essay was written is +that of Lessing, and a careful perusal will show that Haym was wrong +when he postulated no Lessing influence on the article.[16] Tieck's +letters to Wackenroder show that he was reading the Laokoon at this +time, but even if a preoccupation with Lessing were not easily +postulable, the matter of the paper itself will show a distinct +recrudescence of Lessing's ideas. And not only Lessing, but the school +of critics out of which Lessing arose, e. g., Winkelmann and DuBos, +were also a part of Tieck's reading.[17] + +The article has a total lack of coloristic reflexes; it emfasizes form, +if not line; its thoro reasonableness takes into consideration all that +Lessing has stood for in the domain of art. It has the same standpoint +as that of a Goethe returnd from Italy and of a Karl Philipp Moritz from +whom, to be sure, Tieck was turning away in disgust.[18] + +The article fails to solv the problem in Tieck's mind of reconciling his +natural desire away from the regulated and calm with the current and +traditional in British art. The conflict is between a desire in theory +for moderated effects, for the toning down of emotion, and a desire, in +practis, for strong contrast and superlativ effects. Lessing, in art the +enemy of all realism, finds in Tieck a condemer of Hogarth, a +condemnation that persists in Tieck as late as the essay on the erly +English Theater (1828),[19] and persists on grounds similar to the +fundamental principle of beauty laid down by Lessing. + +It would be a mistake to argu from the foregoing that in this article +Tieck was not a realist, or at least strongly inclined toward realism in +his practis. His realism was that of the yung enthusiast for whom each +variation from the sense of his idol was a blasfemy, and he points out +(page 24) that there can be none of that deception of the senses which +is a part of the pictorial arts where "ich irgend eine auffallende +Unnatürlichkeit entdecke; denn die Nachahmung der Natur ist der Zweck +des Künstlers." Such strict imitation of nature is more to be expected, +to be sure, in the work of the lesser lights, such as are the men who +did the pictures for the "Gallery," than in the work of a real genius, +and one is glad to overlook, in the works of the latter, those minor +faults which almost entirely disappear in the face of a thousand +beauties. So, says Tieck (page 14) "who would pass by the divine +masterpieces of a Rafael and yet with weighty mien find fault with the +bad coloring of a single garment?" There are clearly two kinds of +artist. The one is the genius who may be carried too far by his +enthusiasm, the other is the colder painter, who by his choice of +subject, composition, correctness of drawing, and grace must make up for +his lack of genius, and who can not hope to attain the emotional effects +of his rival, but who must be content to arouse a cooler feeling, that +is, the satisfaction of the spectator. In this series, where genius is +excluded from the outset, Tieck expects a strict adherence to fact, to +verisimilitude, and the correct interpretation of Shakspere must be +insisted on. + +In order that the soul may get an immediate enjoyment of the work of +art, Tieck recommends (page 4) that the painter choose well-known +subjects. He says: "The soul passes immediately to the enjoyment of the +work of art and curiosity does not stand in the way of his enjoyment as +in the case of obscure or unknown subjects. I am alredy prepared for the +sentiment that the work of art is to arouse in me, and surrender myself +all the more willingly to the illusion. If the subject of the picture is +in itself beautiful and sublime, or if a great poet has furnisht the +painter with the invention, the composition and the emotions, our +enthusiasm is arousd, we giv our wonder and our delight to the painter." + +The painter, then, is only an interpreter of the poet, whose purpose it +is to seize the spirit of the poet, to portray those fine and spiritual +ideas which only a related genius can grasp and make concrete by an +appeal to the senses thru color-magic[20] the intangible creations of +the poet's brain. He makes lasting what the reader gets but a fleeting +glimpse of, and what even the actor can giv but little permanence (page +3).[21] + +Whether or not Tieck was influenced by the prospectus to the set, +indeed, whether he saw it or not, there is no way of knowing, but his +statement that these pictures in their entirety will form a national +gallery of historical paintings which will drive the scenes from Greek +mythology out of England, is much like Boydell's own statement of +purpose mentiond above. It is also an erly paralel to the Romantic +insistence on a new mythology, a nativ mythology, rather than one drawn +from foren sources which was a part of Friedrich Schlegel's canon. + +The engravings as such are treated by Tieck under five different heds. +These are: the mechanical technique, drawing with perspectiv and line, +composition (which Tieck does not clearly differentiate from design), +expression and choice of subject. These five heds comprize all the +points in which the pictures are treated, but not each picture is +treated from all five. The five giv, however, the full range of Tieck's +ideas on the engravings. They show the things that attracted his +attention, and where the influence of the _Anzeigen_ is felt, they serv +to show how different, after all, his own ideas were. Often the magazine +does not tuch one or more points of the five. + +Tieck's discussion of the technique of the engravings is, as may be +expected, rather thin, and the frazes that he uses are stereotyped. +Several of the plates praisd by him are quite without merit and such +generalities as, "schön gestochen," "vorzüglich," "vortrefflich gut," +are not very significant. Negativ praise like "nichts zu tadeln" or "die +Ausführung verdient alles Lob" show that on technical points Tieck was +judging very superficially and that his attention to the "Gallery" had +been attracted by something else than the perfection of the plates. + +These engravings are in the now old-fashiond stipple, tho parts of them +are in line. At the time of writing, Tieck may not hav known the +difference between line and stipple, tho in "Zerbino" a reference to the +"pointed manner," used in a punning way, shows that by that time Tieck +had become acquainted with it.[22] Nor does Tieck indicate in any way +the "Gallery's" sparing use of the increasingly popular mezzotint. He +makes no mention of the line manner of Flaxman, if he knew him. He does +not see that the line engravings in the set are poorer all thru than the +stipple prints, and that in some of the line plates the cutting is so +deep and the execution so clumsy that the resulting plates are muddy and +crude and are lacking in tone, grace, and even in exactness of +execution. + +In one or two places where satin is excellently reproduced, Tieck +praises the texture of the fabrics. The large plate by Simon from the +"Merry Wives" has a wonderful lace apron which a recent writer on +engraving has cald one of the best examples of the stipple manner.[23] +As Tieck refers to the other fabrics on the plate, which is one of those +with duplicated subject and which in the _Anzeigen_ seems only to hav +been discust in the S form, it seems clear that Tieck also saw L here, +as S is by no means so fine a plate; in fact L has the best fabrics in +the series. + +Of the twenty-four large plates discust by Tieck, there are only +thirteen which receive technical criticisms and of these thirteen, three +are lumpt together under one comment so that in all there are only ten +separate technical criticisms. Of these, six occur in the first six +plates and with the eighteenth plate, Kirk's scene from "Titus +Andronicus," the criticism of the mechanical side ends with a weak, +"sehr gut gestochen," showing that Tieck did not progress in his +technical criticisms. His interest in the engravings as engravings waned +as the essay proceeded: it never rose above an attention to textiles +and, even there, Tieck did not see all the finer differentiations of +velvet, chiffon and lace, tho the fine satins distinctly appeald to him. +Perhaps as fair an example as any of his inexactness, is his praise of +the plate from "As You Like It" in which Jacques lies watching the +wounded deer (II, 1). This is one of the poorest of the plates and yet +Tieck says, "Die Ausführung verdient alles Lob." Fittler's plate from +"Winter's Tale" (IV, 2), while weak and without character, is not as bad +either in actual cutting or in general managment, and yet Tieck condems +it unmercifully. So, too, the bad plates by Middiman come in for no +special condemnation from Tieck, tho Middiman is by far the worst +engraver in the series, and is particularly bad after Hodges, the plates +after whom Tieck saw.[24] + +Drawing, as such, fares rather better than engraving, tho less than half +the pictures are criticized from this standpoint. Colorless expressions +like "Keine Fehler" and "Viele Fehler" are not wanting and in many cases +where whole bodies are out of drawing or where individual parts are bad +Tieck has nothing to say. + +It is especially interesting to note that Tieck finds the drawing of +Angelika Kaufmann without error. ("Two Gent. Verona," last scene). Here +he declares that no clumsy clothing conceals the figures, but the lines +are well brought out under the garments. The disguised Julia is at once +recognizable in spite of her masculin attire, and the manner of the +artist is "graziös." An examination of the figure shows that Julia's +figure has something of the immature in it and that the face is rather +boyish. One thinks at once of the somewhat malicious words of Friedrich +Schlegel to his brother, "Wie Angelika Kaufmann, der die Busen und +Hüften, auch immer wie von selbst aus den Fingern quellen." Both Tieck +and Schlegel felt the sensuous charm of the painter whose best known +self-portrait is in the garb of a Vestal Virgin, tho the Schlegels, +like Georg Forster, had no illusions as to the qualities of her art.[25] + +Engravings in stipple emfasize less than line engravings mere questions +of drawing. It is perhaps with some instinctiv feeling for this that +Tieck suggests that one of Hamilton's pictures has been hurt by the bad +engraving, just as certain other plates have gaind thru the engraver +(page 22). The hint for this point came originally from the _Anzeigen_ +but Tieck has developt it. While it is now no longer possible to check +up each plate with its corresponding picture, it is true that the +engravers were relatively better craftsmen, as a rule, than the +painters. In hardly any one case is the painting a sample of the best +work of the artist. Often, as in the case of Sir Joshua Reynolds, the +painting redounds but little to his credit.[26] Where, as in the case of +Barry, Sir Joshua's great rival, the picture is reckond with his +superior work, the only conclusion is that Barry was a very bad artist +and so Tieck considers him. The engravers, on the other hand, had had no +better chance in years to exhibit their art than in this imposing +series, and most of the best names in stipple appear in it. The best +that Tieck does to recognize this fact is in the occasional lament for +the waste of good labor on a bad subject or painting (e. g., page 20). + +Besides having the good feeling for the human form under the garment, as +in the case of the figure of Julia and of those of Mrs. Ford and Mrs. +Page by Smirke, Tieck also criticizes several cases of misdrawing. So, +the clumsy legs of one of Opie's figures are scored and in blaming this +failing of Opie, Tieck hits one of the most pronounced weaknesses of +that artist both in the "Gallery" and in Bell's British Theater. But +Opie, the "Comedy Wonder," is hardly the "ungeübter Künstler" that Tieck +makes him out to be. Here Tieck, following the criticism of the +_Anzeigen_, from which he may have got the hint on Opie's drawing, +develops the criticism too far and goes astray. There is a constant +suspicion that Tieck is trying to master a jargon. + +Often it is a mere chance whether Tieck will see or not see a +peculiarity. Some of the sentimental, foolish, and misdrawn hands escape +his notis, whereas in other cases he criticizes them. + +Perhaps the best example of Tieck's criticism of drawing is that of +Northcote's plate to "Richard III." (III, 1, page 27). He says, "Der +alte Cardinal scheint ganz verzeichnet zu sein, man ist ungewiss, ob er +steht oder kniet: in beiden Fällen ist die Zeichnung fehlerhaft." +Tieck's strictures are correct. The space from the waist down is found +upon examination to be abnormally long for a kneeling person, and +groteskly short for one standing. Tieck's critique is good, for it +points out the error and the reason, and shows that in any case the +alternativ is a bad one. + +Tho Tieck may hav been over-kind to Angelika Kaufmann, he quite agrees +with his contemporaries in the condemnation of another German Swiss +living in England, namely Füessli, whom he calls one of the worst of the +admirers of Michaelangelo. The michaelangelesk school of the day faild +in its expression of great muscular effort, in that it put for strength +distortion and violence. Füessli was one of the most important +adherents, or rather, was the greatest representativ of the fad perhaps +anywhere and seems therby to hav largely incurd the displesure of his +German critics. That Tieck really understood Michaelangelo is shown by +his later article in the "Phantasien über die Kunst." He defends him +from the charge of having drawn to show his knowledge of anatomy and +among other things, exclaims on his "greatness, his wild grace, his +fearful beauty."[27] But Tieck had no use for those of his imitators who +caught only the extravagance of his figures and debased his Titanic +creations into bizarre contortions by over-emfasis on mere muscle. + +That Tieck was not unconscious of the effect of mere line is shown by +his pointing out the unplesantness of the line made by Leontes' figure +in Hamilton's picture of the statu scene from "Winter's Tale." +Awkwardness and violence, anything that savord of "affectation and +bombast," where in Shakspere "power and energy" are found, met Tieck's +disapproval. So this figure of Leontes, so Orlando standing with his +legs far apart, so the faces drawn by Füessli. Wherever there were +violent angles, sharp points and corners, Tieck felt himself ill at +ease. When he saw in some of Füessli's plates faces which giv the +impression of the plaster blocks of the art schools that are used to +draw from the cast, the square chins, the noses, either very pointed or +cut off square, imprest him as repulsivly inhuman. "Widrig, unnatürlich, +abgeschmackt, manierirt," are the terms applied to Füessli's cursing +scene from Lear. + +It would hav been interesting had Tieck seen Füessli's later scenes in +the "Gallery." The Bottom scenes from the "Midsummer Night's Dream" show +that fantastic imagination which was the artist's strong point. All the +forms from the fairy world were there, Moth, Peascod and a welth of +other spirits. There is a distinct appeal to the imagination which +justifies the painter of "Die Nachtmahr," tho the faces of Titania and +Oberon are here too hard and sullen. But the imagination shown has a +curious similarity with the work of Tieck in his later stories such as +"Die Elfen," and which has so warm an afterglow in "Die Vogelscheuche." + +Composition means for Tieck especially order. He has not yet lernd the +principle of triangulation of arrangement enunciated by Caroline in the +"Gemälde" essay in the _Athenaeum_. He expects no more than that the +principle character shall be in an important place in the picture and +insists that the lighting devices serv to throw such personages into +relief. So when the perspectiv is bad it is because of the wrong emfasis +on the principal figures rather than that the harmony of the whole is +disturbed by a wrong arrangement. + +What irritates Tieck especially is an arrangement of figures in the +picture in the regular semi-circle borrowd directly from the theater. +The evil of unnaturalness which such attitudinizing brings with it, is +enhanced by light effects drawn from the same source. So, for example, +where the light is that of a lamp, only so much light as a lamp would +giv, or the effect of natural lamp-light is allowable. If, on the other +hand, the sunlight streams into the room, the source of the sunlight +should be evident as outside the room. Tieck might hav mentiond as an +example of this some of the fine interiors of Pieter De Hoogh. The light +effects should not be harsh but graded down so that no violent light +contrasts occur within the same room. The light, too, should be broken +up, not kept in a mass as if it were a separate entity to be treated +apart from all other objects. + +All this is perfectly resonable and not especially technical. It is +conveyd in stray hints rather than in any set discussion of light +effects in any one place. Often, too, Tieck's dislike for some other +aspect of a painter's work leads him astray on this point. This is tru +in the case of Northcote, whose really good treatment of the high +lights Tieck has in one or two cases entirely overlookt. There seems to +hav been a distinct appeal made, too, by the sheen and glitter of +certain textiles and the scintillating, flickering light of the later +periods of Tieck's work is presaged as erly as this. On the whole, +however, it is not the glitter of the world of out-of-doors, but of the +world of the shut-in, of the world of little things which appeals so +strongly to Tieck and which he treated with such banality in the story +"Ulrich der Empfindsame." + +Thus, Tieck's landscape criticism is very bad and even tho, as has been +pointed out, the basis for his adjectivs lies in the _Anzeigen_ +articles, his expansion beyond them brings no real betterment. In the +plate from "Love's Labor Lost" (IV, 1, page 9), when Tieck was feeling +his way into his subject, his general impression was one of plesure, and +so the landscape is "reizend." In the whole essay, "reizend" is the only +constructiv epithet applied to landscape and it occurs only twice. +Hamilton's landscape is purely conventional and, except for a vista, of +which Tieck was all his life fond, offers nothing to commend it. The +failure of Tieck to judge rightly must be laid at the door of too great +reliance on the _Anzeigen_. + +Tieck criticizes only one other landscape as such, tho in a third case a +landscape background is discust adversly. For the scene from "As You +Like It" in which Jacques watches the wounded deer the term "reizend" +seems quite impossible. Engraved by Middiman after Hodges, a combination +which augurs ill, the scene is without dout the worst in every way that +Tieck saw. The composition is bad: Jacques, a figure without grace of +expression, sprawls in a comedy landscape and the features of the +wounded deer hav a strong Hebraic cast. Here, if ever, the scene is +drawn from the stage and not from nature and stage properties are models +for tree and foliage. When Tieck says that the scene is one to arouse +cheerfulness in the beholder, he is correct but not in the sense that he +ment. The reliance on his source is not enuf to account for his +aberration; the failure to judge aright must be laid at Tieck's door. + +After pointing out the value of the whole, and the effect made by the +light of the torch held by Gloster ("Lear," III, 4), Tieck shows that +this effect, striking as it is, detracts from the unity of the +composition, since it shifts the emfasis from Lear and his pain. Lear, +morover, is not the Lear of Shakspere but a giant, and the effect of +this Herculean form is made further improbable by the exaggeration of +the wind blowing from all directions in the picture and driving the +garments of Lear with it, winding them impossibly about him. The effect +of these draperies, says Tieck, is baroque and there is no thought of +quiet strength or noble simplicity.[28] + +In the composition of this picture Tieck also notises that the figure of +Edgar is practically the same as that of a figure in West's Deth of +General Wolf. A comparison with the latter picture at once reveals the +justness of Tieck's observation. The figure of the Indian seated in the +foreground is strikingly like that of Edgar, both in form and in general +expression, and it is evident that West has repeated himself. In +general, Tieck does not make comparisons of this kind. He confines his +remarks to the picture itself, and probably was not well acquainted with +the run of contemporary British art.[29] + +Tieck's judgment of composition did not go far beyond this emfasis on +the principal figure. A general series of colorless frases like "gut +geordnet" occurs, but expresses only a mild acquiescence in the +arrangement. Tieck was fond of the posing sentimentalities of groups +like the landscape plate from "Love's Labor Lost," but he tries hard to +get away from them toward a realism which drew upon actual perception +for its postulates and which was not based upon premises--inadequate for +art--of Shakspere illustration. On the other hand, and here he departs +constantly from the canon of Lessing, there is no striving for abstract +beauty. Charm and grace, beauty in motion as it is exprest by the female +figure in Anne Page and a few other cases, are Tieck's nearest approach +to it.[30] + +The general reason for Tieck's failure is that in actuality these +pictures were not ugly or inartistic to him. Where he criticizes it is +oftenest the idea; the execution and the relation to an abstract +standard are of less consequence, and his theory once more limps behind +his practis. He may berate Hogarth as an artist without beauty but it is +clear that his extoling of Rafael is a mere matter of fashion; he is in +the same category with Domenichino, whom Tieck's generation and the next +succeeding one considerably overestimated. In Michaelangelo, Tieck +knows the strength of the drawing and not the wistfulness that pervades +even the most Titanic of the master's creations. In general, affectation +of pose, mannerism and preciosity are Tieck's bane only where the +sentimental is not concernd. + +An interesting commendation of the composition of a plate is that of +Kirk's picture from "Titus Adronicus" (IV, 1). Tieck likes the plate +because of its taste and delicacy in only suggesting the mutilated arms +of Lavinia. Kirk has avoided the frank naturalism of the original by the +use of draperies, and this appeals to Tieck as a toning down and is in +line with what had been suggested before in regard to Tieck's attitude. + +This plate has an accessory which Tieck objects to, namely the over +large colum in the background. Usually, but not in this case, Tieck +criticises the accessories from the standpoint of the stickler for +historical accuracy, rather than for any artistic merit or demerit. So +the tomb of the Capulets in "Romeo and Juliet" is not Italian of the +period, and the dresses of the women in "Merry Wives" are in violation +of the sumptuary laws of the time.[31] In the deth of Mortimer (1 "Henry +VI.," V, 2) the family tree lying on the ground adds a tuch of symbolism +which Tieck approves, tho in the same scene he criticizes the mean +character of the prison, saying that for such a noble prisoner a better +place of incarceration would hav been found. + +Tieck makes no clear distinction between passing expression (Ausdruck) +and permanency of feature (Miene). His discussion of expression goes +hand in hand with composition, since, as was mentiond above, composition +has so close a relation to the placing of the principal character. There +is a definit point of view, however, in Tieck's discussions of +composition; in his strictures and encomiums on expression of face and +figure it is practically impossible to find a consistent _pou sto_. In +places, his powers of observation seem to hav deserted him and his +lapses are not attributable to a too great leaning on the articles in +the _Anzeigen_. Tieck's theoretical discussion of the common-sense +element in these illustrations may be ever so clear and his demands on +the artist may be ever so high, but his practical application of these +principles is by no means as strict as might be expected. Indeed, in +theory Tieck demands one thing and in practis another. + +It is Tieck's desire that the artist should catch the individual note in +these figures and raise it to an ideal, that he should choose the +expression with care and never sacrifice it to coloring or drapery and +that he should avoid all necessity of using symbols to designate his +characters. But when Tieck actually examins the pictures, he stresses +theatrical pose or mien and pays no attention to those obvious tricks +whereby expression is obtainable: the skilful use of light and shade on +the face, the treatment of the lines of the mouth, and the placing of +the eyes. Occasionally, as in the ball scene in "Romeo and Juliet," it +seems as if the treatment of the eyes of a figure--in this case that of +Tybalt--attracted his attention, but there are so many other plates in +which the eyes are quite as good and are nevertheless past over, that +the instance of Tybalt seems fortuitous. + +Tieck uses the expressions "ohne Ausdruck," "wenig Ausdruck" and "ohne +Charakter," "wenig Charakter" almost exclusively in his negativ +criticism of the plates and his positiv criticism substitutes "viel" for +"wenig." Such frases are not very definit and Tieck misapplies them +constantly. In four out of the five cases of Tieck's largest caption, +"ohne Ausdruck," he is certainly incorrect and the postulation of "wenig +Ausdruck" is wrong in at least two out of the three cases. It is not a +matter of personal opinion nor can it be a difference in point of view +between the twentieth century and the end of the eighteenth. It is +largely bad judgment on Tieck's part. In the three cases where Tieck +sees "vielen Ausdruck" not one is in reality especially distinguisht for +vividness. Two even vie with the most expressionless in feature and hav +no special pretentions to significance of posture. In the five plates +where Tieck uses "ohne Charakter" or "wenig Charakter," the epithets are +in general tru. + +Tieck got the hint for an advers criticism of the faces of Mrs. Ford and +Mrs. Page from the _Anzeigen_. He exclaims, expanding his model, "Welch' +widrige Gesichter! welch' uninteresante Figuren!" There is in the pose +of Mrs. Page a most awkward droop of the neck, but in Mrs. Ford's face +there is a rollicking Irish drollery, a freshness of complexion and a +witchery of the eyes that are quite charming. The painting was by +Peters, whose "sprightly humor" was so much admired by his +contemporaries. + +One of the two pictures of Leontes in the "Winter's Tale" shows his +giving the oath to Antigonous to destroy the child. In Leontes' frowning +face Tieck sees no expression, altho it is unquestionably one of the +most lively of the series. The stiffness of pose that Tieck objects to +in the picture may well be accounted for by the full suit of armor that +Leontes wears. The face is far more expressiv than that of the other +Leontes picture and yet Tieck's judgment on them is the same. + +One of the most striking failures on Tieck's part to see character +interpretation of real subtlety is in Northcote's portrayal of "Richard +III." There can be no dout that Tieck's general dislike of the artist, +which was based on the adverse criticisms of the _Anzeigen_, led his +judgment astray. The face of Richard is all in all the most +characteristic of the series in so far as Tieck saw the series. +Richard's "subtle, false and trecherous" look with the smile of his grim +humor is well caught; the eyes and mouth are excellent and giv a very +adequate idea of the deviltry of the man, of his lewd cunning and his +scheming. What Tieck might well hav objected to is the sentimentalizing +of the two princes whom the artist has transmogrified into fat little +babies, just as in the next picture the two hav become well-fed little +beef-eaters. + +As Tieck fails to see sentimentality in this picture, so he misses +extravagance in the church scene from "Much Ado." Tieck borrowd much in +this discussion from the _Anzeigen_ but his remarks on expression are +his own. He says that Leonato has too little expression. There can be no +dout as to the figure intended for Leonato. Claudio is identified by a +very theatrical gesture and by a Mefistofelian Don Juan behind him. The +fainting Hero, over whom Beatrice is bending, falls into Benedix' arms. +The only other figure, that of an older man, and who therefore cannot be +Benedix, is standing in a most theatrical posture with clencht fists, +eyes upturnd, rigid and ridiculous. If Tieck ment that this figure +should represent Leonato, he has shot wide of the mark in his criticism +and displays a most unrefined love of the melodramatic. Figures like +this are not often found in the "Gallery." Ordinarily excess of +sentiment and a cheap display of emotion giv way to stiffness and +awkwardness. + +Tieck was dissatisfied with all the reproductions of Lear. They hav all +too much of the gigantic, too little of the childish old man. He points +out that the face as drawn by Füessli expresses nothing but rage; the +same exaggeration is found in the drawing of West who sacrifices truth, +nature and emotion to a striking first impression. Barry's Lear only +excites laughter and the lack of expression in the face is made up by +the storm-wind in the hair. Again, however, issu must be taken with +Tieck's attitude, for it is impossible to regard these faces as +expressionless. It is not that they hav too little, but too much, and of +a wrong kind. Tieck nowhere draws the clear distinction and nowhere +makes it evident that he regards "Ausdruck" as a term to be interpreted +in any but a common sense way. + +It seems apparent that those plates which had a certain sentimentality, +a certain saccharin quality appeald to Tieck. He likes the prettiness of +Anne Page and cleverly notes the touch of scorn in her face. If he had +recalled Reynolds' Mrs. Siddons he would hav recognized the same trait +of hardness around the mouth, a line that is often found in the pictures +of English women. Perhaps Tieck's interest went hand in hand with his +enthusiasm for Rafael, and lack of discrimination lets him take all as +of equal value. The face of young Lucius in "Titus Adronicus" and the +face of Juliet in the tomb are examples of this. Tieck argues that the +boy has a good deal of expression, but a cool observer can see only +melodrama in the pose and blankness in the face. The most interesting +thing about the plate has escaped Tieck's attention, namely that both of +Titus' hands are represented. It seems an especially noteworthy omission +in a picture which Tieck praises for not showing the stumps of +Lavinia.[32] + +Tieck several times criticizes a picture for making a good first +impression and then not being able to stand the test of close +observation. An example of this is Northcote's portrayal of Mortimer and +York (1 "Henry VI.," II, 5) which is really spoild according to Tieck by +the strong light masses which at first sight seem very striking. These +light masses throw the main figure into relief, but Tieck objects to the +unnatural posture of the dying man. Close examination of the figure +reveals the fact that Mortimer is really well drawn; the lines of the +drapery distort the general impression, but that part of the drawing +comprising the actual sitting figure is that of a broken old man, fallen +in a heap and dying. Any one who has seen Irving's masterly +representation of the dying Louis cannot but be imprest by the +verisimilitude of Northcote's presentation. What Tieck says of the minor +characters on the plate is true; they are expressionless in the extreme. + +Tieck is fully justified in calling Reynolds' scene from "Henry VI." +"dieses abscheuliche Blatt," where the word "abscheulich" is reminiscent +of the _Anzeigen_. He asks further, "Ist dies der Künstler der Familie +des Ugolino?"[33] With much better right he might hav askt, "Is this the +painter of the 'Age of Innocence' and the man who loved to paint +children?" Both the Shakspere plate and the stiff Ugolino picture +attempt to portray the horrible, and the only other plate that Sir +Joshua did for the "Gallery," namely, the Hecate plate from "Macbeth," +the same selection of a grewsome subject is made. Neither of these +pictures can be sed to conform with Reynolds' well-known doctrin that +the function of art is to arouse the imagination, for in these pictures +there is nothing left for the imagination but exhaustion. They show a +vein of the bizarre without the great fancy of Füessli and are realistic +to a degree that stopt at nothing. It is not to be wonderd at that Tieck +exhausts himself in condemnation of the plate that he saw. + +It is plain that Tieck saw in the plate a caricature and an evasion. The +caricature was the dying man and the evasion was the veild face of the +young king. Tieck felt that the artist had veild the face of his +character to conceal his want of skill in the portrayal of a supreme +moment of emotion. Here Tieck certainly breaks with the doctrin of +Lessing who praised the expedient of Timanthes in veiling the face of +Agamemnon at the sacrifice. Tieck tacitly accuses Reynolds of shirking +an obvious task. He wisht something superlativ, whether in fleeting +expression or in that permanency which is caused by iterativ emotion. +Such a desire, the emfasizing of Shakspere's "Kraft" and "Energie" +leaves him on the plane of the Storm and Stress in his attitude toward +the British poet.[34] If the words of Sir Joshua himself are to be taken +as a criterion, his theory is different from his practis in this case, +and Tieck has condemd him out of his own mouth. + +Beauford, whom Tieck calls a caricature, certainly leaves nothing to +the imagination, as Reynolds wisht for art.[35] Tieck's description of +the figure is apt, "Beauford liegt da, mit den Zähnen grinsend, das Bett +in Verzuckungen kneifend, eine ekelhafte, verzerrte Caricatur, über die +man lachen könnte, wenn sie etwas weniger abscheulich wäre. Genie and +Enthusiasmus können hier die Hand und Kritik unmöglich irre geführt +haben; denn weder das eine, noch der andere gehört dazu, um diese Züge, +diese Umrisse hervorzubringen." + +The word caricature is, even before he found it in the _Anzeigen_, a +term of deepest reproach with Tieck. In his essays to Wackenroder he +says, speaking of a certain actor, "Ich gestehe dass er vielleicht viele +Scenen natürlich und einige komish darstellt, aber nach meinem Urtheil +spielt er in keiner einzigen schön, mit einem Worte, er macht +Carrikatur, und die kann nie schön sein, wenn sie auch noch so vielen +Ausdruck hat. Das Komische und das Schreckhafte gränzen überhaupt +vielleicht näher aneinander, als man glaubt ... Vielleicht ist das wahre +komische Spiel so wie Unzelmann est giebt, alles so leicht, so +übergehend, keine Periode, keine Idee, keine Stellung möglichst +festgehalten, keine Grimasse in Stein verwandelt." + +After pointing out the value of the unspoild taste of childhood in +matters of esthetic judgment, Tieck continues: "Du kannst leicht die +Erfahrung machen, dass Carrikaturen den Kindern nie gefallen, denn sie +erkennen in ihnen nur mit Mühe den Menschen wieder, sie fürchten sie +wirklich; sie können ungleich länger eine andre Figur ohne Ausdruck und +bestimmten Charakter betrachten, ja tagelang darüber brüten, und +Ausdruck und Charakter hineintragen, hundert Träume spinnen sich in +ihrer Seele aus, ... Carrikaturen gefallen überhaupt vielleicht nur +einem kalten nördlichen Volke, dessen Gefühl für den feinen Stachel der +stillen Schönheit zu grob ist, oder die schon die Schule der Schönheit +durchgegangen sind, und deren übersatten Magen nur noch die gewürztesten +Speisen reizen können, die es daher gern sehen, wenn die Schönheit dem +Ausdruck aufgeopfert wird, weil sie in der Schönheit keinen lebenden +Ausdruck mehr finden. Du wirst sehen, dass ich hier nicht bloss von der +komischen Carrikatur spreche, sondern von jedem Ausdruck irgend einer +Leidenschaft, der die Schönheit ausschliesst." He then goes on to +indicate the relation of what he had sed to Lessing and confesses his +indetedness to him in the matter. The highest effects when used in +sculpture and painting are also caricature.[36] + +Paralel to this statement in the letters is the discussion in the essay +of the valu of the comedies of Shakspere over his tragedies as material +for illustration. Tieck says (page 15), "Im Trauerspiele ersteigen +meistentheils gerade die schönsten Scenen eine Höhe des Effects, die der +Maler schwerlich ausdrücken kann, ohne widrig zu werden. Der +Schauspieler verliert schon oft jene Grazie, die jedem Kunstwerke nöthig +ist, wenn er manche Scenen der tragischen Kraft so wiedergeben will, wie +er sie im Dichter findet, doch kann die Mimik hier noch das Unangenehme +vermeiden; der Malerei ist es aber meist unmöglich, denn jene +Verzerrungen, die auf der Bühne nur vorübergehend sind, werden hier +bleibend gemacht; dort erschrecken sie durch ihr plötzliches Entstehen +und Verschwinden, hier werden sie ekelhaft, weil durch das Feststehende +und Bleibende des Widrigen der dargestellte Mensch zum Thier herabsinkt. +Jemehr der Maler den Affekt hinauftreibt, desto mehr nimmt er zugleich +Interesse und Tadel von seinem Helden. Die höchsten Grade des Zorns, der +Wuth oder der Verzweifelung bleiben im Gemälde stets unedel; selbst der +Wahnsinn muss hier mit einer gewissen Schüchternheit auftreten, und im +höchsten Entzücken muss ein sanfter Wiederschein der Melancholie +leuchten." The relation of this to Lessing, both in the "Laokoon" and in +the "Dramaturgie" is at once apparent. + +The dislike for caricature centers around the comic efforts of Smirke +for whom Tieck has hardly a good word to say. In the discussion of +Reynolds' picture, Tieck remarks, half in jest, that he regrets his +strictures on Smirke in the face of this greater caricature by Reynolds. +The sum total of his criticisms of Smirke is unjust: thruout the series +and especially in some of the plates that Tieck saw, this painter has +caught the comic spirit well, and tho overpraisd by his contemporaries, +has done some very clever work both in the "Gallery" and in Bell's +"British Theater."[37] + +Tieck's principal censures are directed against the figure of Simple in +the "Merry Wives" and that of Dogberry in the comic trial in "Much Ado." +Simple is for Tieck neither the character as Shakspere conceived him, +nor is he funny. It is again, says Tieck, a mere exaggeration, +tantamount to a confession of inability. That the spectator cannot laugh +at the character is the artist's greatest punishment; in overstepping +the just limits of the comic and the natural, he has made the figure +insignificant. Unlike Hogarth, says Tieck, Smirke has not the power of +expressing character by means of the distortions of the exterior. To put +an artist below Hogarth is with Tieck to put him very low; in this +respect he stands on the plane of August von Schlegel in the _Athenæum_ +and has not risen to the level of admiration for the Englishman +displayed by Novalis in the "Fragments." + +The best that Tieck can say for the Dogberry scene as a whole is, that +in spite of its exaggerations, it has much comic power. But, he goes on +to explain, it is a far different thing for Smirke to exaggerate than +for Shakspere, for the latter always draws human beings, while the +figures of the former are at times hardly to be distinguisht from apes. + +To a certain extent the figure of Dogberry and more especially the face, +justify Tieck's repugnance. In its way, the face is fully as bad as that +of Reynolds' Beauford. Tieck says, "Selbst ein vertrauter Leser des +Shakspeare findet sich nicht in den hier dargestellen Caricaturen, von +denen die Hauptperson in einer Wuth, die lächerlich sein soll, so +ekelhaft verzerrt wird, dass man nur ungern mit dem Blick auf dieser +Zeichnung verweilt." This is in every respect tru. Smirke has here mist +all the comic elements of the character, and has produced not the +ridiculous malapropian Dogberry but a demoniac grinning mask of a face +and a twisted, distorted and frenzied figure. Tieck proceeds, "Ein +Künstler, der die komischen Scenen des Shakspeare darstellen will, +sollte doch von seinem Dichter so viel gelernt haben, dass dieser seine +Caricaturen nie ohne eine gewisse Portion von phlegmatischer Laune +lässt, die so oft unser Lachen erregt, und aus der blossen Erfahrung +sollte er wissen, dass selbst der lächerlichste Zwerg, wenn er schäumt, +in eben dem Augenblicke aufhört lächerlich zu sein. Jedes Subject hört +auf, komisch zu sein, sobald ich es in einen hohen Grad von Leidenschaft +versetze. Denn das Lächerliche in den Charakteren entsteht gewöhnlich +nur durch die seltsam widersprechende Mischung des Affects und des +inneren Phlegma; wenigstens so hat Shakspeare seine wirklich komischen +Personen gezeichnet. Der Mangel an Genie zeigt sich gewöhnlich in +Uebertreibung und gesuchten Verzerrungen des Körpers."[38] + +The scene from the "Merry Wives" in which Dr. Cajus catechizes William +on his Latin, represents very well the type of scene the choice of which +Tieck condems as unsuited for representation. It is not because there +was something in the humor of them that Tieck did not grasp, but because +he rejects on principle all that is secondary and episodical. Such +scenes as are told and not acted, that is, the epic portions of the +plays, as well as the reflectiv and filosofical portions would hav to be +excluded. It is the fate of the principal characters which is of prime +importance, and the moment must be chosen with their activities in view. +This emfasis on the principal character is also strongly reminiscent of +the doctrin of Lessing's "Dramaturgie." It has been shown how it affects +what Tieck has to say about composition and it is the prime factor in +his feeling for what is the proper moment and subject of representation. + +Some of the scenes which Tieck rejects are Hodges' picture of the +melancholy Jacques, and the murder of the princes in "Richard III." +Neither of these is acted out on the stage. From the "Merry Wives" he +proposes Falstaff's three adventures: the basket scene, the Witch of +Brentford scene and the final torturing of Falstaff by the practical +jokers. These giv a chance for variety of grouping and a gradation of +expression in all the chief characters of the play. The scene in which +the two women read identical letters from Falstaff, Tieck regards as the +worst possible, for reasons that he says he need not recall but which +are obviously those of lack of stress on the main character. + +The scenes that Tieck recommends were actually chosen by the artists +whose work appears later in the series and so Tieck's judgment is, in a +way, confirmd. These scenes are the skeleton of the farce element and +bring out the structure of the Falstaff plot which Tieck evidently +regards as the main theme. It is interesting to note, however, how +little the choice of subject has to do with the artistic merit or +demerit of the plates. The subsequent plates, which would hav fully +satisfied Tieck's requirements as to the moment of presentation are +artistically among the worst in the series. + +The two scenes from "As You Like It" suggested by Tieck, the one where +Adam admonishes Orlando (II, 3) and the scene in the forest where +Orlando enters bearing Adam on his shoulders (II, 7) hav not the same +structural relation to the whole as hav those from the "Merry Wives." +These moments lend themselves very well to representation but are chosen +on another basis of judgment. They show that for Tieck Orlando was of +more importance than Rosalind, for he suggests no scene with her in it +as especially representativ of the play. In the first of these two +scenes, the action has already begun; the scene is the culmination of +the episode containing the first relation of the brothers. It is in +itself not a vital part of the action. The scene in the forest, on the +other hand, has more of the qualities demanded by Tieck: a variety of +characters and an important moment. This is a moment--tho not the +initial one--when Orlando's fortunes mend and he comes to his frends. +The scene in which he first meets the Duke's party is of more +significance. It seems as if the governing principle is contrast rather +than a desire for elucidation of structure in serial arrangment. Orlando +and Adam, ill-fortune and good luck, are juxtaposed. + +Tieck conjectures that the eavesdropping scene from "Much Ado" (III, 1) +is included in the collection because it was played by popular actresses +of the contemporary English stage. Tieck misses the structural +importance of the scene. It is apart of the intrigue; it has a direct +effect on Beatrice who comes from it a changed woman. To Tieck, however, +it ment as little as the similar eavesdropping scene from "Love's Labor +Lost" (IV, 3), in which play he claims there is no suitable scene for +representation. + +The scene from "Winter's Tale" in which Perdita welcomes the disguised +Duke (IV, 3), offering him flowers the while, is condemd in favor of the +one immediately following in which the Duke discloses himself. Here +again Tieck stresses the contrast and wishes a climax, a dramatic +moment. So he praises such scenes as the putting away of Hero at the +altar and the deth of Beauford, however much he derides the execution of +the latter, by Reynolds. + +For the sake of bringing out the wretchedness of this execution, Tieck +points out that tho he has often before bewaild the choice of moment, +he cannot do so in this case for no better could hav been selected. He +details the good points in the scene: "Man denke sich einen Bösewicht +auf dem Todtenbette, den die Verzweifelung wahnsinnig gemacht hat, der +keine Seligkeit hofft; diesen besucht in seiner Todesstunde Heinrich, +der junge gefühlvolle König, ein Schwarmer in der Religion, der von +diesem Anblick auf das tiefste gerührt wird; Warwick und Salisbury, zwei +männliche Krieger, begleiten ihn hierher. Beauford ist die Hauptperson, +alle Zuschauer haben ihre gauze Aufmerksamkeit auf ihn gerichtet. Der +Künstler hätte hier rühren und erschüttern können; ich sehe in Gedanken +den weichen Heinrich Thränen vergiessen, im schönsten Contrast mit dem +Cardinal, der ihn, in der Abwesenheit seines Geistes, kalt und ohne +Bewusstsein anstarrt. Warwick und Salisbury, weniger gerührt, aber doch +interessante Physiognomien, die durch leichtere Nuancen von einander +unterschieden sind. So sehe ich in der Phantasie das schönste tragische +Gemälde ..." + +In "Romeo and Juliet" the choice of the ball scene meets with Tieck's +disapproval. The scene is "Ohne Wirkung." Tieck's main reason why the +scene is not good is that the painter has interpreted literally the +metafor, "My lips two blushing pilgrims stand" and has represented Romeo +in the garb of a pilgrim to correspond to Juliet's anser, "Good +pilgrim." As Tieck rightly points out, there is no need for such a gise. +The choice of the more highly keyd situation at the supposed deth of +Juliet meets with Tieck's approval and shows that where there is a +choice, the emfasis of his selection is apt to be on the superlativ +moment.[39] + +One other idea seems to be in Tieck's mind and it is hard to believe +that he was not unconsciously influenced by the stage presentation of +the plays when formulating it. That is the desire to hav a number of +people in the picture. Nearly all the plates that he condems hav but few +characters and his dictum of variety demands a reasonable number to +choose from. This dramatic point of view is in accord with his attitude +in all other fases of the discussion. It has been pointed out how rarely +the artistic makes the prime appeal to him. + +Tieck's second point in regard to choice of subject is that the comedies +offer a wider field and a better opportunity than the tragedies. The +general basis for this notion is allied to his theory of the +worthlessness of caricature, that is, that there is an exaggeration, an +overacting of the part possible in tragedy that is less likely to occur +in comedy. + +The statement of the evils of exaggeration is very sweeping and includes +in some of its details both comedy and tragedy: "Der dramatische Dichter +hat Momente in seinen Schauspielen, die kein Pinsel oder Griffel jemals +darstellen kann; ich meine jene Sprünge und überraschenden Wendungen des +Affectes, jene fürchterlichen Blitze des Genies, bei denen der Zuschauer +zusammenfährt, wo der Dichter unerwartet durch eine neue verdrängt: +diese Momente sind oft die glänzendsten des Schauspiels, und bei keinem +Dichter finden sie sich so häufig als bei Shakspeare in seinen +Tragödien." Tieck's illustration for this is the passage from Lear +beginning, "No, I will weep no more," etc. He continues, "welcher Maler +wird es wagen, wenn er den Sinn ganz durchdringt, ... diese Stelle auf +die Leinwand zu werfen? So innig diese Verse beim Lesen oder bei der +Darstellung rühren, so frostig würden sie vielleicht als ein Gemälde +dargestellt erscheinen: oder wenn sie auch hier rührten, so würde das +Gemälde doch nie jene Erschütterung in uns erregen, jenes Anschlagen von +hundert Gefühlen. Man würde immer nur den weinenden Lear sehen oder den +erzürnten Vater, der sich zur Kälte zwingt; das Ineinanderschmelzen +dieser beiden Empfindungen, verbunden mit der Verstandesschwäche, die +dem Schmerz endlich ganz erliegt und Wahnsinn wird, wäre selbst ein +Rafael unmöglich: hier steht ein grosser Grenzstein zwischen dem Gebiet +des Malers und des Dichters." + +The result of overstepping these bounds is that the painter is likely to +enter into rivalry with the poet, to feel his lack of ability in the +struggle and to produce empty declamation insted of a work of the +creativ imagination and to offer to the spectator nothing for either +imagination or reason. + +But in the comedies there are many moments which almost force themselves +on the painter. These are scenes in which he can portray the poet just +as he finds him and in which his rivalry is legitimate and, indeed, may +tend to make him surpass the poet. If he can do this it will be by +bringing out more plainly the light shades of the poet's meaning and he +will become a commentator, so to speak, of these. Under such +circumstances, the painter must be very careful to choose just the most +beautiful and most interesting passages. + +The relation to Lessing is again at once clear. The culminating moment +of passion as it appears in the tragedies is not suitable from the +artistic point of view for reproduction but the comedies, from their +admixture of the flegmatic, the almost imperativ concomitant of +Shaksperean humor, tone down this superlativ expression and are +therefore within the pale. How Tieck carries out his theory in practis, +has been sufficiently shown: his love for the sentimental and +melodramatic, for the climatic and striking lead him to neglect his +delimiting theoretical remarks. + +Before leaving the discussion of Tieck's article, it may be well to +compare it with another contemporary treatment of the Boydell Gallery. +This is by the famous traveler and publicist, George Forster. It was +Forster's account which furnisht Fiorillo with much of his data for the +treatment of the "Gallery" in his history of British art, but it is +hardly likely that the account is a source for Tieck. I hav no external +evidence and the internal evidence is entirely negativ. + +If Friedrich Schlegel's estimate of Forster's artistic capabilities be +accepted, it is just such pictures as these, where the social interest +is great and the artistic valu is secondary, that should bring out +Forster's strength of judgment. Forster was also a finely discriminating +amateur, with a decided sense of tactile form based on a sincere love of +Greek art and confirmd by a study of Winkelmann and Lessing, beyond whom +he past in his appreciation of the portrait and the landscape and of the +coloring of the great masters. + +Forster's essay, "Die Kunst und das Zeitalter" (1791), was written about +the time that he saw the Boydell pictures. It shows his attitude toward +Greek art and givs more than a hint of his standards which point so +clearly toward Schiller. His "Ansichten vom Niederrhein," especially the +discussions of the galleries and collections at Düsseldorf, Brussels and +Antwerp fully express his ideas on Dutch and Flemish art, especially +emfasizing the characteristics of Rubens for whose fleshy types Forster +had little use. + +In the discussion of British art which comes as an appendix to the +"Ansichten," Forster includes a rather detaild description of the +Boydell paintings. He did not see the engravings, or rather, his +description is based on the paintings as they hung in the gallery in +Pall Mall and so the material of this sketch in two parts, is in one way +fundamentally different from that of Tieck. All the discussion of +technique in which Tieck was so weak, is entirely lacking in Forster. +His point of view, too, is different. He is the traveld, experienced man +from whose traind eye and broad judgment more may be expected than from +the student Tieck. There is, as Friedrich Schlegel says, an +out-of-doorness in Forster's work that Tieck could never hav had; the +over-emfasis on Shakspere on the part of the latter is only one product +of his inexperience. + +In spite of all this, it is surprizing to find what correspondences +there are between the student Tieck and the more traind Forster. The +latter who knew vastly more of English life than Tieck, fails to +understand it in just those vital points where Tieck went farthest +astray. Smirke and Peters fare badly at his hands, perhaps because of a +certain puritanism in his atitude, or to quote Schlegel, because "Keine +Vollkommenheit der Darstellung konnte ihn mit einem Stoff aussöhnen, der +sein Zartgefühl verletzte, seine Sittlichkeit beleidigte oder seinen +Geist unbefriedigt liess." For this reason he can call one of the Peters +paintings from the "Merry Wives" a brothel (ein Speelhuis) or refer to +the women of that artist as "lockere Nymphen." + +Besides the same general dislike for the caricatures of Smirke that was +noted in all previous instances, there is the usual praise of Hodges, +the usual condemnation of Opie's bad drawing. Füessli, too, comes in for +his share of the blame: "Der Beifall, welchen Füesslis Gemälde in +England erhalten, bezeichnet mehr als alles die Ueberspannung des +dortigen Kunstgeschmacks. Dieser junge Schweizer ... brachte nebst der +Kenntniss akademischer Modelle sein malerisches Kraftgenie mit sich über +das Meer; seiner Phantasie ward es wohl unter wilden Traumgestalten und +Bildern des Ungewöhnlichen. Diese Stimmung ... verführte ihn nur gar zu +bald zu allen Ausschweifungen der Manier. Es ist zwar leicht das +Alltägliche zu vermeiden, indem man Kontorsionen darstellt ..." (page +466). Again: "Es sind nicht Menschen, die dieser Künstler phantasiert, +sondern Ungeheuer in halb menschlicher Gestalt, mit einzeln sehr gross +gezeichneten und sehr verzerrten, verunstalteten Theilen und +Proportionen: ausgerenkte Handgelenke, aus dem Kopfe springende Augen, +Bocksphysiognomien u. s. f...." (page 503). Northcote is damned with the +faint praise "Nicht ohne Verdienst," a frase that clings to the +characterizations of his work from the _Anzeigen_ to Fiorillo. Barry is +shown to lack grace, noble greatness and beauty. His distorted figures +border on caricature and his forms are of giants, colossi. His coloring +is bad in spite of his theoretical knowlege and good drawing. + +Forster sees thru Angelika Kaufmann and Hamilton better than Tieck did. +Hamilton's paintings are "Machwerk" and his figures move in +"Tanzschritt," while Angelika's are hermafroditic (page 501). "Die +deutsche Muse Angelika verbarg die Inkorrektheit und das Einerlei ihrer +allzuschlanken Figuren unter dem Schleier der Grazie und Unschuld" (page +459). + +For Forster, Shakspere is the most logical portrayer of nature that ever +existed; he meets the painter halfway in his work by his excellent +characterization of the salient features of a personage and so givs the +painter sharply defined subjects for his fantasy. For the artists of the +British school this is especially valuable because effect is their +highest aim and beauty only secondary. Extremes of passion, +astonishment, surprize are strivn for. "Sie hascht nach der Wahrheit der +Natur in ihren grässlichen Augenblicken und erlaubt ihrer Phantasie den +verwegenen Flug, nicht in das schöne Feenland des Ideals sondern in die +verbotene Region der Geister und Gespenster." + +But while the general condemnation of British artists shows far more +perspectiv than is found in Tieck, the acquaintance with the details of +Shakspere's plays is never drawn on to point out any defects in choice +of subject matter. Forster can refer to the acted plays from an +experience that was at this time still denied Tieck, but this experience +does not result in any well-defined theory of Shakspere-illustration as +a whole and as we found Tieck to hav. The melancholy Jacques in the +forest is a good scene for Forster, whereas Tieck rejected it as having +no structural relation to the rest of the play. Forster finds it worthy +of portrayal as one of the moments arising from Shakspere's variety of +scene, character and condition of life, to say nothing of the chance to +show the lonesome melancholy stag by the famous animal painter, Gilpin! + +On Reynolds' famous Beauford picture, Tieck and Forster are entirely at +odds. For Tieck the execution is terrible, the choice of subject +satisfactory. For Forster, the choice is inexcusable, the execution in +part masterly; a dying criminal in his last throes seems to Forster an +utterly impossible subject for representation. So with Kirk's picture +from "Titus Adronicus": in spite of the attempt to meliorate the +impression of the butcherd Lavinia, the whole picture remains for +Forster a disgusting sight. The conclusion is obvious: Forster's sense +of delicacy rebeld at the crass and brutal; wildness and terror shockt +him. + +But if Tieck's article compares favorably with Forster's in all points +respecting the "Gallery" itself, it must be confest that the political, +patriotic note, the application to Germany of the principles of national +betterment in art which arose in the mind of Boydell, escape him. He was +not, of course, like Forster, a political writer, and revolutionary +conditions had no immediate interest for him as for the older man. And +so his art criticism does not look forward to Germany as does Forster's +or as does that of a propagandist like Kleist in his _Abendblætter_ +article. Tieck does not rise above the milieu; the "Gallery" offers no +hold with which to test contemporary art in his own land. It is only a +beginning, clearsighted in part and in general sustaind, an ernest of +what the matured criticism of the Romantic school was later on to do. + + + + +NOTES + +[1] Die Kupferstiche nach der Shakspeare-Gallerie in London. Briefe an + einen Freund. 1793. "Kritische Schriften," vol. I, pages 3-34. [Kr. + Sch.] + +[2] For full title, see bibliografy. + +[3] E. g. in the letters. + +[4] Krit. Sch. I, 4. Jean Paul, Titan, I, 42. [Berlin, 1827.] + +[5] 1719-1804. + +[6] Preface to the Prospectus and quoted in the preface to the + "Gallery." + +[7] The facts on the "Gallery" are pretty well scatterd. The + statements in Allibone are not all correct. See Graves, "New + Light on Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery," _Magazine of Art_, vol. + XXI, page 143 ff. For some details as to the disposition of the + pictures, see "Notes and Queries," series 2, vol. VIII, vol. IX, + 313, vol. X, 52. Also Pye, "Patronage of British Art," London, + 1848. + +[8] Preface to critical works. + +[9] Page 7. + +[10] Copy in the Columbia University Library. + +[11] Mr. L. L. Mackall kindly furnisht me with this information. + +[12] This Ms. (79 pp., vellum, quarto) contains the signatures + of all the subscribers or their agents. Romney, Warren Hastings, + Wedgewood, the King, the Queen and the Prince Regent besides a + number of English "persons of quality" are represented. The + poets are conspicuously wanting. The King of England gave the + copy to the University Library. Cp. _GÅ“ttinger Gelehrte + Anzeigen_ (G. G. A.) 1791, page 1793; 1793, page 561. + +[13] At least until after the time concerned here. This from + Wüstenfeld on the contributor to the _Anzeigen_ furnisht by + Professor Wilkens. + +[14] The plates which come into consideration and the order in which + they occur in Tieck are as follow: + + "Love's Labor Lost," Tieck, page 9, (1) IV, 1 (G. G. A., 1794, page + 10); (2) IV, 2, small plates; (3) V, 2. + + "Merry Wives of Windsor," Tieck, page 10, I, 1 (G. G. A., 1794, + page 969); page 12, II, 1 (G. G. A., 1794, page 969); page 13 + (G. G. A., page 959); page 13, I, 4; IV, 1, small plates (G. G. + A., 1794, page 970); V, 5. + + "Twelfth Night," II, 3 (G. G. A., 1794, page 970); Tieck, page 15. A + small plate. + + "Two Gent. Verona," Tieck, page 16, Last Scene (G. G. A., 1793, page + 903); 17, IV, 3. Small plate. + + "As You Like It," Tieck, page 17, II, 1 (G. G. A., 1793, page + 561); page 17, last scene (G. G. A., 1793, page 561). + + "Much Ado About Nothing," Tieck, page 19, III, 1 (G. G. A., + 1791, page 1794); IV, 1; IV, 2. + + "Winter's Tale," Tieck, page 21, II, 3 (G. G. A., 1794, page 9); + IV, 3; V, 3; page 22, two small plates (G. G. A., 1794, page + 10). + + I "Henry VI.," Tieck, page 24, II, 5 (G. G. A., 1794, page 970). + + II "Henry VI.," Tieck page 25, III, 3 (G. G. A., 1794, page 10). + + "Richard III.," Tieck, page 27, III, 1 (G. G. A., 1791, page + 1794). + + "Titus Andronicus," Tieck, page 28, IV, 1 (G. G. A., 1794, page + 970); page 29 (G. G. A. 1794, page 970). + + "Romeo and Juliet," Tieck, page 30, I, 5 (G. G. A., 1793, page 561); + IV, 5 (G. G. A. page 561); V, 3 (G. G. A., 1793, page 562). + + "King Lear," Tieck, page 31, I, 1 (G. G. A., 1793, page 903-4); + page 32, III, 4 (G. G. A. 1793, page 904); page 33, last scene + (G. G. A., 1793, page 904); page 34 (G. G. A., 1793, Page 904). + +Tieck mentions in all 39 plates; of these 24 are large plates + and the rest small ones. In only 6 instances does Tieck enter + into even a slite criticism of the small plates. In some cases, + his remarks are so meager that it is only by a comparison with + the original that we can tell what plate he means. + +[15] Boydell's Catalog, page 28 ff. It may be worth while to + mention in this connection that the Catalog has a number of + errors in the list of these supplementary plates. The proof was + red carelessly and the results are jumbled. Only by a careful + comparison with the originals in the 1802 edition, for the + results of which there is no room here, can this be straightend + out. + +[16] "Romantische Schule," page 57-8. + +[17] For possible influence of Du Bos, cf. Tieck's doctrin of + poetry as an imitativ art. Kr. Sch., page 24. See Howard, + _Publications of the Mod. Lang. Assn._, vol. XXII, page 4. The + letters to Wackenroder in Holtei, 300 Briefe, etc. + +[18] Volbehr, Dessoir, Stöcker. D. L. D. + +[19] Kr. Sch. I, 321. It is doutful if Tieck knew any of the + Hogarth Shakspere plates. The dates of issu (Dobson, pp. 310, + 340 ff.) are all later than the writing of the Boydell article. + For Tieck and Hogarth, Köpke, I, page 148. + +[20] Of course the emfasis on color is entirely wanting in the + body of the work. Tieck nowhere in the essay points out how + engraving can suggest color. + +[21] Literary paralels are at once apparent. So, Schiller's + Prolog to "Wallenstein." + +[22] Schriften, vol. X, pages 302-3. + +[23] Weitenkampf, 155. + +[24] One or two actual errors of fact hav crept into the paper. + Kyder for Ryder and Northcate for Northcote. The latter error + and Tieck's Slatbard may hav arisn, as Professor Wilkens + suggested to me, from Tieck's notoriously bad handwriting which + was misinterpreted by the compositor. At any rate, Tieck made no + later effort to correct. The "Rev." before Peters' name misled + both Tieck and Forster into laying too much emfasis on his + sacerdotal function. The G. G. A. calls him a dilettante. + +[25] Walzel, 279; Sulger-Gebing, 41, 154. Engel ("Angelika + Kaufmann," 36, 37, 43) while not denying her preference for this + dress, is of the opinion that it was not suited to her. "Im + Schäferkleide, den Hirtenstab in der Hand, Atlaspantöffelchen an + den Füssen, ein bebändertes Hütchen auf der gepuderten Coiffure, + umgeben von einem Hofstaat schöngeistiger Verehrer und + Verehrerinnen, so hatte sie unzweifelhaft eine weit natürlichere + und tüchtigere Figur gemacht als in der Vestalinnentracht die + sie--das Bregenzerwaldnymphlein--in der Folgezeit zu bevorzugen + pflegte." + +[26] Biografers of Sir Joshua generally agree that his pictures + in this series, with the possible exception of "Puck," are + failures. Boydell paid 400 and 1500 guineas for the two largest + and this was considerd by some an exorbitant price. + +[27] Minor's edition, pages 27, 30. + +[28] There is the possibility of a crude symbolism having been + intended for Shakspere's "Blow, winds," etc. + +[29] The West picture was very popular. Cf. _Teutsche Mercur_, + 1791, pages 445-6, for a criticism of Berger's engraving from + it. + +[30] See, 300 Bfe. page 79. + +[31] This is a difficult point to decide. The citizen class was + limited by such sumptuary laws as is shown by the records, but + most writers agree that the violations were open and common. + +[32] The figure with the helmet is unquestionably that of + Marius, the tribune. He enters from the street and is drest in + street costume. Titus, who has been in the house, wears only a + fillet around his hed. In the play, Marius commands the boy to + stand near him for refuge, but in the picture the moment just + previous is chosen, when the boy is still near his grandfather. + Forster wrongly holds that the helmeted figure is Titus. + +[33] Cf. A. W. v. Schlegel in _Athenæum_, 2, 212, "Man kennt + Reynolds Ugolino aus dem Kupferstiche: es ist ein alter Mann, + der hungert, aber es ist nicht Ugolino." For his criticism of + Boydell, 2, 198. + +[34] Marie Joachimi-Dege has given a very careful account of the + erly Romantic and Storm and Stress attitude toward Shakspere. + Her book needs supplementation thru a study of the Romantic + Shakspere criticism, written from the English point of view. + +[35] In his Academy discourses. Bohn ed., vol. I, page 460 ff. + Reynolds points out that those who praise the "invention" of + Timanthes in the Agamemnon picture hav not been painters but + literary men. They use it as an illustration of their own art. + He says, "I fear that we have but very scanty means of exciting + those powers over the imagination which make so very + considerable and refined a part of poetry. (Cf. Boydell's + preface.) It is a doubt with me if we should even make the + attempt. The chief, if not the only occasion which the painter + has for this artifice, is when the subject is improper to be + more fully represented, either for the sake of decency, or to + avoid what would be disagreeable to be seen; and this is not to + raise or increase the passions, which is the reason given for + this practice, but on the contrary to diminish their effect.... + We cannot ... recommend an undeterminate manner or vague ideas + of any kind, in a complete or finished picture. This notion, + therefore, of leaving anything to the imagination opposes a very + fixed and indispensible rule in our art,--that everything shall + be carefully and distinctly expresst, as if the painter knew, + with correctness and precision, the exact form and character of + whatever is introduced into the picture. This ... must not be + sacrificed ... for uncertain and doubtful beauty which, not + naturally belonging to our art, will probably be sought for + without success." After praising the artifis of Timanthes, + Reynolds goes on to say, "Suppose this method of leaving the + expression of grief to the imagination, to be ... the invention + of the painter and that it deserves all the praise that has been + given to it, it is still a trick that will serve only once; + whoever does it a second time, will not only want novelty, but + will be justly suspected of using artifice to evade + difficulties. If difficulties overcome make a great part of the + merit of Art, difficulties evaded can deserve but little + commendation." Among the names of those who discuss the "trick" + Lessing's is, of course, wanting. Gilray's satirical plate on + Boydell should be compared for this and other points. Copy in N. + Y. Public Library. + +[36] In this connection, the letters mention Engel's + "Mimik"(1785). + +[37] Some of the latter pictures by Smirke are very fine; e. g., + the face of Jessica which justifies the statement of the Dict. + Nat. Biog. that Smirke had "good drawing, refinement, quiet + humor." Bryan has a cooler comment: "Smirke was well spoken of + in the comedy vein." Tieck likes him better in tragedy (page + 34). Fiorillo's comment is "Seit Hogarths Zeiten hat kein + Künstler so viel Charakter oder so viel Ausdruck in seine + Figuren gebracht, noch eine Scene mit so viel echter Laune + bearbeitet." + +[38] To me the Tieck-Schlegel translation of this scene misses + all the best points of the original. To be sure, Tieck had + nothing to do with its translation. (Friesen, I, 136; Sybel, + III, 463 ff). It was not that Tieck was not interested in puns, + altho the Dr. Cajus scene seems uninteresting to him on that + account. Tieck himself made a good many puns. Cf. + "Viehsiognomie," the first lines of his sonnet on the sonnet and + the "gemein" from the _Allgemeine deutsche Bibliothek_ in + "Das jüngste Gericht." His sensing of English puns seems not to + hav been so keen. So in a discussion of Mss. readings toward the + end of the essay on the erly English Theater (Kr. Sch. I, 320) + after calling one faulty reading "Unsinn" he continues, "In + derselben Rede: + + + If you can construe but your doctor's bill + Parse your wife's waiting woman, etc. + + + Parse? Was kann das bedeuten? Pierce ist dem aufmerksamen Auge + leserlich genug." Tieck seems to hav mist the play on the + grammatical idea. To be sure, I hav not seen the Ms., but Tieck + was no very careful reader or copyist. + +[39] This is a scene where Tieck saw both L. and S. There were + two different paintings of the same subject, one with fewer + figures, and Tieck rightly points out that the less crowded one + is the better. One of the engravings is by W. Blake and is not + given in any list of that artist's work. Mr. W. G. Robertson, + the most recent biografer of Blake informs me in a letter that + he does not know it. + + + + +A PARTIAL BIBLIOGRAPHY + + +Athenæum. Eine Zeitschrift von A. W. Schlegel und Friederich + Schlegel, Zweiter Band. Berlin, 1799. + +Boydell, John. + Catalogue of the ... Shakspeare Gallery, London, 1789. The first + edition of the catalog givs the painters' names only: subsequent + editions add the names of the engravers. There are copies of the + various editions in the Columbia, Harvard and New York Public + Libraries. + A Catalogue of Prints ... comprising the stock of J. and J. + Boydell, London, 1808. + Copy in N. Y. Public Library. + A Collection of prints from pictures painted for the purpose of + illustrating the dramatic works of Shakespeare, by the artists + of Great Britain. London ... 1803, 2 vols. in one, atlas folio. + There are many copies in the U. S. and there is also an American + reprint with letterpress explanatory of the plates. + +Dessoir, M. K. P. Moritz als Aesthetiker. + +Dobson, Austin. William Hogarth, New York and London, 1907. + +Engel, J. J. Ideen zu einer Mimik, 1848. + +Engel. Angelika Kaufmann, 1903. + +Fiorillo, J. D. Geschichte der zeichnenden Künste, etc. Bd. V. + Geschichte der Malerei in Grossbrittanien. Göttingen, 1808. + +Forster, Georg. Sämmtliche Schriften, III. Leipzig, 1843. + +Friessen, H. von. Ludwig Tieck. Erinnerungen eines alten + Freundes. Wien, 1872. + +Göttingen. Anzeigen für Gelehrte Sachen, etc. The volumes from + 1791 to 1803 were used. + +Haym, R. Die romantische Schule, 1870. + +Holtei, K. Drei hundert Briefe aus zwei Jahrhunderten, + Hannover, 1872. + +Joachimi-Dege, M. Deutsche Shakspeare-Probleme im XVIII. + Jahrhundert und im Zeitalter der Romantik. Leipzig, 1907. + +Köpke, R. Ludwig Tieck, Leipzig, 1855. + +Minor, J. Friedrich Schlegel. Seine prosaischen + Jugendschriften, Wien 1906. + +Tieck und Wackenroder. Kürschners D. N. L. Bd. 145. + +Moritz, K. P. Ueber die nachahmende Bildung des Schönen. In D. + L. D. + +Reynolds, J. Academy Discourses. Bohn Edition, London, 1846. + +Shakspere, W. The Dramatic Works of William Shakspeare, London, + 1802. + This is the Steevens edition in nine volumes. Copy in New + York Public Library. + +Spooner, Shearjashub. Prospectus for publishing an American + edition of Boydell's illustrations of Shakespeare, N. Y., 1848. + +Sulger-Gebing. Die Brüder A. W. und F. Schlegel und die + bildende Kunst, 1897. + +Sybel. Erinnerungen an F. von Uechtritz. Leipzig, 1884. + +Volbehr. Goethe und die bildende Kunst, 1897. + +Walzel, O. F. Friedrich Schlegel's Briefe an seinen Bruder + August Wilhelm. Berlin, 1890. + +Wietenkampf, F. How to appreciate prints. New York, 1908. + +Zelak. Tieck und Shakspere. Tarnopol, 1900. + + + * * * * * + +Transcriber's Notes + +There is much idiosyncratic spelling in both English and German. This +has been retained, apart from the following four typos: + +page 15 "sehn" amended to "sehr"; + +page 30 "obobserver" amended to "observer"; + +page 40 "int he" amended to "in the"; + +page 54 "Grossbittanien" amended to "Grossbrittanien". + +On page 32, the typo "est giebt" has been left unchanged: it could be +either "es giebt" or "erst giebt" (more likely). + +Also on p. 32 "zu grob ist" should probably be "zu groß ist", but has +been left unchanged, as the letter ß does not appear elsewhere in the +text. + +Three obvious errors in punctuation have also been amended, as follows: + +page 12 "page 28." amended to "page 28:"; + +page 34 "darstellen will." amended to "darstellen will,"; + +page 41 Tanzschritt," amended to "Tanzschritt"; + +page 44 "G. G. A.." amended to "G. G. A.,". + +page 48 "in in Das" amended to "in Das". + +Anchors for footnootes 31 and 36 are missing. 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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/34937-0.zip b/34937-0.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..20cfabc --- /dev/null +++ b/34937-0.zip diff --git a/34937-8.txt b/34937-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..caaf076 --- /dev/null +++ b/34937-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2254 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Tieck's Essay on the Boydell Shakspere +Gallery, by George Henry Danton + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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 at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Tieck's Essay on the Boydell Shakspere Gallery + +Author: George Henry Danton + +Release Date: January 12, 2011 [EBook #34937] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BOYDELL SHAKSPERE GALLERY *** + + + + +Produced by Margo Romberg, Karl Eichwalder and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This +book was produced from scanned images of public domain +material from the Google Print project.) + + + + + + + + + + New York University + + OTTENDORFER MEMORIAL SERIES OF + GERMANIC MONOGRAPHS + + No. 3 + + TIECK'S ESSAY + + ON THE + + BOYDELL SHAKSPERE GALLERY + + + BY + + GEORGE HENRY DANTON + + + INDIANAPOLIS + + EDWARD J. HECKER, PRINTER + + 1912 + + + + + This Paper Is Dedicated + To the Memory + of + Oswald Ottendorfer + + + + +PREFACE + + +The material which was originally pland for my monograf in the +Ottendorfer series has since been independently publisht by Steinert in +his dissertation and book on Tieck's color sense and by O. Fischer in an +article, "Ueber Verbindung von Farbe und Klang" in the _Zeitschrift fuer +Æsthetik_. These three works renderd the publication of my material +superfluous, made a change of plan necessary and the result is that my +monograf has been very much delayd in appearing. + +As far as I know, there is no other study of Tieck's first critical +paper. I found it worth while to do this monograf because the comparison +with the original engraving brought out so many interesting facts, threw +light on Tieck's erly critical method, explaind his taste, showd his use +of sources and above all, contradicted the positiv assertion of Haym +that Lessing's influence is nowhere discernible. The meny interesting +facts about the gallery itself that came to light in the course of the +paper, the meny questions about it which I was unable to solv, may +perhaps become the matter of another article. + +The "Gallery" is for us now a revenant of a past and somewhat impossible +generation. A certain air of English commercial roastbeefism clings to +it. It is an England, the art of which knows nothing of Constable and +still less of Turner, an England which loves Shakspere without reading +him--as Tieck suspected--and whose gallofobia does not recognize the det +to France and the French elements in this very series. As an +interpretation of Shakspere, it is no more than on a plane with Colly +Cibber. Tieck saw this and felt it, but could not make clear to himself +what was wrong with it. The plates belong in parlors of the haircloth +age, where indeed, they may still often be found. It is before the day +of the painted snowshovel and the crayon portrait, but the delicacy of +the Adams' decorations has gone out and the new strength of Romanticism +has not come in. There is surely no tuch of the Elizabethan or Jacobean +spirit. + +I wish to take this opportunity to thank the various members of the +staffs of the Stanford University and the Columbia University Libraries, +of the Congressional and New York Public Libraries for their aid; +especially to thank Mr. Weitenkampf for his very great help on technical +matters. Mr. L. L. Mackall also furnisht me with very valuable +information. The paper underwent a most searching criticism at the hands +of Professor Wilkens, of New York University and I wish to express my +especial indetedness to him for his assistance in the matter. To +Professor McLouth my thanks are due for a constant kindly interest in me +as Ottendorfer fellow. Finally, it is a plesant duty to express my +appreciation of the benefits derived from that Fellowship and to thank +the Committee for having made me its third incumbent. + + G. H. D. + Indianapolis, Ind., September, 1911. + + + + + +TIECK'S ESSAY ON THE BOYDELL SHAKSPERE GALLERY + + +Tieck's attack[1] on the Boydell Shakspere Gallery[2] was his first +publisht critical production. It is significant to note that this first +essay in criticism delt both with Shakspere and with art, that is, with +the ruling passion of Tieck's life and with one of the strongest of his +secondary interests. The passion for Shakspere with the concomitant +sense of close personal relationship with him, came to be a major part +of Tieck's being and is clearly indicated even before this article.[3] +Tieck's decided aversion to the English national standpoint toward +Shakspere is strongly exprest in the essay. The man who later vainly +tried to convert Coleridge to a point of view with respect to the +dramatist that was opposed to all that was national and English, does +not, as a mere lad, hesitate to venture his douts as to whether the +English nation is equal to the task of illustrating its greatest +poet.[4] + +These illustrations are known as the Boydell Shakspere Gallery. They +were the idea of the engraver, Alderman John Boydell,[5] who wisht to +set up a great national monument to the genius of Shakspere and, at the +same time, to foster a school of historical painting in a land where +heretofore the portrait alone had attaind to any degree of +excellence.[6] The "Gallery" was begun in 1789 and was completed in +1803. At no sparing of expense to himself--the entire cost was upward of +£100,000--Boydell commissiond some of the best artists and engravers of +the time to portray scenes from all of Shakspere's plays. The oil +paintings, about 100 in number, were to be permanently housd in a +gallery bilt for the purpose in London and were to be bestowd on the +nation as a perpetual memorial to the great playwright's genius. The +Napoleonic wars, "that Gothic and Vandalic revolution," and the deth in +poverty of Boydell, renderd necessary the disposal of the collection by +lottery (1804). The lucky ticket was held by a London connoisseur named +Tassie. At his deth the collection was scatterd, tho subsequently a few +of the pictures were recollected and are now in the Shakspere Memorial +in Stratford.[7] + +The plates from these pictures are, all in all, no better and no worse +than engravings of the day are likely to be. It is illustration work in +which the story interest is the predominant feature. Interpretation of +Shakspere takes precedence over art, and even Boydell places the painter +below the poet and speaks disparagingly of the ability of the former to +understand and to portray. The purposes of the "Gallery" harmonize with +Tieck's point of view and his predilection for the interpretativ in +criticism minimizes the esthetic aspects of his discussion. + +Tieck's essay is in the form of four letters, and was written while he +was a student at the University of Göttingen. It had the approval of his +teacher, Johann Dominik Fiorillo, (himself afterward well-known as the +author of an extensiv history of art,) tho it was not especially written +under Fiorillo's gidance.[8] It was intended, on the surface at least, +as an open and emfatic protest agenst the too lavish praise of the +plates in the journals. The general tone, then, is polemic tho directed +agenst no particular person or article. + +In the preface to his critical works[9] Tieck asserts that the article +is a product of the year 1793 and that it was published in 1794. It +appeared in the _Neue Bibliothek der schoenen Wissenschaften und +freyen Kuenste_, 55ten Bandes zweytes Stück, pages 187-226, which bears +the date 1795,[10] and according to the Messkatalog, did not appear till +Michaelmas of that year.[11] Tieck's memory, therefore, faild him as to +the date of publication and he has also fallen into a slite error, or +rather inaccuracy, in regard to the time of origin. The article could +not have been completed within the calendar year 1793, because a number +of the plates that Tieck discusses are dated December 24, 1793, and +could hardly hav got to the continent in the same year. While it may be +possible that the plates were postdated, there is no evidence of such +fact at hand. Moreover, the "Gallery" was reviewd in the _Goettinger +Gelehrte Anzeigen_ under dates about six months after the appearance of +the individual plates in England and these reviews, as will be shown +hereafter, were extensivly used by Tieck. In these reviews, the plates +are always spoken of as recently arrived. The prints were issued +regularly to the subscribers, of whom the University, according to the +Ms. catalog in the Boston Public Library, was one.[12] It is hardly to +be supposd that the young student would have erlier access to the +pictures than the reviewer for the semi-official university publication. +This reviewer was Heyne[13] who afterward mediated the publication of +Tieck's article. The article was no dout written before Tieck settled in +Berlin in the Fall of 1794 but its writing went out over the confines of +1793. The next series of plates appeard in June, 1794, and is not +included in Tieck's article, tho this is no proof that the article was +completed before June, since the plates probably did not arrive in +Germany till well in the Summer. + +Tieck's essay has been almost entirely neglected by Tieck scholars. It +is not a great piece of constructiv criticism, nor can it be said to +contain the ripe judgments of a mature mind. It is, however, a fresh +and, on the whole, convincing analysis of the plates and as such +deserves a careful examination. It will be seen that the article has a +very definit foundation in preceding criticism but that Tieck, tho +borrowing freely from one source at least, namely the _Goettinger +Gelehrte Anzeigen_, has not slavishly plagiarized nor has he been servil +in his adoption of the ideas of others. And it is also worth noting that +Tieck's criticism was regarded as sufficiently authorativ by Fiorillo to +have been used as a partial source for the latter's critique of the +Boydell plates. + +Tieck claims that the praise of the "Gallery" in the contemporary +magazines is excessiv. This claim is exaggerated. Meny important +magazines do not discuss the plates even where there was an excellent +opportunity. So, for example, Wieland's _Mercur_ and Nicolai's +_Allgemeine deutsche Bibliothek_ do not mention them, tho from time to +time engravings from other contemporary paintings are discust. For +instance, Nicolai's journal has one long discussion of the state of +contemporary art, especially of engraving (No. 110, 1792) but omits all +reference to the Boydell series. The criticism in Meusel's _Museum fuer +Kuenstler_ is on the whole, destructiv. One discussion, for example, +(No. IV, page 99) is a violent attack on engraving in general and calls +the "Gallery," "Diese die Malerei zu grunde richtende Gelegenheit," and +condems the "Krämergeist" at the bottom of the enterprize. The value of +line in engraving is, however, pointed out, and Bartolozzi and Ryland, +who had but little to do with the series are faintly praisd. Other +mention in Meusel's magazines is either entirely unoriginal summary +(_Museum_, VI, 352) or mere cursory comment (_Miscellaneen_, Stück 30.) +The articles on caricature (Neue _Miscellaneen_ X., 154 and Archiv I, +66) are so late that they cannot be taken into consideration in +connection with Tieck's paper. + +With the _Goettinger Gelehrte Anzeigen_ the case is different.[14] +Tieck saw and used its articles as a basis for his work, tho the credit +of having written the first connected essay from a single viewpoint +belongs to him. The not over laudatory criticisms of the _Anzeigen_ are +often paralel, even down to the wording of details with Tieck's +judgments, but it would be a mistake to suppose that Tieck used the +articles without having seen the engravings and without having given the +pictures careful consideration. The fact that Tieck follows the errors +of the _Anzeigen_ is significant, but it is equally significant that he +corrects the errors of the magazine from his stock of observd judgments. +Generally, where Tieck follows the _Anzeigen_ most closely he is at his +worst. The somewhat superficial and scanty remarks of the journal were +no surrogate for the clear vision and power of adaptibility of the young +man. Tieck's personal regard for Shakspere, which amounted to a real +passion, was entirely wanting. + +The use of the articles in the _Anzeigen_ must be shown in detail, and +Tieck's indetedness must be definitly brought out. Paralels will +sometimes show convergence and sometimes divergence of ideas, but in +general it will be seen that Tieck practically never used his material +without some personal addition. + +There is one set of cases which is peculiar and which deservs special +attention. The plates in question are: "Much Ado," III, 1, ditto IV, 2, +and "As You Like It," last scene. + +A word of explanation in regard to the Boydell plates is necessary. From +the original paintings there were two sets of plates engraved, known as +the large plates (L) and the small plates (S). The small plates were in +all but a few cases done from different pictures than were the large +ones. These large plates are those usually known as the Boydell Gallery. +Both sets were issued serially; the large set was also bound and issued +as a separate volume in 1803, and the small plates were used as +illustrations for the Steevens Shakspere edition of 1802, the letter +press of which also seems to have been issued in parts before the bound +volumes were finally put on the market. The bulk of Tieck's criticisms +applies to the large plates tho he has a few remarks on the small ones +as well. When he discusses the small plates, he always mentions the +fact, except in the three cases just cited. These are three of the cases +where L and S coincide in subject matter and where additional S plates +were afterwards printed as a gratuitous gift to the subscribers.[15] +These plates are among the first discust by the _Anzeigen_ (1791, page +1794) which mention the fact of the plates being for the Shakspere +edition, and that the extra plates are to be furnisht to make up for the +duplication of subject matter in these cases of L and S. This is what is +meant by the sentence, "Es wird sogar die Austauschung des einen Kupfers +künftig versprochen," a statement that corresponds perfectly with the +remark in the later Boydell catalog that this promis has been fulfild. +Tieck does not notis this statement of the _Anzeigen_ but treats these S +plates as if they were L, yet gives the names of the engravers of S. +This would look like a clear case of careless copying from the +_Anzeigen_ if it were not clear from the additions that Tieck makes to +the latter's criticism that he saw the plates too. The explanation of +the discrepancy may be that Tieck when he was writing his article +consulted the _Anzeigen_ for the facts in regard to the engravers, did +not notis that the S plates were referd to and carelessly copied down +what he saw. + +I shall now examin in detail some of the paralel criticisms. + +Much Ado, II; 4, G. G. A. 1791, page 1794: ... "wo in der Trauung statt +des Jaworts Pedro die Hero für keine reine Jungfer erklärt, und Hero in +Ohnmacht fällt; ... Das beste Stück von allen in Rücksicht der +Composition, Ausdrucks und Auswahl des Lichtes nur ist die Stellung der +Hauptperson ein wenig zu theatralisch; sonst aber alles gut geordnet; +schöne Contraste von Licht und Ruhe für das Auge." + +Tieck, page 19: "Das zweite Blatt enthält die Vertossung der Hero ... +und dies ist offenbar eines der vorzüglichsten. Das Licht ist sehr gut +geordnet, das Auge findet sogleich unter den Gruppen einen Ruhepunkt; +nur hat Hamilton dem Claudio eine zu theatralische Stellung und dem +Leonato zu wenig Ausdruck gegeben." + +Tieck carries the praise of the _Anzeigen_, the "Das beste Stück" of +which refers only to the group under immediate discussion, to the whole +series. He takes his main critical vocabulary from the prototype and +adds the original differentiation of Claudio and Leonato to which +reference must be made later. + +"Much Ado," IV, 2; G. G. A., 1791, page 1794: ... "ein Gemisch von +verkrüppelten, unedeln Caricaturen ohne alle Grazie ... Zu bedauren ist +die Kunst, die an den Stich verwendet ist; denn der Stich ist einer der +besten." Tieck's criticism of this plate is paralel in so far as he +praises the mechanical perfection of the engraver, who is Heath of S, +and not Simon of L. So far we have the blind following of the model. But +Tieck also makes the picture a basis for a long discussion of caricature +and of thoro condemnation of Smirke, who is also no favorit of the +_Anzeigen_. As Tieck's letters show a profuse use of the word +caricature, he need not be especially indeted to the _Anzeigen_ for it. + +"Richard III," I, 1, G. G. A., 1791, page 1795. Here Tieck's borrowing +is direct. G. G. A.: "Eine schlechte Composition, ohne Ausdruck." Tieck, +page 27: "Die Composition ist schlecht, alle Figuren sind ohne +Ausdruck." G. G. A.: "Eine Menge Reflexe, Wiederscheine s. w. aber alles +dieses macht keine Wirkung, und das Auge findet keinen Ruhepunkt." +Tieck, page 28: "und sucht durch unendlich viele Wiederscheine ... dass +das Auge bei den vielen Lichtmassen gar keine Ruhe findet." But again, +besides these verbal and associational paralels, Tieck has added a free +treatment of the composition, an examination of the drawing of the +figures, of which there is no hint in the model and, all in all, makes +the criticism his own. The impulse certainly came from the _Anzeigen_, +but the whole critique is a product of Tieck's self. + +"Richard III," IV, 3, G. G. A., 1791, page 1795: "Stellung gezwungen." +Tieck, page 28: "Der Mörder unnatürlich." Here Tieck borrowed the idea +and after an examination of the plate changed the wording. + +"As You Like It," II, 1, G. G. A., 1793, page 561: "Ein treffliches +Landschaftsgemälde." Tieck, page 18: "die reizende Landschaft." An +examination of the whole of Tieck's criticism shows that he has added a +characterization of Jacques, has discust the choice of this particular +subject, and in this connection shows especially that the plate under +discussion is only a vignette to the plays and not a part of the real +play itself. + +"As You Like It," last scene, G. G. A., 1793, pages 561-2: "Orlando, der +mit zeimleich ausgespreizeten Beinen." Tieck, page 18: "Seine +augespreizten Beine machen ihn widrig." Here Tieck has taken an +externality of the description and has given it a point. The use of the +word "widrig" gives a new tuch. + +"Romeo and Juliet," I, 5, G. G. A.: "die Hauptfiguren muss man suchen." +Tieck, page 29: "Die Hauptfiguren findet man nur mit einiger Mühe." +Notis, however, how Tieck then goes on independently to giv his own +point: "den Vater der Julie kann man nur errathen; Julie selbst hat +wenig Character. Tybald ist die ausdruckvollste Figur auf diesem +Blatte." Tieck also quotes in full the passage beginning, "If I profane +with my unworthy hand" which the _Anzeigen_ only indicates. This might +be laid to yuthful pedantry, were the whole not made far clearer for the +entire citation. + +"Romeo and Juliet," IV, 5, G. G. A., 562: "Julia nach genommenem +Schlaftrunk für todt gehalten, mit den Worten des Mönchs: Peace ho for +shame! ff. Dieser tröstend, die Mutter die Hände ringend, Paris Julien +umfassend, ein Stück mit vielem Affect" ... Tieck, page 30: "Julie hat +den Schlaftrunk genommen und scheint gestorben, ihre Aeltern sowie ihr +Bräutigam Paris sind in Verzweifelung, der Pater sucht Alle zu trösten." +In the discussion of the small plate which follows, the _Anzeigen_ +points out the changes which have been made on it, this being one of the +supplementary small plates for the 1802 text edition. Tieck also notises +the fact of the change but that he took his information not only from +the _Anzeigen_ but from an examination of the original is proved by his +additions to the information of the _Anzeigen_. Tieck's comment is, +"Mehrere unnütze Personen weggelassen." This reason goes at least one +step farther than the _Anzeigen_ comment. In the magazine, the effect of +the double light in L is adversly criticized. Tieck adds to this, "Der +alte Capulet hat auf beiden Blättern wenig Ausdruck." That both Tieck +and the magazine use the fraze "tut ... Wirkung" in this place seems of +secondary importance. A mere linguistic reminiscence, where it is not +connected with an idea, is not influence. This must be sought in basic +ideas, in hints which point the way for new lines of thought, in an +adoption of facts. An author like Tieck shows independence when he adds, +eliminates and remolds what he receives, even tho the form of the +thought clings often to him. + +So, then, when the _Anzeigen_ (1793, page 562) has the fraze "Julie in +dem Grabgewölbe erwachend," the fact that Tieck (page 30) introduces his +criticism with the words, "Julie erwacht, als der Mönch eben in das +Gewölbe tritt," is of slite consequence. This is a simple description of +fact. Of much more importance is the fact that the magazine goes on to +point out that not nature but the stage should be the model for the +painter in this case, a doctrin which Tieck not only does not mention, +but in fact, utterly rejects when the time comes to discuss it in the +course of the treatment. + +In the criticism of Schiavonetti's plate after Angelica Kaufmann (G. G. +A., 1793, page 903; Tieck, pages 16-17) Tieck agrees with the _Anzeigen_ +but is thoroly independent in his resoning and adds constantly to what +the magazine asserts. That both find the disguisd Julia beautiful is not +unresonable, and as the disguise is a part of the play it is not strange +that Tieck mentions it. In the same section of the magazine is a passage +which finds a later echo in Tieck. "König Lear reisst sich die Kleider +vom Leibe" (903). Tieck (32): "und reisst sich endlich die Kleider ab." +The verbal paralelism has significance here only because there are other +hints at this time which may hav aided Tieck: e. g., the fact that the +artist has departed from the scene as Shakspere portrayd it. Tieck is +definit in stating just who is added, which proves that he knew his +Shakspere and saw the plate. Tieck also points out the spiritual +difference between Shakspere and the "famous West," a distinct addition +to the matter in the _Anzeigen_. "Winter's Tale," II, 3, G. G. A., 1794, +page 9: "Der eifersüchtige Leontes lässt den Antigonous bey seinem ihm +vorgehalten Schwerte schwören, dass er das Kind, das ihm seine Gemahlin +geboren hatte, in eine Einöde aussetzen will. Sind gemeine Figuren." +Notis how in Tieck, while the general terms of the description are the +same, because following the line of least resistance in externalities, +the whole discussion takes on an individual character, and is expanded +into a critique of Opie's drawing which was always unsatisfactory to +Tieck. Tieck (page 21): "Der eifersüchtige Leontes lässt den Antigonus +schwören, das Kind auszusetzen.... An den Darstellungen aus diesem +Stücke ist viel zu tadeln, vorzüglich an dieser ersten Scene. Leontes, +die Hauptperson, ist steif und ohne allen Ausdruck, alle übrigen +Personen sind dick und plump gezeichnet und ganz ohne alle Bedeutung. +Leontes lässt den Antigonus, so wie Hamlet seine Gefährten, bei seinem +Schwerte schwören. Schauspieler und Zeichner aber fehlen, wenn sie es so +vorstellen, wie Opie es hier gethan hat. Die alten Schwerter bilden oben +am Griffe ein Kreuz und auf dieses legte man die Hand, in Ermangelung +eines eigentlichen Crucifixes.... In diesem Blatte entdecken sich auch +bald viele Fehler in der Zeichnung. Das Auge wird von der Hauptperson +auf die Lichtmasse, folglich, auf das Kind hingezogen; die Hauptfigur +tritt gar nicht genug hervor, sondern hängt mit den hinter ihr stehenden +zusammen; die Köpfe im Hintergrunde sind eben so gross, wie die der +vorderen Personen. Alles verräth den ungeübten Künstler." As an example +of Tieck's rejection of the opinion of the G. G. A., the discussion of +"Winter's Tale," V, 3, will suffice. This is the statue scene which +Tieck absolutely condems on account of poor engraving, expression and +posing. Where the magazine says "Die Statue, der man es doch sehr gut +ansieht, das es eine lebende Figur ist, macht grosse Wirkung." Tieck +(22) contradicts thus: "Die Statue ist sehr unnatürlich, sie sieht mehr +einem Geiste, als einem Menschen ähnlich." + +There are, finally, three further cases in which Tieck takes a hint from +the _Anzeigen_ and develops it. "2 Henry VI," III, 3, (1794, page 10): +"Kardinal Beauford ... ein scheuslicher Anblick, in mehr als einem +Verstande." Tieck (page 25): "Dieses abscheuliche Blatt." But Tieck, in +a passage too long to quote, goes on to giv cogent reasons for not +liking the picture, not one of which is derived from the _Anzeigen_. The +other passages from the "Merry Wives" (I, 1 and II, 1, G. G. A., 1794, +page 970; Tieck, 11-12) take the hint that Smirke drew caricatures and +not human beings and borrow the adjectiv "widrig." With this slender +borrowing Tieck develops a full discussion of Smirke and of these +plates with no further assistance from the _Anzeigen_ than a hint on the +engraving of textiles. + +These passages on "Henry VI" and on the "Merry Wives" are doubly +interesting, however, because they show that Tieck's judgment of Smirke +and Northcote offers a very close paralel to that of the magazine. +Tieck's reasons are fuller, but they show no more ability in Tieck than +in the reviewer of the _Anzeigen_ to understand some of the most +characteristic features of English humor as exemplified in Smirke, while +the pupil and biografer of Sir Joshua fares badly because of his alleged +bad composition and poor light effects. It will be shown later that on +both of these latter questions Tieck held views quite independent of the +_Anzeigen_. + +Of Kirk's plate from "Titus Adronicus" the G. G. A., 1794, page 970, +says, "Den Ausdruck an der Lavinia abgerechnet ein gut Stück." Tieck +(28) begins with a weak, "an dem Blatte ... ist vielleicht viel zu loben +und wenig zu tadeln" but "rights himself like a soldier" thus, "Man +sieht, dass der Künstler eine sehr richtige Idee von der Composition +hat, und dass er seinem Gegenstand mit Geschmack und Delicatesse zu +behandeln weiss. Er lässt uns die abgeschnittenen Arme der Lavinia nur +vermuthen; der geschickt geworfene Schleier entzieht unserm Auge den +unangenehmen Anblick," etc. + +The examples and paralels alredy given cover practically all of the +points of similarity between Tieck and his model. They show that Tieck +used the _Anzeigen_ constantly and minutely but they can not fail to +impress the reader with the fact that Tieck invariably rises above the +plane of the jottings in the magazine in form and in substance. The +content of Tieck's criticisms is very much greater than that of his +prototype and the form is far more polisht. These apercus of Heyne did +not prevent Tieck's independent thinking; they never fettered him. He +followd them in a number of places in his paper and once or twice falls +into their error thru youthful carelessness or misapprehension. They did +not often confuse his judgment or hamper his vision. He never ruthlessly +plagiarizd them. That they were a source can not be denied, but that +they form the real basis of Tieck's critique is not for a moment +tenable. This came unquestionably from himself, and he must be given +credit or blame for the good or bad in it. + +Tieck set about the task of criticising the "Boydell Gallery" with no +diffidence, but with many misgivings, amounting almost to prejudises, as +to the valu of the set of plates. He was aware that this work was +intrinsically in a class which is, all in all, artistically inferior. +His judgments are objectiv, but they promis no prescience of a higher, a +more spiritual attitude toward art. Art in this case servs +interpretation and the struggle away from what the plates represent has +hardly commenced. Tieck feels that the whole group does not do Shakspere +justis, but he nowhere says that the subjectiv interpretation of the +poet must remain the lasting one for the individual; indeed he asserts +quite the contrary on the very first page of his paper. It is to be +expected that Tieck's common sense and fancy should rebel at the +platitudinarianism of the pictures; that at times he is no more than on +the plane of the sentimental "Enlightenment" is also to be expected. The +valu of the study is in such harsh negativ criticism as it exercises +where emfasis is false or where bad taste prevails in the performance of +the artists' task. + +Tieck came to the work with a good first-hand knowledge of Shakspere and +this lessens the juvenile and jejune qualities of his work. He is weaker +on the comedies than on the trajedies, for the former require a keener +sensing of English life than it was possible for Tieck to hav obtaind at +the time of writing. But even for the comedies, some of his observations +are very just and show that he could interpret Shakspere with sense and +precision. The present discussion will attempt to find out by a careful +examination of the plates just what Tieck saw in these pictures and how +far his interpretation was right. The results should show, in a general +way, something of the powers of interpretation possest by the youthful +Tieck, and how this power of interpretation conditiond his judgments. + +The general theoretical standpoint upon which the essay was written is +that of Lessing, and a careful perusal will show that Haym was wrong +when he postulated no Lessing influence on the article.[16] Tieck's +letters to Wackenroder show that he was reading the Laokoon at this +time, but even if a preoccupation with Lessing were not easily +postulable, the matter of the paper itself will show a distinct +recrudescence of Lessing's ideas. And not only Lessing, but the school +of critics out of which Lessing arose, e. g., Winkelmann and DuBos, +were also a part of Tieck's reading.[17] + +The article has a total lack of coloristic reflexes; it emfasizes form, +if not line; its thoro reasonableness takes into consideration all that +Lessing has stood for in the domain of art. It has the same standpoint +as that of a Goethe returnd from Italy and of a Karl Philipp Moritz from +whom, to be sure, Tieck was turning away in disgust.[18] + +The article fails to solv the problem in Tieck's mind of reconciling his +natural desire away from the regulated and calm with the current and +traditional in British art. The conflict is between a desire in theory +for moderated effects, for the toning down of emotion, and a desire, in +practis, for strong contrast and superlativ effects. Lessing, in art the +enemy of all realism, finds in Tieck a condemer of Hogarth, a +condemnation that persists in Tieck as late as the essay on the erly +English Theater (1828),[19] and persists on grounds similar to the +fundamental principle of beauty laid down by Lessing. + +It would be a mistake to argu from the foregoing that in this article +Tieck was not a realist, or at least strongly inclined toward realism in +his practis. His realism was that of the yung enthusiast for whom each +variation from the sense of his idol was a blasfemy, and he points out +(page 24) that there can be none of that deception of the senses which +is a part of the pictorial arts where "ich irgend eine auffallende +Unnatürlichkeit entdecke; denn die Nachahmung der Natur ist der Zweck +des Künstlers." Such strict imitation of nature is more to be expected, +to be sure, in the work of the lesser lights, such as are the men who +did the pictures for the "Gallery," than in the work of a real genius, +and one is glad to overlook, in the works of the latter, those minor +faults which almost entirely disappear in the face of a thousand +beauties. So, says Tieck (page 14) "who would pass by the divine +masterpieces of a Rafael and yet with weighty mien find fault with the +bad coloring of a single garment?" There are clearly two kinds of +artist. The one is the genius who may be carried too far by his +enthusiasm, the other is the colder painter, who by his choice of +subject, composition, correctness of drawing, and grace must make up for +his lack of genius, and who can not hope to attain the emotional effects +of his rival, but who must be content to arouse a cooler feeling, that +is, the satisfaction of the spectator. In this series, where genius is +excluded from the outset, Tieck expects a strict adherence to fact, to +verisimilitude, and the correct interpretation of Shakspere must be +insisted on. + +In order that the soul may get an immediate enjoyment of the work of +art, Tieck recommends (page 4) that the painter choose well-known +subjects. He says: "The soul passes immediately to the enjoyment of the +work of art and curiosity does not stand in the way of his enjoyment as +in the case of obscure or unknown subjects. I am alredy prepared for the +sentiment that the work of art is to arouse in me, and surrender myself +all the more willingly to the illusion. If the subject of the picture is +in itself beautiful and sublime, or if a great poet has furnisht the +painter with the invention, the composition and the emotions, our +enthusiasm is arousd, we giv our wonder and our delight to the painter." + +The painter, then, is only an interpreter of the poet, whose purpose it +is to seize the spirit of the poet, to portray those fine and spiritual +ideas which only a related genius can grasp and make concrete by an +appeal to the senses thru color-magic[20] the intangible creations of +the poet's brain. He makes lasting what the reader gets but a fleeting +glimpse of, and what even the actor can giv but little permanence (page +3).[21] + +Whether or not Tieck was influenced by the prospectus to the set, +indeed, whether he saw it or not, there is no way of knowing, but his +statement that these pictures in their entirety will form a national +gallery of historical paintings which will drive the scenes from Greek +mythology out of England, is much like Boydell's own statement of +purpose mentiond above. It is also an erly paralel to the Romantic +insistence on a new mythology, a nativ mythology, rather than one drawn +from foren sources which was a part of Friedrich Schlegel's canon. + +The engravings as such are treated by Tieck under five different heds. +These are: the mechanical technique, drawing with perspectiv and line, +composition (which Tieck does not clearly differentiate from design), +expression and choice of subject. These five heds comprize all the +points in which the pictures are treated, but not each picture is +treated from all five. The five giv, however, the full range of Tieck's +ideas on the engravings. They show the things that attracted his +attention, and where the influence of the _Anzeigen_ is felt, they serv +to show how different, after all, his own ideas were. Often the magazine +does not tuch one or more points of the five. + +Tieck's discussion of the technique of the engravings is, as may be +expected, rather thin, and the frazes that he uses are stereotyped. +Several of the plates praisd by him are quite without merit and such +generalities as, "schön gestochen," "vorzüglich," "vortrefflich gut," +are not very significant. Negativ praise like "nichts zu tadeln" or "die +Ausführung verdient alles Lob" show that on technical points Tieck was +judging very superficially and that his attention to the "Gallery" had +been attracted by something else than the perfection of the plates. + +These engravings are in the now old-fashiond stipple, tho parts of them +are in line. At the time of writing, Tieck may not hav known the +difference between line and stipple, tho in "Zerbino" a reference to the +"pointed manner," used in a punning way, shows that by that time Tieck +had become acquainted with it.[22] Nor does Tieck indicate in any way +the "Gallery's" sparing use of the increasingly popular mezzotint. He +makes no mention of the line manner of Flaxman, if he knew him. He does +not see that the line engravings in the set are poorer all thru than the +stipple prints, and that in some of the line plates the cutting is so +deep and the execution so clumsy that the resulting plates are muddy and +crude and are lacking in tone, grace, and even in exactness of +execution. + +In one or two places where satin is excellently reproduced, Tieck +praises the texture of the fabrics. The large plate by Simon from the +"Merry Wives" has a wonderful lace apron which a recent writer on +engraving has cald one of the best examples of the stipple manner.[23] +As Tieck refers to the other fabrics on the plate, which is one of those +with duplicated subject and which in the _Anzeigen_ seems only to hav +been discust in the S form, it seems clear that Tieck also saw L here, +as S is by no means so fine a plate; in fact L has the best fabrics in +the series. + +Of the twenty-four large plates discust by Tieck, there are only +thirteen which receive technical criticisms and of these thirteen, three +are lumpt together under one comment so that in all there are only ten +separate technical criticisms. Of these, six occur in the first six +plates and with the eighteenth plate, Kirk's scene from "Titus +Andronicus," the criticism of the mechanical side ends with a weak, +"sehr gut gestochen," showing that Tieck did not progress in his +technical criticisms. His interest in the engravings as engravings waned +as the essay proceeded: it never rose above an attention to textiles +and, even there, Tieck did not see all the finer differentiations of +velvet, chiffon and lace, tho the fine satins distinctly appeald to him. +Perhaps as fair an example as any of his inexactness, is his praise of +the plate from "As You Like It" in which Jacques lies watching the +wounded deer (II, 1). This is one of the poorest of the plates and yet +Tieck says, "Die Ausführung verdient alles Lob." Fittler's plate from +"Winter's Tale" (IV, 2), while weak and without character, is not as bad +either in actual cutting or in general managment, and yet Tieck condems +it unmercifully. So, too, the bad plates by Middiman come in for no +special condemnation from Tieck, tho Middiman is by far the worst +engraver in the series, and is particularly bad after Hodges, the plates +after whom Tieck saw.[24] + +Drawing, as such, fares rather better than engraving, tho less than half +the pictures are criticized from this standpoint. Colorless expressions +like "Keine Fehler" and "Viele Fehler" are not wanting and in many cases +where whole bodies are out of drawing or where individual parts are bad +Tieck has nothing to say. + +It is especially interesting to note that Tieck finds the drawing of +Angelika Kaufmann without error. ("Two Gent. Verona," last scene). Here +he declares that no clumsy clothing conceals the figures, but the lines +are well brought out under the garments. The disguised Julia is at once +recognizable in spite of her masculin attire, and the manner of the +artist is "graziös." An examination of the figure shows that Julia's +figure has something of the immature in it and that the face is rather +boyish. One thinks at once of the somewhat malicious words of Friedrich +Schlegel to his brother, "Wie Angelika Kaufmann, der die Busen und +Hüften, auch immer wie von selbst aus den Fingern quellen." Both Tieck +and Schlegel felt the sensuous charm of the painter whose best known +self-portrait is in the garb of a Vestal Virgin, tho the Schlegels, +like Georg Forster, had no illusions as to the qualities of her art.[25] + +Engravings in stipple emfasize less than line engravings mere questions +of drawing. It is perhaps with some instinctiv feeling for this that +Tieck suggests that one of Hamilton's pictures has been hurt by the bad +engraving, just as certain other plates have gaind thru the engraver +(page 22). The hint for this point came originally from the _Anzeigen_ +but Tieck has developt it. While it is now no longer possible to check +up each plate with its corresponding picture, it is true that the +engravers were relatively better craftsmen, as a rule, than the +painters. In hardly any one case is the painting a sample of the best +work of the artist. Often, as in the case of Sir Joshua Reynolds, the +painting redounds but little to his credit.[26] Where, as in the case of +Barry, Sir Joshua's great rival, the picture is reckond with his +superior work, the only conclusion is that Barry was a very bad artist +and so Tieck considers him. The engravers, on the other hand, had had no +better chance in years to exhibit their art than in this imposing +series, and most of the best names in stipple appear in it. The best +that Tieck does to recognize this fact is in the occasional lament for +the waste of good labor on a bad subject or painting (e. g., page 20). + +Besides having the good feeling for the human form under the garment, as +in the case of the figure of Julia and of those of Mrs. Ford and Mrs. +Page by Smirke, Tieck also criticizes several cases of misdrawing. So, +the clumsy legs of one of Opie's figures are scored and in blaming this +failing of Opie, Tieck hits one of the most pronounced weaknesses of +that artist both in the "Gallery" and in Bell's British Theater. But +Opie, the "Comedy Wonder," is hardly the "ungeübter Künstler" that Tieck +makes him out to be. Here Tieck, following the criticism of the +_Anzeigen_, from which he may have got the hint on Opie's drawing, +develops the criticism too far and goes astray. There is a constant +suspicion that Tieck is trying to master a jargon. + +Often it is a mere chance whether Tieck will see or not see a +peculiarity. Some of the sentimental, foolish, and misdrawn hands escape +his notis, whereas in other cases he criticizes them. + +Perhaps the best example of Tieck's criticism of drawing is that of +Northcote's plate to "Richard III." (III, 1, page 27). He says, "Der +alte Cardinal scheint ganz verzeichnet zu sein, man ist ungewiss, ob er +steht oder kniet: in beiden Fällen ist die Zeichnung fehlerhaft." +Tieck's strictures are correct. The space from the waist down is found +upon examination to be abnormally long for a kneeling person, and +groteskly short for one standing. Tieck's critique is good, for it +points out the error and the reason, and shows that in any case the +alternativ is a bad one. + +Tho Tieck may hav been over-kind to Angelika Kaufmann, he quite agrees +with his contemporaries in the condemnation of another German Swiss +living in England, namely Füessli, whom he calls one of the worst of the +admirers of Michaelangelo. The michaelangelesk school of the day faild +in its expression of great muscular effort, in that it put for strength +distortion and violence. Füessli was one of the most important +adherents, or rather, was the greatest representativ of the fad perhaps +anywhere and seems therby to hav largely incurd the displesure of his +German critics. That Tieck really understood Michaelangelo is shown by +his later article in the "Phantasien über die Kunst." He defends him +from the charge of having drawn to show his knowledge of anatomy and +among other things, exclaims on his "greatness, his wild grace, his +fearful beauty."[27] But Tieck had no use for those of his imitators who +caught only the extravagance of his figures and debased his Titanic +creations into bizarre contortions by over-emfasis on mere muscle. + +That Tieck was not unconscious of the effect of mere line is shown by +his pointing out the unplesantness of the line made by Leontes' figure +in Hamilton's picture of the statu scene from "Winter's Tale." +Awkwardness and violence, anything that savord of "affectation and +bombast," where in Shakspere "power and energy" are found, met Tieck's +disapproval. So this figure of Leontes, so Orlando standing with his +legs far apart, so the faces drawn by Füessli. Wherever there were +violent angles, sharp points and corners, Tieck felt himself ill at +ease. When he saw in some of Füessli's plates faces which giv the +impression of the plaster blocks of the art schools that are used to +draw from the cast, the square chins, the noses, either very pointed or +cut off square, imprest him as repulsivly inhuman. "Widrig, unnatürlich, +abgeschmackt, manierirt," are the terms applied to Füessli's cursing +scene from Lear. + +It would hav been interesting had Tieck seen Füessli's later scenes in +the "Gallery." The Bottom scenes from the "Midsummer Night's Dream" show +that fantastic imagination which was the artist's strong point. All the +forms from the fairy world were there, Moth, Peascod and a welth of +other spirits. There is a distinct appeal to the imagination which +justifies the painter of "Die Nachtmahr," tho the faces of Titania and +Oberon are here too hard and sullen. But the imagination shown has a +curious similarity with the work of Tieck in his later stories such as +"Die Elfen," and which has so warm an afterglow in "Die Vogelscheuche." + +Composition means for Tieck especially order. He has not yet lernd the +principle of triangulation of arrangement enunciated by Caroline in the +"Gemälde" essay in the _Athenaeum_. He expects no more than that the +principle character shall be in an important place in the picture and +insists that the lighting devices serv to throw such personages into +relief. So when the perspectiv is bad it is because of the wrong emfasis +on the principal figures rather than that the harmony of the whole is +disturbed by a wrong arrangement. + +What irritates Tieck especially is an arrangement of figures in the +picture in the regular semi-circle borrowd directly from the theater. +The evil of unnaturalness which such attitudinizing brings with it, is +enhanced by light effects drawn from the same source. So, for example, +where the light is that of a lamp, only so much light as a lamp would +giv, or the effect of natural lamp-light is allowable. If, on the other +hand, the sunlight streams into the room, the source of the sunlight +should be evident as outside the room. Tieck might hav mentiond as an +example of this some of the fine interiors of Pieter De Hoogh. The light +effects should not be harsh but graded down so that no violent light +contrasts occur within the same room. The light, too, should be broken +up, not kept in a mass as if it were a separate entity to be treated +apart from all other objects. + +All this is perfectly resonable and not especially technical. It is +conveyd in stray hints rather than in any set discussion of light +effects in any one place. Often, too, Tieck's dislike for some other +aspect of a painter's work leads him astray on this point. This is tru +in the case of Northcote, whose really good treatment of the high +lights Tieck has in one or two cases entirely overlookt. There seems to +hav been a distinct appeal made, too, by the sheen and glitter of +certain textiles and the scintillating, flickering light of the later +periods of Tieck's work is presaged as erly as this. On the whole, +however, it is not the glitter of the world of out-of-doors, but of the +world of the shut-in, of the world of little things which appeals so +strongly to Tieck and which he treated with such banality in the story +"Ulrich der Empfindsame." + +Thus, Tieck's landscape criticism is very bad and even tho, as has been +pointed out, the basis for his adjectivs lies in the _Anzeigen_ +articles, his expansion beyond them brings no real betterment. In the +plate from "Love's Labor Lost" (IV, 1, page 9), when Tieck was feeling +his way into his subject, his general impression was one of plesure, and +so the landscape is "reizend." In the whole essay, "reizend" is the only +constructiv epithet applied to landscape and it occurs only twice. +Hamilton's landscape is purely conventional and, except for a vista, of +which Tieck was all his life fond, offers nothing to commend it. The +failure of Tieck to judge rightly must be laid at the door of too great +reliance on the _Anzeigen_. + +Tieck criticizes only one other landscape as such, tho in a third case a +landscape background is discust adversly. For the scene from "As You +Like It" in which Jacques watches the wounded deer the term "reizend" +seems quite impossible. Engraved by Middiman after Hodges, a combination +which augurs ill, the scene is without dout the worst in every way that +Tieck saw. The composition is bad: Jacques, a figure without grace of +expression, sprawls in a comedy landscape and the features of the +wounded deer hav a strong Hebraic cast. Here, if ever, the scene is +drawn from the stage and not from nature and stage properties are models +for tree and foliage. When Tieck says that the scene is one to arouse +cheerfulness in the beholder, he is correct but not in the sense that he +ment. The reliance on his source is not enuf to account for his +aberration; the failure to judge aright must be laid at Tieck's door. + +After pointing out the value of the whole, and the effect made by the +light of the torch held by Gloster ("Lear," III, 4), Tieck shows that +this effect, striking as it is, detracts from the unity of the +composition, since it shifts the emfasis from Lear and his pain. Lear, +morover, is not the Lear of Shakspere but a giant, and the effect of +this Herculean form is made further improbable by the exaggeration of +the wind blowing from all directions in the picture and driving the +garments of Lear with it, winding them impossibly about him. The effect +of these draperies, says Tieck, is baroque and there is no thought of +quiet strength or noble simplicity.[28] + +In the composition of this picture Tieck also notises that the figure of +Edgar is practically the same as that of a figure in West's Deth of +General Wolf. A comparison with the latter picture at once reveals the +justness of Tieck's observation. The figure of the Indian seated in the +foreground is strikingly like that of Edgar, both in form and in general +expression, and it is evident that West has repeated himself. In +general, Tieck does not make comparisons of this kind. He confines his +remarks to the picture itself, and probably was not well acquainted with +the run of contemporary British art.[29] + +Tieck's judgment of composition did not go far beyond this emfasis on +the principal figure. A general series of colorless frases like "gut +geordnet" occurs, but expresses only a mild acquiescence in the +arrangement. Tieck was fond of the posing sentimentalities of groups +like the landscape plate from "Love's Labor Lost," but he tries hard to +get away from them toward a realism which drew upon actual perception +for its postulates and which was not based upon premises--inadequate for +art--of Shakspere illustration. On the other hand, and here he departs +constantly from the canon of Lessing, there is no striving for abstract +beauty. Charm and grace, beauty in motion as it is exprest by the female +figure in Anne Page and a few other cases, are Tieck's nearest approach +to it.[30] + +The general reason for Tieck's failure is that in actuality these +pictures were not ugly or inartistic to him. Where he criticizes it is +oftenest the idea; the execution and the relation to an abstract +standard are of less consequence, and his theory once more limps behind +his practis. He may berate Hogarth as an artist without beauty but it is +clear that his extoling of Rafael is a mere matter of fashion; he is in +the same category with Domenichino, whom Tieck's generation and the next +succeeding one considerably overestimated. In Michaelangelo, Tieck +knows the strength of the drawing and not the wistfulness that pervades +even the most Titanic of the master's creations. In general, affectation +of pose, mannerism and preciosity are Tieck's bane only where the +sentimental is not concernd. + +An interesting commendation of the composition of a plate is that of +Kirk's picture from "Titus Adronicus" (IV, 1). Tieck likes the plate +because of its taste and delicacy in only suggesting the mutilated arms +of Lavinia. Kirk has avoided the frank naturalism of the original by the +use of draperies, and this appeals to Tieck as a toning down and is in +line with what had been suggested before in regard to Tieck's attitude. + +This plate has an accessory which Tieck objects to, namely the over +large colum in the background. Usually, but not in this case, Tieck +criticises the accessories from the standpoint of the stickler for +historical accuracy, rather than for any artistic merit or demerit. So +the tomb of the Capulets in "Romeo and Juliet" is not Italian of the +period, and the dresses of the women in "Merry Wives" are in violation +of the sumptuary laws of the time.[31] In the deth of Mortimer (1 "Henry +VI.," V, 2) the family tree lying on the ground adds a tuch of symbolism +which Tieck approves, tho in the same scene he criticizes the mean +character of the prison, saying that for such a noble prisoner a better +place of incarceration would hav been found. + +Tieck makes no clear distinction between passing expression (Ausdruck) +and permanency of feature (Miene). His discussion of expression goes +hand in hand with composition, since, as was mentiond above, composition +has so close a relation to the placing of the principal character. There +is a definit point of view, however, in Tieck's discussions of +composition; in his strictures and encomiums on expression of face and +figure it is practically impossible to find a consistent _pou sto_. In +places, his powers of observation seem to hav deserted him and his +lapses are not attributable to a too great leaning on the articles in +the _Anzeigen_. Tieck's theoretical discussion of the common-sense +element in these illustrations may be ever so clear and his demands on +the artist may be ever so high, but his practical application of these +principles is by no means as strict as might be expected. Indeed, in +theory Tieck demands one thing and in practis another. + +It is Tieck's desire that the artist should catch the individual note in +these figures and raise it to an ideal, that he should choose the +expression with care and never sacrifice it to coloring or drapery and +that he should avoid all necessity of using symbols to designate his +characters. But when Tieck actually examins the pictures, he stresses +theatrical pose or mien and pays no attention to those obvious tricks +whereby expression is obtainable: the skilful use of light and shade on +the face, the treatment of the lines of the mouth, and the placing of +the eyes. Occasionally, as in the ball scene in "Romeo and Juliet," it +seems as if the treatment of the eyes of a figure--in this case that of +Tybalt--attracted his attention, but there are so many other plates in +which the eyes are quite as good and are nevertheless past over, that +the instance of Tybalt seems fortuitous. + +Tieck uses the expressions "ohne Ausdruck," "wenig Ausdruck" and "ohne +Charakter," "wenig Charakter" almost exclusively in his negativ +criticism of the plates and his positiv criticism substitutes "viel" for +"wenig." Such frases are not very definit and Tieck misapplies them +constantly. In four out of the five cases of Tieck's largest caption, +"ohne Ausdruck," he is certainly incorrect and the postulation of "wenig +Ausdruck" is wrong in at least two out of the three cases. It is not a +matter of personal opinion nor can it be a difference in point of view +between the twentieth century and the end of the eighteenth. It is +largely bad judgment on Tieck's part. In the three cases where Tieck +sees "vielen Ausdruck" not one is in reality especially distinguisht for +vividness. Two even vie with the most expressionless in feature and hav +no special pretentions to significance of posture. In the five plates +where Tieck uses "ohne Charakter" or "wenig Charakter," the epithets are +in general tru. + +Tieck got the hint for an advers criticism of the faces of Mrs. Ford and +Mrs. Page from the _Anzeigen_. He exclaims, expanding his model, "Welch' +widrige Gesichter! welch' uninteresante Figuren!" There is in the pose +of Mrs. Page a most awkward droop of the neck, but in Mrs. Ford's face +there is a rollicking Irish drollery, a freshness of complexion and a +witchery of the eyes that are quite charming. The painting was by +Peters, whose "sprightly humor" was so much admired by his +contemporaries. + +One of the two pictures of Leontes in the "Winter's Tale" shows his +giving the oath to Antigonous to destroy the child. In Leontes' frowning +face Tieck sees no expression, altho it is unquestionably one of the +most lively of the series. The stiffness of pose that Tieck objects to +in the picture may well be accounted for by the full suit of armor that +Leontes wears. The face is far more expressiv than that of the other +Leontes picture and yet Tieck's judgment on them is the same. + +One of the most striking failures on Tieck's part to see character +interpretation of real subtlety is in Northcote's portrayal of "Richard +III." There can be no dout that Tieck's general dislike of the artist, +which was based on the adverse criticisms of the _Anzeigen_, led his +judgment astray. The face of Richard is all in all the most +characteristic of the series in so far as Tieck saw the series. +Richard's "subtle, false and trecherous" look with the smile of his grim +humor is well caught; the eyes and mouth are excellent and giv a very +adequate idea of the deviltry of the man, of his lewd cunning and his +scheming. What Tieck might well hav objected to is the sentimentalizing +of the two princes whom the artist has transmogrified into fat little +babies, just as in the next picture the two hav become well-fed little +beef-eaters. + +As Tieck fails to see sentimentality in this picture, so he misses +extravagance in the church scene from "Much Ado." Tieck borrowd much in +this discussion from the _Anzeigen_ but his remarks on expression are +his own. He says that Leonato has too little expression. There can be no +dout as to the figure intended for Leonato. Claudio is identified by a +very theatrical gesture and by a Mefistofelian Don Juan behind him. The +fainting Hero, over whom Beatrice is bending, falls into Benedix' arms. +The only other figure, that of an older man, and who therefore cannot be +Benedix, is standing in a most theatrical posture with clencht fists, +eyes upturnd, rigid and ridiculous. If Tieck ment that this figure +should represent Leonato, he has shot wide of the mark in his criticism +and displays a most unrefined love of the melodramatic. Figures like +this are not often found in the "Gallery." Ordinarily excess of +sentiment and a cheap display of emotion giv way to stiffness and +awkwardness. + +Tieck was dissatisfied with all the reproductions of Lear. They hav all +too much of the gigantic, too little of the childish old man. He points +out that the face as drawn by Füessli expresses nothing but rage; the +same exaggeration is found in the drawing of West who sacrifices truth, +nature and emotion to a striking first impression. Barry's Lear only +excites laughter and the lack of expression in the face is made up by +the storm-wind in the hair. Again, however, issu must be taken with +Tieck's attitude, for it is impossible to regard these faces as +expressionless. It is not that they hav too little, but too much, and of +a wrong kind. Tieck nowhere draws the clear distinction and nowhere +makes it evident that he regards "Ausdruck" as a term to be interpreted +in any but a common sense way. + +It seems apparent that those plates which had a certain sentimentality, +a certain saccharin quality appeald to Tieck. He likes the prettiness of +Anne Page and cleverly notes the touch of scorn in her face. If he had +recalled Reynolds' Mrs. Siddons he would hav recognized the same trait +of hardness around the mouth, a line that is often found in the pictures +of English women. Perhaps Tieck's interest went hand in hand with his +enthusiasm for Rafael, and lack of discrimination lets him take all as +of equal value. The face of young Lucius in "Titus Adronicus" and the +face of Juliet in the tomb are examples of this. Tieck argues that the +boy has a good deal of expression, but a cool observer can see only +melodrama in the pose and blankness in the face. The most interesting +thing about the plate has escaped Tieck's attention, namely that both of +Titus' hands are represented. It seems an especially noteworthy omission +in a picture which Tieck praises for not showing the stumps of +Lavinia.[32] + +Tieck several times criticizes a picture for making a good first +impression and then not being able to stand the test of close +observation. An example of this is Northcote's portrayal of Mortimer and +York (1 "Henry VI.," II, 5) which is really spoild according to Tieck by +the strong light masses which at first sight seem very striking. These +light masses throw the main figure into relief, but Tieck objects to the +unnatural posture of the dying man. Close examination of the figure +reveals the fact that Mortimer is really well drawn; the lines of the +drapery distort the general impression, but that part of the drawing +comprising the actual sitting figure is that of a broken old man, fallen +in a heap and dying. Any one who has seen Irving's masterly +representation of the dying Louis cannot but be imprest by the +verisimilitude of Northcote's presentation. What Tieck says of the minor +characters on the plate is true; they are expressionless in the extreme. + +Tieck is fully justified in calling Reynolds' scene from "Henry VI." +"dieses abscheuliche Blatt," where the word "abscheulich" is reminiscent +of the _Anzeigen_. He asks further, "Ist dies der Künstler der Familie +des Ugolino?"[33] With much better right he might hav askt, "Is this the +painter of the 'Age of Innocence' and the man who loved to paint +children?" Both the Shakspere plate and the stiff Ugolino picture +attempt to portray the horrible, and the only other plate that Sir +Joshua did for the "Gallery," namely, the Hecate plate from "Macbeth," +the same selection of a grewsome subject is made. Neither of these +pictures can be sed to conform with Reynolds' well-known doctrin that +the function of art is to arouse the imagination, for in these pictures +there is nothing left for the imagination but exhaustion. They show a +vein of the bizarre without the great fancy of Füessli and are realistic +to a degree that stopt at nothing. It is not to be wonderd at that Tieck +exhausts himself in condemnation of the plate that he saw. + +It is plain that Tieck saw in the plate a caricature and an evasion. The +caricature was the dying man and the evasion was the veild face of the +young king. Tieck felt that the artist had veild the face of his +character to conceal his want of skill in the portrayal of a supreme +moment of emotion. Here Tieck certainly breaks with the doctrin of +Lessing who praised the expedient of Timanthes in veiling the face of +Agamemnon at the sacrifice. Tieck tacitly accuses Reynolds of shirking +an obvious task. He wisht something superlativ, whether in fleeting +expression or in that permanency which is caused by iterativ emotion. +Such a desire, the emfasizing of Shakspere's "Kraft" and "Energie" +leaves him on the plane of the Storm and Stress in his attitude toward +the British poet.[34] If the words of Sir Joshua himself are to be taken +as a criterion, his theory is different from his practis in this case, +and Tieck has condemd him out of his own mouth. + +Beauford, whom Tieck calls a caricature, certainly leaves nothing to +the imagination, as Reynolds wisht for art.[35] Tieck's description of +the figure is apt, "Beauford liegt da, mit den Zähnen grinsend, das Bett +in Verzuckungen kneifend, eine ekelhafte, verzerrte Caricatur, über die +man lachen könnte, wenn sie etwas weniger abscheulich wäre. Genie and +Enthusiasmus können hier die Hand und Kritik unmöglich irre geführt +haben; denn weder das eine, noch der andere gehört dazu, um diese Züge, +diese Umrisse hervorzubringen." + +The word caricature is, even before he found it in the _Anzeigen_, a +term of deepest reproach with Tieck. In his essays to Wackenroder he +says, speaking of a certain actor, "Ich gestehe dass er vielleicht viele +Scenen natürlich und einige komish darstellt, aber nach meinem Urtheil +spielt er in keiner einzigen schön, mit einem Worte, er macht +Carrikatur, und die kann nie schön sein, wenn sie auch noch so vielen +Ausdruck hat. Das Komische und das Schreckhafte gränzen überhaupt +vielleicht näher aneinander, als man glaubt ... Vielleicht ist das wahre +komische Spiel so wie Unzelmann est giebt, alles so leicht, so +übergehend, keine Periode, keine Idee, keine Stellung möglichst +festgehalten, keine Grimasse in Stein verwandelt." + +After pointing out the value of the unspoild taste of childhood in +matters of esthetic judgment, Tieck continues: "Du kannst leicht die +Erfahrung machen, dass Carrikaturen den Kindern nie gefallen, denn sie +erkennen in ihnen nur mit Mühe den Menschen wieder, sie fürchten sie +wirklich; sie können ungleich länger eine andre Figur ohne Ausdruck und +bestimmten Charakter betrachten, ja tagelang darüber brüten, und +Ausdruck und Charakter hineintragen, hundert Träume spinnen sich in +ihrer Seele aus, ... Carrikaturen gefallen überhaupt vielleicht nur +einem kalten nördlichen Volke, dessen Gefühl für den feinen Stachel der +stillen Schönheit zu grob ist, oder die schon die Schule der Schönheit +durchgegangen sind, und deren übersatten Magen nur noch die gewürztesten +Speisen reizen können, die es daher gern sehen, wenn die Schönheit dem +Ausdruck aufgeopfert wird, weil sie in der Schönheit keinen lebenden +Ausdruck mehr finden. Du wirst sehen, dass ich hier nicht bloss von der +komischen Carrikatur spreche, sondern von jedem Ausdruck irgend einer +Leidenschaft, der die Schönheit ausschliesst." He then goes on to +indicate the relation of what he had sed to Lessing and confesses his +indetedness to him in the matter. The highest effects when used in +sculpture and painting are also caricature.[36] + +Paralel to this statement in the letters is the discussion in the essay +of the valu of the comedies of Shakspere over his tragedies as material +for illustration. Tieck says (page 15), "Im Trauerspiele ersteigen +meistentheils gerade die schönsten Scenen eine Höhe des Effects, die der +Maler schwerlich ausdrücken kann, ohne widrig zu werden. Der +Schauspieler verliert schon oft jene Grazie, die jedem Kunstwerke nöthig +ist, wenn er manche Scenen der tragischen Kraft so wiedergeben will, wie +er sie im Dichter findet, doch kann die Mimik hier noch das Unangenehme +vermeiden; der Malerei ist es aber meist unmöglich, denn jene +Verzerrungen, die auf der Bühne nur vorübergehend sind, werden hier +bleibend gemacht; dort erschrecken sie durch ihr plötzliches Entstehen +und Verschwinden, hier werden sie ekelhaft, weil durch das Feststehende +und Bleibende des Widrigen der dargestellte Mensch zum Thier herabsinkt. +Jemehr der Maler den Affekt hinauftreibt, desto mehr nimmt er zugleich +Interesse und Tadel von seinem Helden. Die höchsten Grade des Zorns, der +Wuth oder der Verzweifelung bleiben im Gemälde stets unedel; selbst der +Wahnsinn muss hier mit einer gewissen Schüchternheit auftreten, und im +höchsten Entzücken muss ein sanfter Wiederschein der Melancholie +leuchten." The relation of this to Lessing, both in the "Laokoon" and in +the "Dramaturgie" is at once apparent. + +The dislike for caricature centers around the comic efforts of Smirke +for whom Tieck has hardly a good word to say. In the discussion of +Reynolds' picture, Tieck remarks, half in jest, that he regrets his +strictures on Smirke in the face of this greater caricature by Reynolds. +The sum total of his criticisms of Smirke is unjust: thruout the series +and especially in some of the plates that Tieck saw, this painter has +caught the comic spirit well, and tho overpraisd by his contemporaries, +has done some very clever work both in the "Gallery" and in Bell's +"British Theater."[37] + +Tieck's principal censures are directed against the figure of Simple in +the "Merry Wives" and that of Dogberry in the comic trial in "Much Ado." +Simple is for Tieck neither the character as Shakspere conceived him, +nor is he funny. It is again, says Tieck, a mere exaggeration, +tantamount to a confession of inability. That the spectator cannot laugh +at the character is the artist's greatest punishment; in overstepping +the just limits of the comic and the natural, he has made the figure +insignificant. Unlike Hogarth, says Tieck, Smirke has not the power of +expressing character by means of the distortions of the exterior. To put +an artist below Hogarth is with Tieck to put him very low; in this +respect he stands on the plane of August von Schlegel in the _Athenæum_ +and has not risen to the level of admiration for the Englishman +displayed by Novalis in the "Fragments." + +The best that Tieck can say for the Dogberry scene as a whole is, that +in spite of its exaggerations, it has much comic power. But, he goes on +to explain, it is a far different thing for Smirke to exaggerate than +for Shakspere, for the latter always draws human beings, while the +figures of the former are at times hardly to be distinguisht from apes. + +To a certain extent the figure of Dogberry and more especially the face, +justify Tieck's repugnance. In its way, the face is fully as bad as that +of Reynolds' Beauford. Tieck says, "Selbst ein vertrauter Leser des +Shakspeare findet sich nicht in den hier dargestellen Caricaturen, von +denen die Hauptperson in einer Wuth, die lächerlich sein soll, so +ekelhaft verzerrt wird, dass man nur ungern mit dem Blick auf dieser +Zeichnung verweilt." This is in every respect tru. Smirke has here mist +all the comic elements of the character, and has produced not the +ridiculous malapropian Dogberry but a demoniac grinning mask of a face +and a twisted, distorted and frenzied figure. Tieck proceeds, "Ein +Künstler, der die komischen Scenen des Shakspeare darstellen will, +sollte doch von seinem Dichter so viel gelernt haben, dass dieser seine +Caricaturen nie ohne eine gewisse Portion von phlegmatischer Laune +lässt, die so oft unser Lachen erregt, und aus der blossen Erfahrung +sollte er wissen, dass selbst der lächerlichste Zwerg, wenn er schäumt, +in eben dem Augenblicke aufhört lächerlich zu sein. Jedes Subject hört +auf, komisch zu sein, sobald ich es in einen hohen Grad von Leidenschaft +versetze. Denn das Lächerliche in den Charakteren entsteht gewöhnlich +nur durch die seltsam widersprechende Mischung des Affects und des +inneren Phlegma; wenigstens so hat Shakspeare seine wirklich komischen +Personen gezeichnet. Der Mangel an Genie zeigt sich gewöhnlich in +Uebertreibung und gesuchten Verzerrungen des Körpers."[38] + +The scene from the "Merry Wives" in which Dr. Cajus catechizes William +on his Latin, represents very well the type of scene the choice of which +Tieck condems as unsuited for representation. It is not because there +was something in the humor of them that Tieck did not grasp, but because +he rejects on principle all that is secondary and episodical. Such +scenes as are told and not acted, that is, the epic portions of the +plays, as well as the reflectiv and filosofical portions would hav to be +excluded. It is the fate of the principal characters which is of prime +importance, and the moment must be chosen with their activities in view. +This emfasis on the principal character is also strongly reminiscent of +the doctrin of Lessing's "Dramaturgie." It has been shown how it affects +what Tieck has to say about composition and it is the prime factor in +his feeling for what is the proper moment and subject of representation. + +Some of the scenes which Tieck rejects are Hodges' picture of the +melancholy Jacques, and the murder of the princes in "Richard III." +Neither of these is acted out on the stage. From the "Merry Wives" he +proposes Falstaff's three adventures: the basket scene, the Witch of +Brentford scene and the final torturing of Falstaff by the practical +jokers. These giv a chance for variety of grouping and a gradation of +expression in all the chief characters of the play. The scene in which +the two women read identical letters from Falstaff, Tieck regards as the +worst possible, for reasons that he says he need not recall but which +are obviously those of lack of stress on the main character. + +The scenes that Tieck recommends were actually chosen by the artists +whose work appears later in the series and so Tieck's judgment is, in a +way, confirmd. These scenes are the skeleton of the farce element and +bring out the structure of the Falstaff plot which Tieck evidently +regards as the main theme. It is interesting to note, however, how +little the choice of subject has to do with the artistic merit or +demerit of the plates. The subsequent plates, which would hav fully +satisfied Tieck's requirements as to the moment of presentation are +artistically among the worst in the series. + +The two scenes from "As You Like It" suggested by Tieck, the one where +Adam admonishes Orlando (II, 3) and the scene in the forest where +Orlando enters bearing Adam on his shoulders (II, 7) hav not the same +structural relation to the whole as hav those from the "Merry Wives." +These moments lend themselves very well to representation but are chosen +on another basis of judgment. They show that for Tieck Orlando was of +more importance than Rosalind, for he suggests no scene with her in it +as especially representativ of the play. In the first of these two +scenes, the action has already begun; the scene is the culmination of +the episode containing the first relation of the brothers. It is in +itself not a vital part of the action. The scene in the forest, on the +other hand, has more of the qualities demanded by Tieck: a variety of +characters and an important moment. This is a moment--tho not the +initial one--when Orlando's fortunes mend and he comes to his frends. +The scene in which he first meets the Duke's party is of more +significance. It seems as if the governing principle is contrast rather +than a desire for elucidation of structure in serial arrangment. Orlando +and Adam, ill-fortune and good luck, are juxtaposed. + +Tieck conjectures that the eavesdropping scene from "Much Ado" (III, 1) +is included in the collection because it was played by popular actresses +of the contemporary English stage. Tieck misses the structural +importance of the scene. It is apart of the intrigue; it has a direct +effect on Beatrice who comes from it a changed woman. To Tieck, however, +it ment as little as the similar eavesdropping scene from "Love's Labor +Lost" (IV, 3), in which play he claims there is no suitable scene for +representation. + +The scene from "Winter's Tale" in which Perdita welcomes the disguised +Duke (IV, 3), offering him flowers the while, is condemd in favor of the +one immediately following in which the Duke discloses himself. Here +again Tieck stresses the contrast and wishes a climax, a dramatic +moment. So he praises such scenes as the putting away of Hero at the +altar and the deth of Beauford, however much he derides the execution of +the latter, by Reynolds. + +For the sake of bringing out the wretchedness of this execution, Tieck +points out that tho he has often before bewaild the choice of moment, +he cannot do so in this case for no better could hav been selected. He +details the good points in the scene: "Man denke sich einen Bösewicht +auf dem Todtenbette, den die Verzweifelung wahnsinnig gemacht hat, der +keine Seligkeit hofft; diesen besucht in seiner Todesstunde Heinrich, +der junge gefühlvolle König, ein Schwarmer in der Religion, der von +diesem Anblick auf das tiefste gerührt wird; Warwick und Salisbury, zwei +männliche Krieger, begleiten ihn hierher. Beauford ist die Hauptperson, +alle Zuschauer haben ihre gauze Aufmerksamkeit auf ihn gerichtet. Der +Künstler hätte hier rühren und erschüttern können; ich sehe in Gedanken +den weichen Heinrich Thränen vergiessen, im schönsten Contrast mit dem +Cardinal, der ihn, in der Abwesenheit seines Geistes, kalt und ohne +Bewusstsein anstarrt. Warwick und Salisbury, weniger gerührt, aber doch +interessante Physiognomien, die durch leichtere Nuancen von einander +unterschieden sind. So sehe ich in der Phantasie das schönste tragische +Gemälde ..." + +In "Romeo and Juliet" the choice of the ball scene meets with Tieck's +disapproval. The scene is "Ohne Wirkung." Tieck's main reason why the +scene is not good is that the painter has interpreted literally the +metafor, "My lips two blushing pilgrims stand" and has represented Romeo +in the garb of a pilgrim to correspond to Juliet's anser, "Good +pilgrim." As Tieck rightly points out, there is no need for such a gise. +The choice of the more highly keyd situation at the supposed deth of +Juliet meets with Tieck's approval and shows that where there is a +choice, the emfasis of his selection is apt to be on the superlativ +moment.[39] + +One other idea seems to be in Tieck's mind and it is hard to believe +that he was not unconsciously influenced by the stage presentation of +the plays when formulating it. That is the desire to hav a number of +people in the picture. Nearly all the plates that he condems hav but few +characters and his dictum of variety demands a reasonable number to +choose from. This dramatic point of view is in accord with his attitude +in all other fases of the discussion. It has been pointed out how rarely +the artistic makes the prime appeal to him. + +Tieck's second point in regard to choice of subject is that the comedies +offer a wider field and a better opportunity than the tragedies. The +general basis for this notion is allied to his theory of the +worthlessness of caricature, that is, that there is an exaggeration, an +overacting of the part possible in tragedy that is less likely to occur +in comedy. + +The statement of the evils of exaggeration is very sweeping and includes +in some of its details both comedy and tragedy: "Der dramatische Dichter +hat Momente in seinen Schauspielen, die kein Pinsel oder Griffel jemals +darstellen kann; ich meine jene Sprünge und überraschenden Wendungen des +Affectes, jene fürchterlichen Blitze des Genies, bei denen der Zuschauer +zusammenfährt, wo der Dichter unerwartet durch eine neue verdrängt: +diese Momente sind oft die glänzendsten des Schauspiels, und bei keinem +Dichter finden sie sich so häufig als bei Shakspeare in seinen +Tragödien." Tieck's illustration for this is the passage from Lear +beginning, "No, I will weep no more," etc. He continues, "welcher Maler +wird es wagen, wenn er den Sinn ganz durchdringt, ... diese Stelle auf +die Leinwand zu werfen? So innig diese Verse beim Lesen oder bei der +Darstellung rühren, so frostig würden sie vielleicht als ein Gemälde +dargestellt erscheinen: oder wenn sie auch hier rührten, so würde das +Gemälde doch nie jene Erschütterung in uns erregen, jenes Anschlagen von +hundert Gefühlen. Man würde immer nur den weinenden Lear sehen oder den +erzürnten Vater, der sich zur Kälte zwingt; das Ineinanderschmelzen +dieser beiden Empfindungen, verbunden mit der Verstandesschwäche, die +dem Schmerz endlich ganz erliegt und Wahnsinn wird, wäre selbst ein +Rafael unmöglich: hier steht ein grosser Grenzstein zwischen dem Gebiet +des Malers und des Dichters." + +The result of overstepping these bounds is that the painter is likely to +enter into rivalry with the poet, to feel his lack of ability in the +struggle and to produce empty declamation insted of a work of the +creativ imagination and to offer to the spectator nothing for either +imagination or reason. + +But in the comedies there are many moments which almost force themselves +on the painter. These are scenes in which he can portray the poet just +as he finds him and in which his rivalry is legitimate and, indeed, may +tend to make him surpass the poet. If he can do this it will be by +bringing out more plainly the light shades of the poet's meaning and he +will become a commentator, so to speak, of these. Under such +circumstances, the painter must be very careful to choose just the most +beautiful and most interesting passages. + +The relation to Lessing is again at once clear. The culminating moment +of passion as it appears in the tragedies is not suitable from the +artistic point of view for reproduction but the comedies, from their +admixture of the flegmatic, the almost imperativ concomitant of +Shaksperean humor, tone down this superlativ expression and are +therefore within the pale. How Tieck carries out his theory in practis, +has been sufficiently shown: his love for the sentimental and +melodramatic, for the climatic and striking lead him to neglect his +delimiting theoretical remarks. + +Before leaving the discussion of Tieck's article, it may be well to +compare it with another contemporary treatment of the Boydell Gallery. +This is by the famous traveler and publicist, George Forster. It was +Forster's account which furnisht Fiorillo with much of his data for the +treatment of the "Gallery" in his history of British art, but it is +hardly likely that the account is a source for Tieck. I hav no external +evidence and the internal evidence is entirely negativ. + +If Friedrich Schlegel's estimate of Forster's artistic capabilities be +accepted, it is just such pictures as these, where the social interest +is great and the artistic valu is secondary, that should bring out +Forster's strength of judgment. Forster was also a finely discriminating +amateur, with a decided sense of tactile form based on a sincere love of +Greek art and confirmd by a study of Winkelmann and Lessing, beyond whom +he past in his appreciation of the portrait and the landscape and of the +coloring of the great masters. + +Forster's essay, "Die Kunst und das Zeitalter" (1791), was written about +the time that he saw the Boydell pictures. It shows his attitude toward +Greek art and givs more than a hint of his standards which point so +clearly toward Schiller. His "Ansichten vom Niederrhein," especially the +discussions of the galleries and collections at Düsseldorf, Brussels and +Antwerp fully express his ideas on Dutch and Flemish art, especially +emfasizing the characteristics of Rubens for whose fleshy types Forster +had little use. + +In the discussion of British art which comes as an appendix to the +"Ansichten," Forster includes a rather detaild description of the +Boydell paintings. He did not see the engravings, or rather, his +description is based on the paintings as they hung in the gallery in +Pall Mall and so the material of this sketch in two parts, is in one way +fundamentally different from that of Tieck. All the discussion of +technique in which Tieck was so weak, is entirely lacking in Forster. +His point of view, too, is different. He is the traveld, experienced man +from whose traind eye and broad judgment more may be expected than from +the student Tieck. There is, as Friedrich Schlegel says, an +out-of-doorness in Forster's work that Tieck could never hav had; the +over-emfasis on Shakspere on the part of the latter is only one product +of his inexperience. + +In spite of all this, it is surprizing to find what correspondences +there are between the student Tieck and the more traind Forster. The +latter who knew vastly more of English life than Tieck, fails to +understand it in just those vital points where Tieck went farthest +astray. Smirke and Peters fare badly at his hands, perhaps because of a +certain puritanism in his atitude, or to quote Schlegel, because "Keine +Vollkommenheit der Darstellung konnte ihn mit einem Stoff aussöhnen, der +sein Zartgefühl verletzte, seine Sittlichkeit beleidigte oder seinen +Geist unbefriedigt liess." For this reason he can call one of the Peters +paintings from the "Merry Wives" a brothel (ein Speelhuis) or refer to +the women of that artist as "lockere Nymphen." + +Besides the same general dislike for the caricatures of Smirke that was +noted in all previous instances, there is the usual praise of Hodges, +the usual condemnation of Opie's bad drawing. Füessli, too, comes in for +his share of the blame: "Der Beifall, welchen Füesslis Gemälde in +England erhalten, bezeichnet mehr als alles die Ueberspannung des +dortigen Kunstgeschmacks. Dieser junge Schweizer ... brachte nebst der +Kenntniss akademischer Modelle sein malerisches Kraftgenie mit sich über +das Meer; seiner Phantasie ward es wohl unter wilden Traumgestalten und +Bildern des Ungewöhnlichen. Diese Stimmung ... verführte ihn nur gar zu +bald zu allen Ausschweifungen der Manier. Es ist zwar leicht das +Alltägliche zu vermeiden, indem man Kontorsionen darstellt ..." (page +466). Again: "Es sind nicht Menschen, die dieser Künstler phantasiert, +sondern Ungeheuer in halb menschlicher Gestalt, mit einzeln sehr gross +gezeichneten und sehr verzerrten, verunstalteten Theilen und +Proportionen: ausgerenkte Handgelenke, aus dem Kopfe springende Augen, +Bocksphysiognomien u. s. f...." (page 503). Northcote is damned with the +faint praise "Nicht ohne Verdienst," a frase that clings to the +characterizations of his work from the _Anzeigen_ to Fiorillo. Barry is +shown to lack grace, noble greatness and beauty. His distorted figures +border on caricature and his forms are of giants, colossi. His coloring +is bad in spite of his theoretical knowlege and good drawing. + +Forster sees thru Angelika Kaufmann and Hamilton better than Tieck did. +Hamilton's paintings are "Machwerk" and his figures move in +"Tanzschritt," while Angelika's are hermafroditic (page 501). "Die +deutsche Muse Angelika verbarg die Inkorrektheit und das Einerlei ihrer +allzuschlanken Figuren unter dem Schleier der Grazie und Unschuld" (page +459). + +For Forster, Shakspere is the most logical portrayer of nature that ever +existed; he meets the painter halfway in his work by his excellent +characterization of the salient features of a personage and so givs the +painter sharply defined subjects for his fantasy. For the artists of the +British school this is especially valuable because effect is their +highest aim and beauty only secondary. Extremes of passion, +astonishment, surprize are strivn for. "Sie hascht nach der Wahrheit der +Natur in ihren grässlichen Augenblicken und erlaubt ihrer Phantasie den +verwegenen Flug, nicht in das schöne Feenland des Ideals sondern in die +verbotene Region der Geister und Gespenster." + +But while the general condemnation of British artists shows far more +perspectiv than is found in Tieck, the acquaintance with the details of +Shakspere's plays is never drawn on to point out any defects in choice +of subject matter. Forster can refer to the acted plays from an +experience that was at this time still denied Tieck, but this experience +does not result in any well-defined theory of Shakspere-illustration as +a whole and as we found Tieck to hav. The melancholy Jacques in the +forest is a good scene for Forster, whereas Tieck rejected it as having +no structural relation to the rest of the play. Forster finds it worthy +of portrayal as one of the moments arising from Shakspere's variety of +scene, character and condition of life, to say nothing of the chance to +show the lonesome melancholy stag by the famous animal painter, Gilpin! + +On Reynolds' famous Beauford picture, Tieck and Forster are entirely at +odds. For Tieck the execution is terrible, the choice of subject +satisfactory. For Forster, the choice is inexcusable, the execution in +part masterly; a dying criminal in his last throes seems to Forster an +utterly impossible subject for representation. So with Kirk's picture +from "Titus Adronicus": in spite of the attempt to meliorate the +impression of the butcherd Lavinia, the whole picture remains for +Forster a disgusting sight. The conclusion is obvious: Forster's sense +of delicacy rebeld at the crass and brutal; wildness and terror shockt +him. + +But if Tieck's article compares favorably with Forster's in all points +respecting the "Gallery" itself, it must be confest that the political, +patriotic note, the application to Germany of the principles of national +betterment in art which arose in the mind of Boydell, escape him. He was +not, of course, like Forster, a political writer, and revolutionary +conditions had no immediate interest for him as for the older man. And +so his art criticism does not look forward to Germany as does Forster's +or as does that of a propagandist like Kleist in his _Abendblætter_ +article. Tieck does not rise above the milieu; the "Gallery" offers no +hold with which to test contemporary art in his own land. It is only a +beginning, clearsighted in part and in general sustaind, an ernest of +what the matured criticism of the Romantic school was later on to do. + + + + +NOTES + +[1] Die Kupferstiche nach der Shakspeare-Gallerie in London. Briefe an + einen Freund. 1793. "Kritische Schriften," vol. I, pages 3-34. [Kr. + Sch.] + +[2] For full title, see bibliografy. + +[3] E. g. in the letters. + +[4] Krit. Sch. I, 4. Jean Paul, Titan, I, 42. [Berlin, 1827.] + +[5] 1719-1804. + +[6] Preface to the Prospectus and quoted in the preface to the + "Gallery." + +[7] The facts on the "Gallery" are pretty well scatterd. The + statements in Allibone are not all correct. See Graves, "New + Light on Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery," _Magazine of Art_, vol. + XXI, page 143 ff. For some details as to the disposition of the + pictures, see "Notes and Queries," series 2, vol. VIII, vol. IX, + 313, vol. X, 52. Also Pye, "Patronage of British Art," London, + 1848. + +[8] Preface to critical works. + +[9] Page 7. + +[10] Copy in the Columbia University Library. + +[11] Mr. L. L. Mackall kindly furnisht me with this information. + +[12] This Ms. (79 pp., vellum, quarto) contains the signatures + of all the subscribers or their agents. Romney, Warren Hastings, + Wedgewood, the King, the Queen and the Prince Regent besides a + number of English "persons of quality" are represented. The + poets are conspicuously wanting. The King of England gave the + copy to the University Library. Cp. _Goettinger Gelehrte + Anzeigen_ (G. G. A.) 1791, page 1793; 1793, page 561. + +[13] At least until after the time concerned here. This from + Wüstenfeld on the contributor to the _Anzeigen_ furnisht by + Professor Wilkens. + +[14] The plates which come into consideration and the order in which + they occur in Tieck are as follow: + + "Love's Labor Lost," Tieck, page 9, (1) IV, 1 (G. G. A., 1794, page + 10); (2) IV, 2, small plates; (3) V, 2. + + "Merry Wives of Windsor," Tieck, page 10, I, 1 (G. G. A., 1794, + page 969); page 12, II, 1 (G. G. A., 1794, page 969); page 13 + (G. G. A., page 959); page 13, I, 4; IV, 1, small plates (G. G. + A., 1794, page 970); V, 5. + + "Twelfth Night," II, 3 (G. G. A., 1794, page 970); Tieck, page 15. A + small plate. + + "Two Gent. Verona," Tieck, page 16, Last Scene (G. G. A., 1793, page + 903); 17, IV, 3. Small plate. + + "As You Like It," Tieck, page 17, II, 1 (G. G. A., 1793, page + 561); page 17, last scene (G. G. A., 1793, page 561). + + "Much Ado About Nothing," Tieck, page 19, III, 1 (G. G. A., + 1791, page 1794); IV, 1; IV, 2. + + "Winter's Tale," Tieck, page 21, II, 3 (G. G. A., 1794, page 9); + IV, 3; V, 3; page 22, two small plates (G. G. A., 1794, page + 10). + + I "Henry VI.," Tieck, page 24, II, 5 (G. G. A., 1794, page 970). + + II "Henry VI.," Tieck page 25, III, 3 (G. G. A., 1794, page 10). + + "Richard III.," Tieck, page 27, III, 1 (G. G. A., 1791, page + 1794). + + "Titus Andronicus," Tieck, page 28, IV, 1 (G. G. A., 1794, page + 970); page 29 (G. G. A. 1794, page 970). + + "Romeo and Juliet," Tieck, page 30, I, 5 (G. G. A., 1793, page 561); + IV, 5 (G. G. A. page 561); V, 3 (G. G. A., 1793, page 562). + + "King Lear," Tieck, page 31, I, 1 (G. G. A., 1793, page 903-4); + page 32, III, 4 (G. G. A. 1793, page 904); page 33, last scene + (G. G. A., 1793, page 904); page 34 (G. G. A., 1793, Page 904). + +Tieck mentions in all 39 plates; of these 24 are large plates + and the rest small ones. In only 6 instances does Tieck enter + into even a slite criticism of the small plates. In some cases, + his remarks are so meager that it is only by a comparison with + the original that we can tell what plate he means. + +[15] Boydell's Catalog, page 28 ff. It may be worth while to + mention in this connection that the Catalog has a number of + errors in the list of these supplementary plates. The proof was + red carelessly and the results are jumbled. Only by a careful + comparison with the originals in the 1802 edition, for the + results of which there is no room here, can this be straightend + out. + +[16] "Romantische Schule," page 57-8. + +[17] For possible influence of Du Bos, cf. Tieck's doctrin of + poetry as an imitativ art. Kr. Sch., page 24. See Howard, + _Publications of the Mod. Lang. Assn._, vol. XXII, page 4. The + letters to Wackenroder in Holtei, 300 Briefe, etc. + +[18] Volbehr, Dessoir, Stöcker. D. L. D. + +[19] Kr. Sch. I, 321. It is doutful if Tieck knew any of the + Hogarth Shakspere plates. The dates of issu (Dobson, pp. 310, + 340 ff.) are all later than the writing of the Boydell article. + For Tieck and Hogarth, Köpke, I, page 148. + +[20] Of course the emfasis on color is entirely wanting in the + body of the work. Tieck nowhere in the essay points out how + engraving can suggest color. + +[21] Literary paralels are at once apparent. So, Schiller's + Prolog to "Wallenstein." + +[22] Schriften, vol. X, pages 302-3. + +[23] Weitenkampf, 155. + +[24] One or two actual errors of fact hav crept into the paper. + Kyder for Ryder and Northcate for Northcote. The latter error + and Tieck's Slatbard may hav arisn, as Professor Wilkens + suggested to me, from Tieck's notoriously bad handwriting which + was misinterpreted by the compositor. At any rate, Tieck made no + later effort to correct. The "Rev." before Peters' name misled + both Tieck and Forster into laying too much emfasis on his + sacerdotal function. The G. G. A. calls him a dilettante. + +[25] Walzel, 279; Sulger-Gebing, 41, 154. Engel ("Angelika + Kaufmann," 36, 37, 43) while not denying her preference for this + dress, is of the opinion that it was not suited to her. "Im + Schäferkleide, den Hirtenstab in der Hand, Atlaspantöffelchen an + den Füssen, ein bebändertes Hütchen auf der gepuderten Coiffure, + umgeben von einem Hofstaat schöngeistiger Verehrer und + Verehrerinnen, so hatte sie unzweifelhaft eine weit natürlichere + und tüchtigere Figur gemacht als in der Vestalinnentracht die + sie--das Bregenzerwaldnymphlein--in der Folgezeit zu bevorzugen + pflegte." + +[26] Biografers of Sir Joshua generally agree that his pictures + in this series, with the possible exception of "Puck," are + failures. Boydell paid 400 and 1500 guineas for the two largest + and this was considerd by some an exorbitant price. + +[27] Minor's edition, pages 27, 30. + +[28] There is the possibility of a crude symbolism having been + intended for Shakspere's "Blow, winds," etc. + +[29] The West picture was very popular. Cf. _Teutsche Mercur_, + 1791, pages 445-6, for a criticism of Berger's engraving from + it. + +[30] See, 300 Bfe. page 79. + +[31] This is a difficult point to decide. The citizen class was + limited by such sumptuary laws as is shown by the records, but + most writers agree that the violations were open and common. + +[32] The figure with the helmet is unquestionably that of + Marius, the tribune. He enters from the street and is drest in + street costume. Titus, who has been in the house, wears only a + fillet around his hed. In the play, Marius commands the boy to + stand near him for refuge, but in the picture the moment just + previous is chosen, when the boy is still near his grandfather. + Forster wrongly holds that the helmeted figure is Titus. + +[33] Cf. A. W. v. Schlegel in _Athenæum_, 2, 212, "Man kennt + Reynolds Ugolino aus dem Kupferstiche: es ist ein alter Mann, + der hungert, aber es ist nicht Ugolino." For his criticism of + Boydell, 2, 198. + +[34] Marie Joachimi-Dege has given a very careful account of the + erly Romantic and Storm and Stress attitude toward Shakspere. + Her book needs supplementation thru a study of the Romantic + Shakspere criticism, written from the English point of view. + +[35] In his Academy discourses. Bohn ed., vol. I, page 460 ff. + Reynolds points out that those who praise the "invention" of + Timanthes in the Agamemnon picture hav not been painters but + literary men. They use it as an illustration of their own art. + He says, "I fear that we have but very scanty means of exciting + those powers over the imagination which make so very + considerable and refined a part of poetry. (Cf. Boydell's + preface.) It is a doubt with me if we should even make the + attempt. The chief, if not the only occasion which the painter + has for this artifice, is when the subject is improper to be + more fully represented, either for the sake of decency, or to + avoid what would be disagreeable to be seen; and this is not to + raise or increase the passions, which is the reason given for + this practice, but on the contrary to diminish their effect.... + We cannot ... recommend an undeterminate manner or vague ideas + of any kind, in a complete or finished picture. This notion, + therefore, of leaving anything to the imagination opposes a very + fixed and indispensible rule in our art,--that everything shall + be carefully and distinctly expresst, as if the painter knew, + with correctness and precision, the exact form and character of + whatever is introduced into the picture. This ... must not be + sacrificed ... for uncertain and doubtful beauty which, not + naturally belonging to our art, will probably be sought for + without success." After praising the artifis of Timanthes, + Reynolds goes on to say, "Suppose this method of leaving the + expression of grief to the imagination, to be ... the invention + of the painter and that it deserves all the praise that has been + given to it, it is still a trick that will serve only once; + whoever does it a second time, will not only want novelty, but + will be justly suspected of using artifice to evade + difficulties. If difficulties overcome make a great part of the + merit of Art, difficulties evaded can deserve but little + commendation." Among the names of those who discuss the "trick" + Lessing's is, of course, wanting. Gilray's satirical plate on + Boydell should be compared for this and other points. Copy in N. + Y. Public Library. + +[36] In this connection, the letters mention Engel's + "Mimik"(1785). + +[37] Some of the latter pictures by Smirke are very fine; e. g., + the face of Jessica which justifies the statement of the Dict. + Nat. Biog. that Smirke had "good drawing, refinement, quiet + humor." Bryan has a cooler comment: "Smirke was well spoken of + in the comedy vein." Tieck likes him better in tragedy (page + 34). Fiorillo's comment is "Seit Hogarths Zeiten hat kein + Künstler so viel Charakter oder so viel Ausdruck in seine + Figuren gebracht, noch eine Scene mit so viel echter Laune + bearbeitet." + +[38] To me the Tieck-Schlegel translation of this scene misses + all the best points of the original. To be sure, Tieck had + nothing to do with its translation. (Friesen, I, 136; Sybel, + III, 463 ff). It was not that Tieck was not interested in puns, + altho the Dr. Cajus scene seems uninteresting to him on that + account. Tieck himself made a good many puns. Cf. + "Viehsiognomie," the first lines of his sonnet on the sonnet and + the "gemein" from the _Allgemeine deutsche Bibliothek_ in + "Das jüngste Gericht." His sensing of English puns seems not to + hav been so keen. So in a discussion of Mss. readings toward the + end of the essay on the erly English Theater (Kr. Sch. I, 320) + after calling one faulty reading "Unsinn" he continues, "In + derselben Rede: + + + If you can construe but your doctor's bill + Parse your wife's waiting woman, etc. + + + Parse? Was kann das bedeuten? Pierce ist dem aufmerksamen Auge + leserlich genug." Tieck seems to hav mist the play on the + grammatical idea. To be sure, I hav not seen the Ms., but Tieck + was no very careful reader or copyist. + +[39] This is a scene where Tieck saw both L. and S. There were + two different paintings of the same subject, one with fewer + figures, and Tieck rightly points out that the less crowded one + is the better. One of the engravings is by W. Blake and is not + given in any list of that artist's work. Mr. W. G. Robertson, + the most recent biografer of Blake informs me in a letter that + he does not know it. + + + + +A PARTIAL BIBLIOGRAPHY + + +Athenæum. Eine Zeitschrift von A. W. Schlegel und Friederich + Schlegel, Zweiter Band. Berlin, 1799. + +Boydell, John. + Catalogue of the ... Shakspeare Gallery, London, 1789. The first + edition of the catalog givs the painters' names only: subsequent + editions add the names of the engravers. There are copies of the + various editions in the Columbia, Harvard and New York Public + Libraries. + A Catalogue of Prints ... comprising the stock of J. and J. + Boydell, London, 1808. + Copy in N. Y. Public Library. + A Collection of prints from pictures painted for the purpose of + illustrating the dramatic works of Shakespeare, by the artists + of Great Britain. London ... 1803, 2 vols. in one, atlas folio. + There are many copies in the U. S. and there is also an American + reprint with letterpress explanatory of the plates. + +Dessoir, M. K. P. Moritz als Aesthetiker. + +Dobson, Austin. William Hogarth, New York and London, 1907. + +Engel, J. J. Ideen zu einer Mimik, 1848. + +Engel. Angelika Kaufmann, 1903. + +Fiorillo, J. D. Geschichte der zeichnenden Künste, etc. Bd. V. + Geschichte der Malerei in Grossbrittanien. Göttingen, 1808. + +Forster, Georg. Sämmtliche Schriften, III. Leipzig, 1843. + +Friessen, H. von. Ludwig Tieck. Erinnerungen eines alten + Freundes. Wien, 1872. + +Göttingen. Anzeigen für Gelehrte Sachen, etc. The volumes from + 1791 to 1803 were used. + +Haym, R. Die romantische Schule, 1870. + +Holtei, K. Drei hundert Briefe aus zwei Jahrhunderten, + Hannover, 1872. + +Joachimi-Dege, M. Deutsche Shakspeare-Probleme im XVIII. + Jahrhundert und im Zeitalter der Romantik. Leipzig, 1907. + +Köpke, R. Ludwig Tieck, Leipzig, 1855. + +Minor, J. Friedrich Schlegel. Seine prosaischen + Jugendschriften, Wien 1906. + +Tieck und Wackenroder. Kürschners D. N. L. Bd. 145. + +Moritz, K. P. Ueber die nachahmende Bildung des Schönen. In D. + L. D. + +Reynolds, J. Academy Discourses. Bohn Edition, London, 1846. + +Shakspere, W. The Dramatic Works of William Shakspeare, London, + 1802. + This is the Steevens edition in nine volumes. Copy in New + York Public Library. + +Spooner, Shearjashub. Prospectus for publishing an American + edition of Boydell's illustrations of Shakespeare, N. Y., 1848. + +Sulger-Gebing. Die Brüder A. W. und F. Schlegel und die + bildende Kunst, 1897. + +Sybel. Erinnerungen an F. von Uechtritz. Leipzig, 1884. + +Volbehr. Goethe und die bildende Kunst, 1897. + +Walzel, O. F. Friedrich Schlegel's Briefe an seinen Bruder + August Wilhelm. Berlin, 1890. + +Wietenkampf, F. How to appreciate prints. New York, 1908. + +Zelak. Tieck und Shakspere. Tarnopol, 1900. + + + * * * * * + +Transcriber's Notes + +There is much idiosyncratic spelling in both English and German. This +has been retained, apart from the following four typos: + +page 15 "sehn" amended to "sehr"; + +page 30 "obobserver" amended to "observer"; + +page 40 "int he" amended to "in the"; + +page 54 "Grossbittanien" amended to "Grossbrittanien". + +On page 32, the typo "est giebt" has been left unchanged: it could be +either "es giebt" or "erst giebt" (more likely). + +Also on p. 32 "zu grob ist" should probably be "zu groß ist", but has +been left unchanged, as the letter ß does not appear elsewhere in the +text. + +Three obvious errors in punctuation have also been amended, as follows: + +page 12 "page 28." amended to "page 28:"; + +page 34 "darstellen will." amended to "darstellen will,"; + +page 41 Tanzschritt," amended to "Tanzschritt"; + +page 44 "G. G. A.." amended to "G. G. A.,". + +page 48 "in in Das" amended to "in Das". + +Anchors for footnootes 31 and 36 are missing. 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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 at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Tieck's Essay on the Boydell Shakspere Gallery + +Author: George Henry Danton + +Release Date: January 12, 2011 [EBook #34937] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BOYDELL SHAKSPERE GALLERY *** + + + + +Produced by Margo Romberg, Karl Eichwalder and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This +book was produced from scanned images of public domain +material from the Google Print project.) + + + + + + +</pre> + + + +<!-- Autogenerated TOC. Modify or delete as required. --> +<p> +<a href="#PREFACE"><b>PREFACE</b></a><br /> +<a href="#TIECKS_ESSAY_ON_THE_BOYDELL"><b>TIECK'S ESSAY ON THE BOYDELL SHAKSPERE GALLERY</b></a><br /> +<a href="#NOTES"><b>NOTES</b></a><br /> +<a href="#A_PARTIAL_BIBLIOGRAPHY"><b>A PARTIAL BIBLIOGRAPHY</b></a><br /> +</p> +<!-- End Autogenerated TOC. --> + + + + +<h1>New York University</h1> + +<p class="center">OTTENDORFER MEMORIAL SERIES OF<br /> +GERMANIC MONOGRAPHS</p> + +<p class="center">No. 3<br /></p> + +<h2>TIECK'S ESSAY</h2> + +<p class="center">ON THE</p> + +<h2>BOYDELL SHAKSPERE GALLERY<br /></h2> + +<p class="center">BY<br /></p> + +<h2>GEORGE HENRY DANTON<br /></h2> + +<p class="center">INDIANAPOLIS</p> + +<p class="center">EDWARD J. HECKER, PRINTER</p> + +<p class="center">1912</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p class="center">This Paper Is Dedicated</p> +<p class="center">To the Memory</p> +<p class="center">of</p> +<p class="center">Oswald Ottendorfer</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE</h2> + +<p>The material which was originally pland for my monograf in +the Ottendorfer series has since been independently publisht +by Steinert in his dissertation and book on Tieck's color sense and +by O. Fischer in an article, "Ueber Verbindung von Farbe und +Klang" in the <i>Zeitschrift fuer Æsthetik</i>. These three works +renderd the publication of my material superfluous, made a +change of plan necessary and the result is that my monograf has +been very much delayd in appearing.</p> + +<p>As far as I know, there is no other study of Tieck's first critical +paper. I found it worth while to do this monograf because +the comparison with the original engraving brought out so many +interesting facts, threw light on Tieck's erly critical method, explaind +his taste, showd his use of sources and above all, contradicted +the positiv assertion of Haym that Lessing's influence +is nowhere discernible. The meny interesting facts about the +gallery itself that came to light in the course of the paper, +the meny questions about it which I was unable to solv, may +perhaps become the matter of another article.</p> + +<p>The "Gallery" is for us now a revenant of a past and somewhat +impossible generation. A certain air of English commercial +roastbeefism clings to it. It is an England, the art of which +knows nothing of Constable and still less of Turner, an England +which loves Shakspere without reading him—as Tieck suspected—and +whose gallofobia does not recognize the det to France +and the French elements in this very series. As an interpretation +of Shakspere, it is no more than on a plane with Colly Cibber. +Tieck saw this and felt it, but could not make clear to himself +what was wrong with it. The plates belong in parlors of the +haircloth age, where indeed, they may still often be found. It +is before the day of the painted snowshovel and the crayon portrait, +but the delicacy of the Adams' decorations has gone out +and the new strength of Romanticism has not come in. There +is surely no tuch of the Elizabethan or Jacobean spirit.</p> + +<p>I wish to take this opportunity to thank the various members +of the staffs of the Stanford University and the Columbia University +Libraries, of the Congressional and New York Public<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[P:6]</a></span> +Libraries for their aid; especially to thank Mr. Weitenkampf +for his very great help on technical matters. Mr. L. L. Mackall +also furnisht me with very valuable information. The paper +underwent a most searching criticism at the hands of Professor +Wilkens, of New York University and I wish to express my +especial indetedness to him for his assistance in the matter. +To Professor McLouth my thanks are due for a constant kindly +interest in me as Ottendorfer fellow. Finally, it is a plesant +duty to express my appreciation of the benefits derived from +that Fellowship and to thank the Committee for having made +me its third incumbent. G. H. D.</p> + +<p> + Indianapolis, Ind., September, 1911.<br /> +</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="TIECKS_ESSAY_ON_THE_BOYDELL" id="TIECKS_ESSAY_ON_THE_BOYDELL"></a>TIECK'S ESSAY ON THE BOYDELL</h2> +<h2>SHAKSPERE GALLERY</h2> + + +<p>Tieck's attack<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> on the Boydell Shakspere Gallery<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> was his first +publisht critical production. It is significant to note that +this first essay in criticism delt both with Shakspere and with art, +that is, with the ruling passion of Tieck's life and with one of +the strongest of his secondary interests. The passion for Shakspere +with the concomitant sense of close personal relationship +with him, came to be a major part of Tieck's being and is clearly +indicated even before this article.<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> Tieck's decided aversion to +the English national standpoint toward Shakspere is strongly +exprest in the essay. The man who later vainly tried to convert +Coleridge to a point of view with respect to the dramatist that +was opposed to all that was national and English, does not, as a +mere lad, hesitate to venture his douts as to whether the English +nation is equal to the task of illustrating its greatest poet.<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a></p> + +<p>These illustrations are known as the Boydell Shakspere Gallery. +They were the idea of the engraver, Alderman John Boydell,<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> +who wisht to set up a great national monument to the +genius of Shakspere and, at the same time, to foster a school of +historical painting in a land where heretofore the portrait alone +had attaind to any degree of excellence.<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> The "Gallery" was +begun in 1789 and was completed in 1803. At no sparing of expense +to himself—the entire cost was upward of £100,000—Boydell +commissiond some of the best artists and engravers of the +time to portray scenes from all of Shakspere's plays. The oil +paintings, about 100 in number, were to be permanently housd +in a gallery bilt for the purpose in London and were to be bestowd +on the nation as a perpetual memorial to the great playwright's +genius. The Napoleonic wars, "that Gothic and Vandalic revolution," +and the deth in poverty of Boydell, renderd necessary +the disposal of the collection by lottery (1804). The lucky ticket +was held by a London connoisseur named Tassie. At his deth +the collection was scatterd, tho subsequently a few of the pictures +were recollected and are now in the Shakspere Memorial +in Stratford.<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a></p> + +<p>The plates from these pictures are, all in all, no better and no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[P:8]</a></span> +worse than engravings of the day are likely to be. It is illustration +work in which the story interest is the predominant feature. +Interpretation of Shakspere takes precedence over art, and even +Boydell places the painter below the poet and speaks disparagingly +of the ability of the former to understand and to portray. +The purposes of the "Gallery" harmonize with Tieck's point of +view and his predilection for the interpretativ in criticism minimizes +the esthetic aspects of his discussion.</p> + +<p>Tieck's essay is in the form of four letters, and was written +while he was a student at the University of Göttingen. It had +the approval of his teacher, Johann Dominik Fiorillo, (himself +afterward well-known as the author of an extensiv history of art,) +tho it was not especially written under Fiorillo's gidance.<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> It +was intended, on the surface at least, as an open and emfatic +protest agenst the too lavish praise of the plates in the journals. +The general tone, then, is polemic tho directed agenst no particular +person or article.</p> + +<p>In the preface to his critical works<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> Tieck asserts that the article +is a product of the year 1793 and that it was published in +1794. It appeared in the <i>Neue Bibliothek der schœnen Wissenschaften +und freyen Kuenste</i>, 55ten Bandes zweytes Stück, pages +187-226, which bears the date 1795,<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> and according to the Messkatalog, +did not appear till Michaelmas of that year.<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> Tieck's +memory, therefore, faild him as to the date of publication and +he has also fallen into a slite error, or rather inaccuracy, in regard +to the time of origin. The article could not have been +completed within the calendar year 1793, because a number of +the plates that Tieck discusses are dated December 24, 1793, and +could hardly hav got to the continent in the same year. While +it may be possible that the plates were postdated, there is no evidence +of such fact at hand. Moreover, the "Gallery" was reviewd +in the <i>Gœttinger Gelehrte Anzeigen</i> under dates about six +months after the appearance of the individual plates in England +and these reviews, as will be shown hereafter, were extensivly +used by Tieck. In these reviews, the plates are always spoken +of as recently arrived. The prints were issued regularly to the +subscribers, of whom the University, according to the Ms. catalog +in the Boston Public Library, was one.<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> It is hardly to be +supposd that the young student would have erlier access to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[P:9]</a></span> +pictures than the reviewer for the semi-official university publication. +This reviewer was Heyne<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> who afterward mediated the +publication of Tieck's article. The article was no dout written +before Tieck settled in Berlin in the Fall of 1794 but its writing +went out over the confines of 1793. The next series of plates +appeard in June, 1794, and is not included in Tieck's article, +tho this is no proof that the article was completed before June, +since the plates probably did not arrive in Germany till well in +the Summer.</p> + +<p>Tieck's essay has been almost entirely neglected by Tieck +scholars. It is not a great piece of constructiv criticism, nor +can it be said to contain the ripe judgments of a mature mind. +It is, however, a fresh and, on the whole, convincing analysis of +the plates and as such deserves a careful examination. It will +be seen that the article has a very definit foundation in preceding +criticism but that Tieck, tho borrowing freely from one +source at least, namely the <i>Gœttinger Gelehrte Anzeigen</i>, has not +slavishly plagiarized nor has he been servil in his adoption of the +ideas of others. And it is also worth noting that Tieck's criticism +was regarded as sufficiently authorativ by Fiorillo to have +been used as a partial source for the latter's critique of the Boydell +plates.</p> + +<p>Tieck claims that the praise of the "Gallery" in the contemporary +magazines is excessiv. This claim is exaggerated. Meny +important magazines do not discuss the plates even where there +was an excellent opportunity. So, for example, Wieland's <i>Mercur</i> +and Nicolai's <i>Allgemeine deutsche Bibliothek</i> do not mention +them, tho from time to time engravings from other contemporary +paintings are discust. For instance, Nicolai's journal has +one long discussion of the state of contemporary art, especially +of engraving (No. 110, 1792) but omits all reference +to the Boydell series. The criticism in Meusel's <i>Museum fuer +Kuenstler</i> is on the whole, destructiv. One discussion, for +example, (No. IV, page 99) is a violent attack on engraving in +general and calls the "Gallery," "Diese die Malerei zu grunde +richtende Gelegenheit," and condems the "Krämergeist" at the +bottom of the enterprize. The value of line in engraving is, +however, pointed out, and Bartolozzi and Ryland, who had but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[P:10]</a></span> +little to do with the series are faintly praisd. Other mention +in Meusel's magazines is either entirely unoriginal summary +(<i>Museum</i>, VI, 352) or mere cursory comment (<i>Miscellaneen</i>, +Stück 30.) The articles on caricature (Neue <i>Miscellaneen</i> X., +154 and Archiv I, 66) are so late that they cannot be taken into +consideration in connection with Tieck's paper.</p> + +<p>With the <i>Gœttinger Gelehrte Anzeigen</i> the case is different.<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> +Tieck saw and used its articles as a basis for his work, tho the +credit of having written the first connected essay from a single +viewpoint belongs to him. The not over laudatory criticisms of +the <i>Anzeigen</i> are often paralel, even down to the wording of details +with Tieck's judgments, but it would be a mistake to suppose +that Tieck used the articles without having seen the engravings +and without having given the pictures careful consideration. +The fact that Tieck follows the errors of the <i>Anzeigen</i> +is significant, but it is equally significant that he corrects the +errors of the magazine from his stock of observd judgments. +Generally, where Tieck follows the <i>Anzeigen</i> most closely he is +at his worst. The somewhat superficial and scanty remarks of +the journal were no surrogate for the clear vision and power of +adaptibility of the young man. Tieck's personal regard for +Shakspere, which amounted to a real passion, was entirely +wanting.</p> + +<p>The use of the articles in the <i>Anzeigen</i> must be shown in detail, +and Tieck's indetedness must be definitly brought out. +Paralels will sometimes show convergence and sometimes divergence +of ideas, but in general it will be seen that Tieck practically +never used his material without some personal addition.</p> + +<p>There is one set of cases which is peculiar and which deservs +special attention. The plates in question are: "Much Ado," +III, 1, ditto IV, 2, and "As You Like It," last scene.</p> + +<p>A word of explanation in regard to the Boydell plates is necessary. +From the original paintings there were two sets of +plates engraved, known as the large plates (L) and the small +plates (S). The small plates were in all but a few cases done +from different pictures than were the large ones. These large +plates are those usually known as the Boydell Gallery. Both +sets were issued serially; the large set was also bound and issued +as a separate volume in 1803, and the small plates were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[P:11]</a></span> +used as illustrations for the Steevens Shakspere edition of 1802, +the letter press of which also seems to have been issued in parts +before the bound volumes were finally put on the market. The +bulk of Tieck's criticisms applies to the large plates tho he has +a few remarks on the small ones as well. When he discusses +the small plates, he always mentions the fact, except in the +three cases just cited. These are three of the cases where L and +S coincide in subject matter and where additional S plates were +afterwards printed as a gratuitous gift to the subscribers.<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> +These plates are among the first discust by the <i>Anzeigen</i> (1791, +page 1794) which mention the fact of the plates being for the +Shakspere edition, and that the extra plates are to be furnisht +to make up for the duplication of subject matter in these cases +of L and S. This is what is meant by the sentence, "Es wird +sogar die Austauschung des einen Kupfers künftig versprochen," +a statement that corresponds perfectly with the remark in the +later Boydell catalog that this promis has been fulfild. Tieck +does not notis this statement of the <i>Anzeigen</i> but treats these S +plates as if they were L, yet gives the names of the engravers +of S. This would look like a clear case of careless copying +from the <i>Anzeigen</i> if it were not clear from the additions that +Tieck makes to the latter's criticism that he saw the plates too. +The explanation of the discrepancy may be that Tieck when he +was writing his article consulted the <i>Anzeigen</i> for the facts in +regard to the engravers, did not notis that the S plates were referd +to and carelessly copied down what he saw.</p> + +<p>I shall now examin in detail some of the paralel criticisms.</p> + +<p>Much Ado, II; 4, G. G. A. 1791, page 1794: ... "wo in der +Trauung statt des Jaworts Pedro die Hero für keine reine Jungfer +erklärt, und Hero in Ohnmacht fällt; ... Das beste Stück +von allen in Rücksicht der Composition, Ausdrucks und Auswahl +des Lichtes nur ist die Stellung der Hauptperson ein wenig zu +theatralisch; sonst aber alles gut geordnet; schöne Contraste +von Licht und Ruhe für das Auge."</p> + +<p>Tieck, page 19: "Das zweite Blatt enthält die Vertossung +der Hero ... und dies ist offenbar eines der vorzüglichsten. +Das Licht ist sehr gut geordnet, das Auge findet sogleich unter +den Gruppen einen Ruhepunkt; nur hat Hamilton dem Claudio +eine zu theatralische Stellung und dem Leonato zu wenig Ausdruck +gegeben."</p> + +<p>Tieck carries the praise of the <i>Anzeigen</i>, the "Das beste<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[P:12]</a></span> +Stück" of which refers only to the group under immediate discussion, +to the whole series. He takes his main critical vocabulary +from the prototype and adds the original differentiation of +Claudio and Leonato to which reference must be made later.</p> + +<p>"Much Ado," IV, 2; G. G. A., 1791, page 1794: ... "ein +Gemisch von verkrüppelten, unedeln Caricaturen ohne alle +Grazie ... Zu bedauren ist die Kunst, die an den Stich +verwendet ist; denn der Stich ist einer der besten." Tieck's +criticism of this plate is paralel in so far as he praises the mechanical +perfection of the engraver, who is Heath of S, and not +Simon of L. So far we have the blind following of the model. +But Tieck also makes the picture a basis for a long discussion of +caricature and of thoro condemnation of Smirke, who is also no +favorit of the <i>Anzeigen</i>. As Tieck's letters show a profuse use +of the word caricature, he need not be especially indeted to the +<i>Anzeigen</i> for it.</p> + +<p>"Richard III," I, 1, G. G. A., 1791, page 1795. Here Tieck's +borrowing is direct. G. G. A.: "Eine schlechte Composition, +ohne Ausdruck." Tieck, page 27: "Die Composition ist schlecht, +alle Figuren sind ohne Ausdruck." G. G. A.: "Eine Menge Reflexe, +Wiederscheine s. w. aber alles dieses macht keine Wirkung, +und das Auge findet keinen Ruhepunkt." Tieck, page 28: +"und sucht durch unendlich viele Wiederscheine ... +dass das Auge bei den vielen Lichtmassen gar keine Ruhe findet." +But again, besides these verbal and associational paralels, +Tieck has added a free treatment of the composition, an examination +of the drawing of the figures, of which there is no hint +in the model and, all in all, makes the criticism his own. The +impulse certainly came from the <i>Anzeigen</i>, but the whole critique +is a product of Tieck's self.</p> + +<p>"Richard III," IV, 3, G. G. A., 1791, page 1795: "Stellung +gezwungen." Tieck, page 28: "Der Mörder unnatürlich." +Here Tieck borrowed the idea and after an examination of the +plate changed the wording.</p> + +<p>"As You Like It," II, 1, G. G. A., 1793, page 561: "Ein +treffliches Landschaftsgemälde." Tieck, page 18: "die reizende +Landschaft." An examination of the whole of Tieck's criticism +shows that he has added a characterization of Jacques, has discust +the choice of this particular subject, and in this connection<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[P:13]</a></span> +shows especially that the plate under discussion is only a vignette +to the plays and not a part of the real play itself.</p> + +<p>"As You Like It," last scene, G. G. A., 1793, pages 561-2: +"Orlando, der mit zeimleich ausgespreizeten Beinen." Tieck, +page 18: "Seine augespreizten Beine machen ihn widrig." +Here Tieck has taken an externality of the description and has +given it a point. The use of the word "widrig" gives a new +tuch.</p> + +<p>"Romeo and Juliet," I, 5, G. G. A.: "die Hauptfiguren muss +man suchen." Tieck, page 29: "Die Hauptfiguren findet man +nur mit einiger Mühe." Notis, however, how Tieck then goes on +independently to giv his own point: "den Vater der Julie kann +man nur errathen; Julie selbst hat wenig Character. Tybald +ist die ausdruckvollste Figur auf diesem Blatte." Tieck also +quotes in full the passage beginning, "If I profane with my unworthy +hand" which the <i>Anzeigen</i> only indicates. This might +be laid to yuthful pedantry, were the whole not made far +clearer for the entire citation.</p> + +<p>"Romeo and Juliet," IV, 5, G. G. A., 562: "Julia nach genommenem +Schlaftrunk für todt gehalten, mit den Worten des +Mönchs: Peace ho for shame! ff. Dieser tröstend, die Mutter +die Hände ringend, Paris Julien umfassend, ein Stück mit vielem +Affect" ... Tieck, page 30: "Julie hat den Schlaftrunk genommen +und scheint gestorben, ihre Aeltern sowie ihr Bräutigam +Paris sind in Verzweifelung, der Pater sucht Alle zu trösten." +In the discussion of the small plate which follows, the +<i>Anzeigen</i> points out the changes which have been made on it, +this being one of the supplementary small plates for the 1802 +text edition. Tieck also notises the fact of the change but that +he took his information not only from the <i>Anzeigen</i> but from an +examination of the original is proved by his additions to the information +of the <i>Anzeigen</i>. Tieck's comment is, "Mehrere unnütze +Personen weggelassen." This reason goes at least one +step farther than the <i>Anzeigen</i> comment. In the magazine, the +effect of the double light in L is adversly criticized. Tieck adds +to this, "Der alte Capulet hat auf beiden Blättern wenig Ausdruck." +That both Tieck and the magazine use the fraze "tut +... Wirkung" in this place seems of secondary importance.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[P:14]</a></span> +A mere linguistic reminiscence, where it is not connected with +an idea, is not influence. This must be sought in basic ideas, in +hints which point the way for new lines of thought, in an adoption +of facts. An author like Tieck shows independence when +he adds, eliminates and remolds what he receives, even tho the +form of the thought clings often to him.</p> + +<p>So, then, when the <i>Anzeigen</i> (1793, page 562) has the fraze +"Julie in dem Grabgewölbe erwachend," the fact that Tieck +(page 30) introduces his criticism with the words, "Julie erwacht, +als der Mönch eben in das Gewölbe tritt," is of slite consequence. +This is a simple description of fact. Of much more +importance is the fact that the magazine goes on to point out +that not nature but the stage should be the model for the painter +in this case, a doctrin which Tieck not only does not mention, +but in fact, utterly rejects when the time comes to discuss it in +the course of the treatment.</p> + +<p>In the criticism of Schiavonetti's plate after Angelica Kaufmann +(G. G. A., 1793, page 903; Tieck, pages 16-17) Tieck agrees +with the <i>Anzeigen</i> but is thoroly independent in his resoning +and adds constantly to what the magazine asserts. That +both find the disguisd Julia beautiful is not unresonable, and +as the disguise is a part of the play it is not strange that Tieck +mentions it. In the same section of the magazine is a passage +which finds a later echo in Tieck. "König Lear reisst sich die +Kleider vom Leibe" (903). Tieck (32): "und reisst sich endlich +die Kleider ab." The verbal paralelism has significance here +only because there are other hints at this time which may hav +aided Tieck: e. g., the fact that the artist has departed from +the scene as Shakspere portrayd it. Tieck is definit in stating +just who is added, which proves that he knew his Shakspere +and saw the plate. Tieck also points out the spiritual difference +between Shakspere and the "famous West," a distinct addition +to the matter in the <i>Anzeigen</i>. "Winter's Tale," II, 3, G. G. +A., 1794, page 9: "Der eifersüchtige Leontes lässt den Antigonous +bey seinem ihm vorgehalten Schwerte schwören, dass er +das Kind, das ihm seine Gemahlin geboren hatte, in eine Einöde +aussetzen will. Sind gemeine Figuren." Notis how in Tieck, +while the general terms of the description are the same, because +following the line of least resistance in externalities, the whole<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[P:15]</a></span> +discussion takes on an individual character, and is expanded +into a critique of Opie's drawing which was always unsatisfactory +to Tieck. Tieck (page 21): "Der eifersüchtige Leontes +lässt den Antigonus schwören, das Kind auszusetzen.... +An den Darstellungen aus diesem Stücke ist viel zu tadeln, vorzüglich +an dieser ersten Scene. Leontes, die Hauptperson, ist +steif und ohne allen Ausdruck, alle übrigen Personen sind dick +und plump gezeichnet und ganz ohne alle Bedeutung. Leontes +lässt den Antigonus, so wie Hamlet seine Gefährten, bei seinem +Schwerte schwören. Schauspieler und Zeichner aber fehlen, +wenn sie es so vorstellen, wie Opie es hier gethan hat. Die +alten Schwerter bilden oben am Griffe ein Kreuz und auf dieses +legte man die Hand, in Ermangelung eines eigentlichen Crucifixes.... +In diesem Blatte entdecken sich auch bald +viele Fehler in der Zeichnung. Das Auge wird von der Hauptperson +auf die Lichtmasse, folglich, auf das Kind hingezogen; +die Hauptfigur tritt gar nicht genug hervor, sondern hängt mit +den hinter ihr stehenden zusammen; die Köpfe im Hintergrunde +sind eben so gross, wie die der vorderen Personen. Alles verräth +den ungeübten Künstler." As an example of Tieck's rejection +of the opinion of the G. G. A., the discussion of "Winter's +Tale," V, 3, will suffice. This is the statue scene which Tieck +absolutely condems on account of poor engraving, expression +and posing. Where the magazine says "Die Statue, der man es +doch sehr gut ansieht, das es eine lebende Figur ist, macht +grosse Wirkung." Tieck (22) contradicts thus: "Die Statue ist +sehr unnatürlich, sie sieht mehr einem Geiste, als einem Menschen +ähnlich."</p> + +<p>There are, finally, three further cases in which Tieck takes a +hint from the <i>Anzeigen</i> and develops it. "2 Henry VI," III, 3, +(1794, page 10): "Kardinal Beauford ... ein scheuslicher +Anblick, in mehr als einem Verstande." Tieck (page 25): +"Dieses abscheuliche Blatt." But Tieck, in a passage too long +to quote, goes on to giv cogent reasons for not liking the picture, +not one of which is derived from the <i>Anzeigen</i>. The other +passages from the "Merry Wives" (I, 1 and II, 1, G. G. A., 1794, +page 970; Tieck, 11-12) take the hint that Smirke drew caricatures +and not human beings and borrow the adjectiv "widrig." +With this slender borrowing Tieck develops a full discussion of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[P:16]</a></span> +Smirke and of these plates with no further assistance from the +<i>Anzeigen</i> than a hint on the engraving of textiles.</p> + +<p>These passages on "Henry VI" and on the "Merry Wives" are +doubly interesting, however, because they show that Tieck's +judgment of Smirke and Northcote offers a very close paralel to +that of the magazine. Tieck's reasons are fuller, but they show +no more ability in Tieck than in the reviewer of the <i>Anzeigen</i> to +understand some of the most characteristic features of English +humor as exemplified in Smirke, while the pupil and biografer of +Sir Joshua fares badly because of his alleged bad composition +and poor light effects. It will be shown later that on both of +these latter questions Tieck held views quite independent of the +<i>Anzeigen</i>.</p> + +<p>Of Kirk's plate from "Titus Adronicus" the G. G. A., 1794, +page 970, says, "Den Ausdruck an der Lavinia abgerechnet +ein gut Stück." Tieck (28) begins with a weak, "an dem +Blatte ... ist vielleicht viel zu loben und wenig zu tadeln" +but "rights himself like a soldier" thus, "Man sieht, dass der +Künstler eine sehr richtige Idee von der Composition hat, und +dass er seinem Gegenstand mit Geschmack und Delicatesse zu +behandeln weiss. Er lässt uns die abgeschnittenen Arme der +Lavinia nur vermuthen; der geschickt geworfene Schleier entzieht +unserm Auge den unangenehmen Anblick," etc.</p> + +<p>The examples and paralels alredy given cover practically all of +the points of similarity between Tieck and his model. They +show that Tieck used the <i>Anzeigen</i> constantly and minutely but +they can not fail to impress the reader with the fact that Tieck +invariably rises above the plane of the jottings in the magazine +in form and in substance. The content of Tieck's criticisms is very +much greater than that of his prototype and the form is far more +polisht. These apercus of Heyne did not prevent Tieck's independent +thinking; they never fettered him. He followd them +in a number of places in his paper and once or twice falls into +their error thru youthful carelessness or misapprehension. They +did not often confuse his judgment or hamper his vision. He +never ruthlessly plagiarizd them. That they were a source can +not be denied, but that they form the real basis of Tieck's +critique is not for a moment tenable. This came unquestionably +from himself, and he must be given credit or blame for the good +or bad in it.</p> + +<p>Tieck set about the task of criticising the "Boydell Gallery"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[P:17]</a></span> +with no diffidence, but with many misgivings, amounting almost +to prejudises, as to the valu of the set of plates. He was aware +that this work was intrinsically in a class which is, all in all, artistically +inferior. His judgments are objectiv, but they promis +no prescience of a higher, a more spiritual attitude toward art. +Art in this case servs interpretation and the struggle away from +what the plates represent has hardly commenced. Tieck feels +that the whole group does not do Shakspere justis, but he nowhere +says that the subjectiv interpretation of the poet must remain +the lasting one for the individual; indeed he asserts quite +the contrary on the very first page of his paper. It is to be expected +that Tieck's common sense and fancy should rebel at the +platitudinarianism of the pictures; that at times he is no more +than on the plane of the sentimental "Enlightenment" is also +to be expected. The valu of the study is in such harsh negativ +criticism as it exercises where emfasis is false or where bad +taste prevails in the performance of the artists' task.</p> + +<p>Tieck came to the work with a good first-hand knowledge of +Shakspere and this lessens the juvenile and jejune qualities of +his work. He is weaker on the comedies than on the trajedies, +for the former require a keener sensing of English life than it +was possible for Tieck to hav obtaind at the time of writing. +But even for the comedies, some of his observations are very +just and show that he could interpret Shakspere with sense and +precision. The present discussion will attempt to find out by a +careful examination of the plates just what Tieck saw in these +pictures and how far his interpretation was right. The results +should show, in a general way, something of the powers of interpretation +possest by the youthful Tieck, and how this power of +interpretation conditiond his judgments.</p> + +<p>The general theoretical standpoint upon which the essay was +written is that of Lessing, and a careful perusal will show that +Haym was wrong when he postulated no Lessing influence on +the article.<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> Tieck's letters to Wackenroder show that he was +reading the Laokoon at this time, but even if a preoccupation +with Lessing were not easily postulable, the matter of the paper +itself will show a distinct recrudescence of Lessing's ideas. And +not only Lessing, but the school of critics out of which Lessing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[P:18]</a></span> +arose, e. g., Winkelmann and DuBos, were also a part of Tieck's +reading.<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a></p> + +<p>The article has a total lack of coloristic reflexes; it emfasizes +form, if not line; its thoro reasonableness takes into consideration +all that Lessing has stood for in the domain of art. It has +the same standpoint as that of a Goethe returnd from Italy and +of a Karl Philipp Moritz from whom, to be sure, Tieck was turning +away in disgust.<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a></p> + +<p>The article fails to solv the problem in Tieck's mind of reconciling +his natural desire away from the regulated and calm +with the current and traditional in British art. The conflict is +between a desire in theory for moderated effects, for the toning +down of emotion, and a desire, in practis, for strong contrast +and superlativ effects. Lessing, in art the enemy of all realism, +finds in Tieck a condemer of Hogarth, a condemnation that +persists in Tieck as late as the essay on the erly English Theater +(1828),<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a> and persists on grounds similar to the fundamental +principle of beauty laid down by Lessing.</p> + +<p>It would be a mistake to argu from the foregoing that in this +article Tieck was not a realist, or at least strongly inclined toward +realism in his practis. His realism was that of the yung enthusiast +for whom each variation from the sense of his idol was a +blasfemy, and he points out (page 24) that there can be none of +that deception of the senses which is a part of the pictorial arts +where "ich irgend eine auffallende Unnatürlichkeit entdecke; +denn die Nachahmung der Natur ist der Zweck des Künstlers." +Such strict imitation of nature is more to be expected, to be +sure, in the work of the lesser lights, such as are the men who +did the pictures for the "Gallery," than in the work of a real +genius, and one is glad to overlook, in the works of the latter, +those minor faults which almost entirely disappear in the face +of a thousand beauties. So, says Tieck (page 14) "who would +pass by the divine masterpieces of a Rafael and yet with weighty +mien find fault with the bad coloring of a single garment?" +There are clearly two kinds of artist. The one is the genius who +may be carried too far by his enthusiasm, the other is the colder +painter, who by his choice of subject, composition, correctness +of drawing, and grace must make up for his lack of genius, and +who can not hope to attain the emotional effects of his rival,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[P:19]</a></span> +but who must be content to arouse a cooler feeling, that is, the +satisfaction of the spectator. In this series, where genius is excluded +from the outset, Tieck expects a strict adherence to fact, +to verisimilitude, and the correct interpretation of Shakspere +must be insisted on.</p> + +<p>In order that the soul may get an immediate enjoyment of the +work of art, Tieck recommends (page 4) that the painter choose +well-known subjects. He says: "The soul passes immediately +to the enjoyment of the work of art and curiosity does not stand +in the way of his enjoyment as in the case of obscure or unknown +subjects. I am alredy prepared for the sentiment that the work +of art is to arouse in me, and surrender myself all the more willingly +to the illusion. If the subject of the picture is in itself +beautiful and sublime, or if a great poet has furnisht the painter +with the invention, the composition and the emotions, our enthusiasm +is arousd, we giv our wonder and our delight to the +painter."</p> + +<p>The painter, then, is only an interpreter of the poet, whose +purpose it is to seize the spirit of the poet, to portray those fine +and spiritual ideas which only a related genius can grasp and +make concrete by an appeal to the senses thru color-magic<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> the +intangible creations of the poet's brain. He makes lasting what +the reader gets but a fleeting glimpse of, and what even the +actor can giv but little permanence (page 3).<a name="FNanchor_21_21" id="FNanchor_21_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a></p> + +<p>Whether or not Tieck was influenced by the prospectus to the +set, indeed, whether he saw it or not, there is no way of knowing, +but his statement that these pictures in their entirety will +form a national gallery of historical paintings which will drive +the scenes from Greek mythology out of England, is much like +Boydell's own statement of purpose mentiond above. It is also +an erly paralel to the Romantic insistence on a new mythology, +a nativ mythology, rather than one drawn from foren sources +which was a part of Friedrich Schlegel's canon.</p> + +<p>The engravings as such are treated by Tieck under five different +heds. These are: the mechanical technique, drawing with +perspectiv and line, composition (which Tieck does not clearly +differentiate from design), expression and choice of subject. +These five heds comprize all the points in which the pictures +are treated, but not each picture is treated from all five. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[P:20]</a></span> +five giv, however, the full range of Tieck's ideas on the engravings. +They show the things that attracted his attention, and +where the influence of the <i>Anzeigen</i> is felt, they serv to show +how different, after all, his own ideas were. Often the magazine +does not tuch one or more points of the five.</p> + +<p>Tieck's discussion of the technique of the engravings is, as +may be expected, rather thin, and the frazes that he uses are +stereotyped. Several of the plates praisd by him are quite without +merit and such generalities as, "schön gestochen," "vorzüglich," +"vortrefflich gut," are not very significant. Negativ +praise like "nichts zu tadeln" or "die Ausführung verdient alles +Lob" show that on technical points Tieck was judging very +superficially and that his attention to the "Gallery" had been +attracted by something else than the perfection of the plates.</p> + +<p>These engravings are in the now old-fashiond stipple, tho +parts of them are in line. At the time of writing, Tieck may +not hav known the difference between line and stipple, tho in +"Zerbino" a reference to the "pointed manner," used in a punning +way, shows that by that time Tieck had become acquainted +with it.<a name="FNanchor_22_22" id="FNanchor_22_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a> Nor does Tieck indicate in any way the "Gallery's" +sparing use of the increasingly popular mezzotint. He makes +no mention of the line manner of Flaxman, if he knew him. He +does not see that the line engravings in the set are poorer all +thru than the stipple prints, and that in some of the line plates +the cutting is so deep and the execution so clumsy that the resulting +plates are muddy and crude and are lacking in tone, grace, +and even in exactness of execution.</p> + +<p>In one or two places where satin is excellently reproduced, +Tieck praises the texture of the fabrics. The large plate by Simon +from the "Merry Wives" has a wonderful lace apron which +a recent writer on engraving has cald one of the best examples +of the stipple manner.<a name="FNanchor_23_23" id="FNanchor_23_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a> As Tieck refers to the other fabrics on +the plate, which is one of those with duplicated subject and +which in the <i>Anzeigen</i> seems only to hav been discust in the S +form, it seems clear that Tieck also saw L here, as S is by no +means so fine a plate; in fact L has the best fabrics in the series.</p> + +<p>Of the twenty-four large plates discust by Tieck, there are +only thirteen which receive technical criticisms and of these +thirteen, three are lumpt together under one comment so that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[P:21]</a></span> +in all there are only ten separate technical criticisms. Of these, +six occur in the first six plates and with the eighteenth plate, +Kirk's scene from "Titus Andronicus," the criticism of the mechanical +side ends with a weak, "sehr gut gestochen," showing +that Tieck did not progress in his technical criticisms. His interest +in the engravings as engravings waned as the essay proceeded: +it never rose above an attention to textiles and, even +there, Tieck did not see all the finer differentiations of velvet, +chiffon and lace, tho the fine satins distinctly appeald to him. +Perhaps as fair an example as any of his inexactness, is his +praise of the plate from "As You Like It" in which Jacques lies +watching the wounded deer (II, 1). This is one of the poorest +of the plates and yet Tieck says, "Die Ausführung verdient alles +Lob." Fittler's plate from "Winter's Tale" (IV, 2), while +weak and without character, is not as bad either in actual cutting +or in general managment, and yet Tieck condems it unmercifully. +So, too, the bad plates by Middiman come in for no +special condemnation from Tieck, tho Middiman is by far the +worst engraver in the series, and is particularly bad after Hodges, +the plates after whom Tieck saw.<a name="FNanchor_24_24" id="FNanchor_24_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a></p> + +<p>Drawing, as such, fares rather better than engraving, tho less +than half the pictures are criticized from this standpoint. Colorless +expressions like "Keine Fehler" and "Viele Fehler" are +not wanting and in many cases where whole bodies are out of +drawing or where individual parts are bad Tieck has nothing +to say.</p> + +<p>It is especially interesting to note that Tieck finds the drawing +of Angelika Kaufmann without error. ("Two Gent. Verona," +last scene). Here he declares that no clumsy clothing +conceals the figures, but the lines are well brought out under the +garments. The disguised Julia is at once recognizable in spite of +her masculin attire, and the manner of the artist is "graziös." +An examination of the figure shows that Julia's figure has something +of the immature in it and that the face is rather boyish. +One thinks at once of the somewhat malicious words of Friedrich +Schlegel to his brother, "Wie Angelika Kaufmann, der die Busen +und Hüften, auch immer wie von selbst aus den Fingern quellen." +Both Tieck and Schlegel felt the sensuous charm of the +painter whose best known self-portrait is in the garb of a Vestal +Virgin, tho the Schlegels, like Georg Forster, had no illusions<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[P:22]</a></span> +as to the qualities of her art.<a name="FNanchor_25_25" id="FNanchor_25_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_25_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a></p> + +<p>Engravings in stipple emfasize less than line engravings mere +questions of drawing. It is perhaps with some instinctiv feeling +for this that Tieck suggests that one of Hamilton's pictures +has been hurt by the bad engraving, just as certain other plates +have gaind thru the engraver (page 22). The hint for this point +came originally from the <i>Anzeigen</i> but Tieck has developt it. +While it is now no longer possible to check up each plate with +its corresponding picture, it is true that the engravers were +relatively better craftsmen, as a rule, than the painters. In +hardly any one case is the painting a sample of the best work of +the artist. Often, as in the case of Sir Joshua Reynolds, the +painting redounds but little to his credit.<a name="FNanchor_26_26" id="FNanchor_26_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_26_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a> Where, as in the +case of Barry, Sir Joshua's great rival, the picture is reckond +with his superior work, the only conclusion is that Barry was a +very bad artist and so Tieck considers him. The engravers, on +the other hand, had had no better chance in years to exhibit +their art than in this imposing series, and most of the best +names in stipple appear in it. The best that Tieck does to recognize +this fact is in the occasional lament for the waste of good +labor on a bad subject or painting (e. g., page 20).</p> + +<p>Besides having the good feeling for the human form under the +garment, as in the case of the figure of Julia and of those of +Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Page by Smirke, Tieck also criticizes several +cases of misdrawing. So, the clumsy legs of one of Opie's +figures are scored and in blaming this failing of Opie, Tieck hits +one of the most pronounced weaknesses of that artist both in +the "Gallery" and in Bell's British Theater. But Opie, the +"Comedy Wonder," is hardly the "ungeübter Künstler" that +Tieck makes him out to be. Here Tieck, following the criticism +of the <i>Anzeigen</i>, from which he may have got the hint on Opie's +drawing, develops the criticism too far and goes astray. There +is a constant suspicion that Tieck is trying to master a jargon.</p> + +<p>Often it is a mere chance whether Tieck will see or not see a +peculiarity. Some of the sentimental, foolish, and misdrawn +hands escape his notis, whereas in other cases he criticizes them.</p> + +<p>Perhaps the best example of Tieck's criticism of drawing is +that of Northcote's plate to "Richard III." (III, 1, page 27).<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[P:23]</a></span> +He says, "Der alte Cardinal scheint ganz verzeichnet zu sein, +man ist ungewiss, ob er steht oder kniet: in beiden Fällen ist die +Zeichnung fehlerhaft." Tieck's strictures are correct. The +space from the waist down is found upon examination to be abnormally +long for a kneeling person, and groteskly short for one +standing. Tieck's critique is good, for it points out the error +and the reason, and shows that in any case the alternativ is a +bad one.</p> + +<p>Tho Tieck may hav been over-kind to Angelika Kaufmann, he +quite agrees with his contemporaries in the condemnation of another +German Swiss living in England, namely Füessli, whom he +calls one of the worst of the admirers of Michaelangelo. The +michaelangelesk school of the day faild in its expression of +great muscular effort, in that it put for strength distortion and +violence. Füessli was one of the most important adherents, or +rather, was the greatest representativ of the fad perhaps anywhere +and seems therby to hav largely incurd the displesure of +his German critics. That Tieck really understood Michaelangelo +is shown by his later article in the "Phantasien über die Kunst." +He defends him from the charge of having drawn to show his +knowledge of anatomy and among other things, exclaims on his +"greatness, his wild grace, his fearful beauty."<a name="FNanchor_27_27" id="FNanchor_27_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_27_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a> But Tieck had +no use for those of his imitators who caught only the extravagance +of his figures and debased his Titanic creations into bizarre +contortions by over-emfasis on mere muscle.</p> + +<p>That Tieck was not unconscious of the effect of mere line is +shown by his pointing out the unplesantness of the line made +by Leontes' figure in Hamilton's picture of the statu scene from +"Winter's Tale." Awkwardness and violence, anything that +savord of "affectation and bombast," where in Shakspere "power +and energy" are found, met Tieck's disapproval. So this figure +of Leontes, so Orlando standing with his legs far apart, so the +faces drawn by Füessli. Wherever there were violent angles, +sharp points and corners, Tieck felt himself ill at ease. When +he saw in some of Füessli's plates faces which giv the impression +of the plaster blocks of the art schools that are used to draw +from the cast, the square chins, the noses, either very pointed +or cut off square, imprest him as repulsivly inhuman. "Widrig, +unnatürlich, abgeschmackt, manierirt," are the terms applied to +Füessli's cursing scene from Lear.</p> + +<p>It would hav been interesting had Tieck seen Füessli's later<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[P:24]</a></span> +scenes in the "Gallery." The Bottom scenes from the "Midsummer +Night's Dream" show that fantastic imagination which +was the artist's strong point. All the forms from the fairy world +were there, Moth, Peascod and a welth of other spirits. There +is a distinct appeal to the imagination which justifies the painter +of "Die Nachtmahr," tho the faces of Titania and Oberon are +here too hard and sullen. But the imagination shown has a +curious similarity with the work of Tieck in his later stories such +as "Die Elfen," and which has so warm an afterglow in "Die +Vogelscheuche."</p> + +<p>Composition means for Tieck especially order. He has not +yet lernd the principle of triangulation of arrangement enunciated +by Caroline in the "Gemälde" essay in the <i>Athenaeum</i>. +He expects no more than that the principle character shall be +in an important place in the picture and insists that the lighting +devices serv to throw such personages into relief. So when the +perspectiv is bad it is because of the wrong emfasis on the principal +figures rather than that the harmony of the whole is disturbed +by a wrong arrangement.</p> + +<p>What irritates Tieck especially is an arrangement of figures +in the picture in the regular semi-circle borrowd directly from +the theater. The evil of unnaturalness which such attitudinizing +brings with it, is enhanced by light effects drawn from the +same source. So, for example, where the light is that of a lamp, +only so much light as a lamp would giv, or the effect of natural +lamp-light is allowable. If, on the other hand, the sunlight +streams into the room, the source of the sunlight should be evident +as outside the room. Tieck might hav mentiond as an example +of this some of the fine interiors of Pieter De Hoogh. The +light effects should not be harsh but graded down so that no violent +light contrasts occur within the same room. The light, +too, should be broken up, not kept in a mass as if it were a separate +entity to be treated apart from all other objects.</p> + +<p>All this is perfectly resonable and not especially technical. +It is conveyd in stray hints rather than in any set discussion of +light effects in any one place. Often, too, Tieck's dislike for +some other aspect of a painter's work leads him astray on this +point. This is tru in the case of Northcote, whose really good<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[P:25]</a></span> +treatment of the high lights Tieck has in one or two cases entirely +overlookt. There seems to hav been a distinct appeal +made, too, by the sheen and glitter of certain textiles and the +scintillating, flickering light of the later periods of Tieck's work +is presaged as erly as this. On the whole, however, it is not the +glitter of the world of out-of-doors, but of the world of the shut-in, +of the world of little things which appeals so strongly to +Tieck and which he treated with such banality in the story +"Ulrich der Empfindsame."</p> + +<p>Thus, Tieck's landscape criticism is very bad and even tho, as +has been pointed out, the basis for his adjectivs lies in the <i>Anzeigen</i> +articles, his expansion beyond them brings no real betterment. +In the plate from "Love's Labor Lost" (IV, 1, page 9), +when Tieck was feeling his way into his subject, his general impression +was one of plesure, and so the landscape is "reizend." +In the whole essay, "reizend" is the only constructiv epithet +applied to landscape and it occurs only twice. Hamilton's landscape +is purely conventional and, except for a vista, of which +Tieck was all his life fond, offers nothing to commend it. The +failure of Tieck to judge rightly must be laid at the door of too +great reliance on the <i>Anzeigen</i>.</p> + +<p>Tieck criticizes only one other landscape as such, tho in a +third case a landscape background is discust adversly. For the +scene from "As You Like It" in which Jacques watches the +wounded deer the term "reizend" seems quite impossible. Engraved +by Middiman after Hodges, a combination which augurs +ill, the scene is without dout the worst in every way that Tieck +saw. The composition is bad: Jacques, a figure without grace +of expression, sprawls in a comedy landscape and the features of +the wounded deer hav a strong Hebraic cast. Here, if ever, the +scene is drawn from the stage and not from nature and stage +properties are models for tree and foliage. When Tieck says +that the scene is one to arouse cheerfulness in the beholder, he +is correct but not in the sense that he ment. The reliance on +his source is not enuf to account for his aberration; the failure +to judge aright must be laid at Tieck's door.</p> + +<p>After pointing out the value of the whole, and the effect made +by the light of the torch held by Gloster ("Lear," III, 4), Tieck +shows that this effect, striking as it is, detracts from the unity of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[P:26]</a></span> +the composition, since it shifts the emfasis from Lear and his +pain. Lear, morover, is not the Lear of Shakspere but a giant, +and the effect of this Herculean form is made further improbable +by the exaggeration of the wind blowing from all directions in +the picture and driving the garments of Lear with it, winding +them impossibly about him. The effect of these draperies, says +Tieck, is baroque and there is no thought of quiet strength or +noble simplicity.<a name="FNanchor_28_28" id="FNanchor_28_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_28_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a></p> + +<p>In the composition of this picture Tieck also notises that the +figure of Edgar is practically the same as that of a figure in +West's Deth of General Wolf. A comparison with the latter +picture at once reveals the justness of Tieck's observation. The +figure of the Indian seated in the foreground is strikingly like +that of Edgar, both in form and in general expression, and it is +evident that West has repeated himself. In general, Tieck does +not make comparisons of this kind. He confines his remarks to +the picture itself, and probably was not well acquainted with the +run of contemporary British art.<a name="FNanchor_29_29" id="FNanchor_29_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_29_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a></p> + +<p>Tieck's judgment of composition did not go far beyond this +emfasis on the principal figure. A general series of colorless +frases like "gut geordnet" occurs, but expresses only a mild acquiescence +in the arrangement. Tieck was fond of the posing sentimentalities +of groups like the landscape plate from "Love's +Labor Lost," but he tries hard to get away from them toward a +realism which drew upon actual perception for its postulates and +which was not based upon premises—inadequate for art—of Shakspere +illustration. On the other hand, and here he departs constantly +from the canon of Lessing, there is no striving for abstract +beauty. Charm and grace, beauty in motion as it is exprest +by the female figure in Anne Page and a few other cases, +are Tieck's nearest approach to it.<a name="FNanchor_30_30" id="FNanchor_30_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_30_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a></p> + +<p>The general reason for Tieck's failure is that in actuality these +pictures were not ugly or inartistic to him. Where he criticizes +it is oftenest the idea; the execution and the relation to an abstract +standard are of less consequence, and his theory once +more limps behind his practis. He may berate Hogarth as an +artist without beauty but it is clear that his extoling of Rafael +is a mere matter of fashion; he is in the same category with +Domenichino, whom Tieck's generation and the next succeeding<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[P:27]</a></span> +one considerably overestimated. In Michaelangelo, Tieck knows +the strength of the drawing and not the wistfulness that pervades +even the most Titanic of the master's creations. In general, +affectation of pose, mannerism and preciosity are Tieck's +bane only where the sentimental is not concernd.</p> + +<p>An interesting commendation of the composition of a plate is +that of Kirk's picture from "Titus Adronicus" (IV, 1). Tieck likes +the plate because of its taste and delicacy in only suggesting the +mutilated arms of Lavinia. Kirk has avoided the frank naturalism +of the original by the use of draperies, and this appeals to +Tieck as a toning down and is in line with what had been suggested +before in regard to Tieck's attitude.</p> + +<p>This plate has an accessory which Tieck objects to, namely the +over large colum in the background. Usually, but not in this +case, Tieck criticises the accessories from the standpoint of the +stickler for historical accuracy, rather than for any artistic merit +or demerit. So the tomb of the Capulets in "Romeo and Juliet" +is not Italian of the period, and the dresses of the women in +"Merry Wives" are in violation of the sumptuary laws of the +time.<a name="FNanchor_31_31" id="FNanchor_31_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_31_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a> In the deth of Mortimer (1 "Henry VI.," V, 2) the +family tree lying on the ground adds a tuch of symbolism which +Tieck approves, tho in the same scene he criticizes the mean +character of the prison, saying that for such a noble prisoner a +better place of incarceration would hav been found.</p> + +<p>Tieck makes no clear distinction between passing expression +(Ausdruck) and permanency of feature (Miene). His discussion +of expression goes hand in hand with composition, since, as was +mentiond above, composition has so close a relation to the +placing of the principal character. There is a definit point of +view, however, in Tieck's discussions of composition; in his +strictures and encomiums on expression of face and figure it is +practically impossible to find a consistent <i>pou sto</i>. In places, his +powers of observation seem to hav deserted him and his lapses +are not attributable to a too great leaning on the articles in the +<i>Anzeigen</i>. Tieck's theoretical discussion of the common-sense +element in these illustrations may be ever so clear and his demands +on the artist may be ever so high, but his practical application +of these principles is by no means as strict as might be +expected. Indeed, in theory Tieck demands one thing and in +practis another.</p> + +<p>It is Tieck's desire that the artist should catch the individual<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[P:28]</a></span> +note in these figures and raise it to an ideal, that he should +choose the expression with care and never sacrifice it to coloring +or drapery and that he should avoid all necessity of using symbols +to designate his characters. But when Tieck actually examins +the pictures, he stresses theatrical pose or mien and pays +no attention to those obvious tricks whereby expression is obtainable: +the skilful use of light and shade on the face, the +treatment of the lines of the mouth, and the placing of the eyes. +Occasionally, as in the ball scene in "Romeo and Juliet," it +seems as if the treatment of the eyes of a figure—in this case +that of Tybalt—attracted his attention, but there are so many +other plates in which the eyes are quite as good and are nevertheless +past over, that the instance of Tybalt seems fortuitous.</p> + +<p>Tieck uses the expressions "ohne Ausdruck," "wenig Ausdruck" +and "ohne Charakter," "wenig Charakter" almost exclusively +in his negativ criticism of the plates and his positiv +criticism substitutes "viel" for "wenig." Such frases are not +very definit and Tieck misapplies them constantly. In four out +of the five cases of Tieck's largest caption, "ohne Ausdruck," +he is certainly incorrect and the postulation of "wenig Ausdruck" +is wrong in at least two out of the three cases. It is not +a matter of personal opinion nor can it be a difference in point +of view between the twentieth century and the end of the eighteenth. +It is largely bad judgment on Tieck's part. In the +three cases where Tieck sees "vielen Ausdruck" not one is in +reality especially distinguisht for vividness. Two even vie with +the most expressionless in feature and hav no special pretentions +to significance of posture. In the five plates where Tieck uses +"ohne Charakter" or "wenig Charakter," the epithets are in +general tru.</p> + +<p>Tieck got the hint for an advers criticism of the faces of Mrs. +Ford and Mrs. Page from the <i>Anzeigen</i>. He exclaims, expanding +his model, "Welch' widrige Gesichter! welch' uninteresante +Figuren!" There is in the pose of Mrs. Page a most awkward +droop of the neck, but in Mrs. Ford's face there is a rollicking +Irish drollery, a freshness of complexion and a witchery of the +eyes that are quite charming. The painting was by Peters, +whose "sprightly humor" was so much admired by his contemporaries.</p> + +<p>One of the two pictures of Leontes in the "Winter's Tale"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[P:29]</a></span> +shows his giving the oath to Antigonous to destroy the child. +In Leontes' frowning face Tieck sees no expression, altho it is +unquestionably one of the most lively of the series. The stiffness +of pose that Tieck objects to in the picture may well be accounted +for by the full suit of armor that Leontes wears. The +face is far more expressiv than that of the other Leontes picture +and yet Tieck's judgment on them is the same.</p> + +<p>One of the most striking failures on Tieck's part to see character +interpretation of real subtlety is in Northcote's portrayal +of "Richard III." There can be no dout that Tieck's general +dislike of the artist, which was based on the adverse criticisms of +the <i>Anzeigen</i>, led his judgment astray. The face of Richard is +all in all the most characteristic of the series in so far as Tieck +saw the series. Richard's "subtle, false and trecherous" look +with the smile of his grim humor is well caught; the eyes and +mouth are excellent and giv a very adequate idea of the deviltry +of the man, of his lewd cunning and his scheming. What Tieck +might well hav objected to is the sentimentalizing of the two +princes whom the artist has transmogrified into fat little babies, +just as in the next picture the two hav become well-fed little +beef-eaters.</p> + +<p>As Tieck fails to see sentimentality in this picture, so he misses +extravagance in the church scene from "Much Ado." Tieck +borrowd much in this discussion from the <i>Anzeigen</i> but his remarks +on expression are his own. He says that Leonato has too +little expression. There can be no dout as to the figure intended +for Leonato. Claudio is identified by a very theatrical gesture +and by a Mefistofelian Don Juan behind him. The fainting +Hero, over whom Beatrice is bending, falls into Benedix' arms. +The only other figure, that of an older man, and who therefore +cannot be Benedix, is standing in a most theatrical posture with +clencht fists, eyes upturnd, rigid and ridiculous. If Tieck ment +that this figure should represent Leonato, he has shot wide of +the mark in his criticism and displays a most unrefined love of the +melodramatic. Figures like this are not often found in the +"Gallery." Ordinarily excess of sentiment and a cheap display +of emotion giv way to stiffness and awkwardness.</p> + +<p>Tieck was dissatisfied with all the reproductions of Lear. They<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[P:30]</a></span> +hav all too much of the gigantic, too little of the childish old man. +He points out that the face as drawn by Füessli expresses nothing +but rage; the same exaggeration is found in the drawing of West +who sacrifices truth, nature and emotion to a striking first impression. +Barry's Lear only excites laughter and the lack of expression +in the face is made up by the storm-wind in the hair. +Again, however, issu must be taken with Tieck's attitude, for it +is impossible to regard these faces as expressionless. It is not +that they hav too little, but too much, and of a wrong kind. +Tieck nowhere draws the clear distinction and nowhere makes it +evident that he regards "Ausdruck" as a term to be interpreted +in any but a common sense way.</p> + +<p>It seems apparent that those plates which had a certain sentimentality, +a certain saccharin quality appeald to Tieck. He +likes the prettiness of Anne Page and cleverly notes the touch +of scorn in her face. If he had recalled Reynolds' Mrs. Siddons +he would hav recognized the same trait of hardness around the +mouth, a line that is often found in the pictures of English women. +Perhaps Tieck's interest went hand in hand with his enthusiasm +for Rafael, and lack of discrimination lets him take all as +of equal value. The face of young Lucius in "Titus Adronicus" +and the face of Juliet in the tomb are examples of this. Tieck +argues that the boy has a good deal of expression, but a cool observer +can see only melodrama in the pose and blankness in +the face. The most interesting thing about the plate has escaped +Tieck's attention, namely that both of Titus' hands are represented. +It seems an especially noteworthy omission in a picture +which Tieck praises for not showing the stumps of Lavinia.<a name="FNanchor_32_32" id="FNanchor_32_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_32_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a></p> + +<p>Tieck several times criticizes a picture for making a good first +impression and then not being able to stand the test of close observation. +An example of this is Northcote's portrayal of Mortimer +and York (1 "Henry VI.," II, 5) which is really spoild according +to Tieck by the strong light masses which at first sight +seem very striking. These light masses throw the main figure +into relief, but Tieck objects to the unnatural posture of the dying +man. Close examination of the figure reveals the fact that +Mortimer is really well drawn; the lines of the drapery distort +the general impression, but that part of the drawing comprising +the actual sitting figure is that of a broken old man, fallen in a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[P:31]</a></span> +heap and dying. Any one who has seen Irving's masterly representation +of the dying Louis cannot but be imprest by the verisimilitude +of Northcote's presentation. What Tieck says of the +minor characters on the plate is true; they are expressionless in +the extreme.</p> + +<p>Tieck is fully justified in calling Reynolds' scene from "Henry +VI." "dieses abscheuliche Blatt," where the word "abscheulich" +is reminiscent of the <i>Anzeigen</i>. He asks further, "Ist dies +der Künstler der Familie des Ugolino?"<a name="FNanchor_33_33" id="FNanchor_33_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_33_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a> With much better +right he might hav askt, "Is this the painter of the 'Age of Innocence' +and the man who loved to paint children?" Both the +Shakspere plate and the stiff Ugolino picture attempt to portray +the horrible, and the only other plate that Sir Joshua did for the +"Gallery," namely, the Hecate plate from "Macbeth," the same +selection of a grewsome subject is made. Neither of these pictures +can be sed to conform with Reynolds' well-known doctrin +that the function of art is to arouse the imagination, for in these +pictures there is nothing left for the imagination but exhaustion. +They show a vein of the bizarre without the great fancy of +Füessli and are realistic to a degree that stopt at nothing. It is +not to be wonderd at that Tieck exhausts himself in condemnation +of the plate that he saw.</p> + +<p>It is plain that Tieck saw in the plate a caricature and an +evasion. The caricature was the dying man and the evasion +was the veild face of the young king. Tieck felt that the artist +had veild the face of his character to conceal his want of skill in +the portrayal of a supreme moment of emotion. Here Tieck +certainly breaks with the doctrin of Lessing who praised the expedient +of Timanthes in veiling the face of Agamemnon at the +sacrifice. Tieck tacitly accuses Reynolds of shirking an obvious +task. He wisht something superlativ, whether in fleeting expression +or in that permanency which is caused by iterativ +emotion. Such a desire, the emfasizing of Shakspere's "Kraft" +and "Energie" leaves him on the plane of the Storm and Stress +in his attitude toward the British poet.<a name="FNanchor_34_34" id="FNanchor_34_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_34_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a> If the words of Sir +Joshua himself are to be taken as a criterion, his theory is different +from his practis in this case, and Tieck has condemd him +out of his own mouth.</p> + +<p>Beauford, whom Tieck calls a caricature, certainly leaves<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[P:32]</a></span> +nothing to the imagination, as Reynolds wisht for art.<a name="FNanchor_35_35" id="FNanchor_35_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_35_35" class="fnanchor">[35]</a> Tieck's +description of the figure is apt, "Beauford liegt da, mit den +Zähnen grinsend, das Bett in Verzuckungen kneifend, eine +ekelhafte, verzerrte Caricatur, über die man lachen könnte, +wenn sie etwas weniger abscheulich wäre. Genie and Enthusiasmus +können hier die Hand und Kritik unmöglich irre geführt +haben; denn weder das eine, noch der andere gehört dazu, um +diese Züge, diese Umrisse hervorzubringen."</p> + +<p>The word caricature is, even before he found it in the <i>Anzeigen</i>, +a term of deepest reproach with Tieck. In his essays to +Wackenroder he says, speaking of a certain actor, "Ich gestehe +dass er vielleicht viele Scenen natürlich und einige komish darstellt, +aber nach meinem Urtheil spielt er in keiner einzigen +schön, mit einem Worte, er macht Carrikatur, und die kann nie +schön sein, wenn sie auch noch so vielen Ausdruck hat. Das +Komische und das Schreckhafte gränzen überhaupt vielleicht +näher aneinander, als man glaubt ... Vielleicht ist das +wahre komische Spiel so wie Unzelmann est giebt, alles so leicht, +so übergehend, keine Periode, keine Idee, keine Stellung möglichst +festgehalten, keine Grimasse in Stein verwandelt."</p> + +<p>After pointing out the value of the unspoild taste of childhood +in matters of esthetic judgment, Tieck continues: "Du +kannst leicht die Erfahrung machen, dass Carrikaturen den Kindern +nie gefallen, denn sie erkennen in ihnen nur mit Mühe den +Menschen wieder, sie fürchten sie wirklich; sie können ungleich +länger eine andre Figur ohne Ausdruck und bestimmten Charakter +betrachten, ja tagelang darüber brüten, und Ausdruck und +Charakter hineintragen, hundert Träume spinnen sich in ihrer +Seele aus, ... Carrikaturen gefallen überhaupt vielleicht +nur einem kalten nördlichen Volke, dessen Gefühl für den feinen +Stachel der stillen Schönheit zu grob ist, oder die schon die +Schule der Schönheit durchgegangen sind, und deren übersatten +Magen nur noch die gewürztesten Speisen reizen können, die es +daher gern sehen, wenn die Schönheit dem Ausdruck aufgeopfert +wird, weil sie in der Schönheit keinen lebenden Ausdruck mehr +finden. Du wirst sehen, dass ich hier nicht bloss von der komischen +Carrikatur spreche, sondern von jedem Ausdruck irgend +einer Leidenschaft, der die Schönheit ausschliesst." He then +goes on to indicate the relation of what he had sed to Lessing +and confesses his indetedness to him in the matter. The highest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[P:33]</a></span> +effects when used in sculpture and painting are also caricature.<a name="FNanchor_36_36" id="FNanchor_36_36"></a><a href="#Footnote_36_36" class="fnanchor">[36]</a></p> + +<p>Paralel to this statement in the letters is the discussion in the +essay of the valu of the comedies of Shakspere over his tragedies +as material for illustration. Tieck says (page 15), "Im +Trauerspiele ersteigen meistentheils gerade die schönsten Scenen +eine Höhe des Effects, die der Maler schwerlich ausdrücken +kann, ohne widrig zu werden. Der Schauspieler verliert schon +oft jene Grazie, die jedem Kunstwerke nöthig ist, wenn er +manche Scenen der tragischen Kraft so wiedergeben will, wie er +sie im Dichter findet, doch kann die Mimik hier noch das Unangenehme +vermeiden; der Malerei ist es aber meist unmöglich, +denn jene Verzerrungen, die auf der Bühne nur vorübergehend +sind, werden hier bleibend gemacht; dort erschrecken sie durch +ihr plötzliches Entstehen und Verschwinden, hier werden sie +ekelhaft, weil durch das Feststehende und Bleibende des Widrigen +der dargestellte Mensch zum Thier herabsinkt. Jemehr der +Maler den Affekt hinauftreibt, desto mehr nimmt er zugleich +Interesse und Tadel von seinem Helden. Die höchsten Grade +des Zorns, der Wuth oder der Verzweifelung bleiben im Gemälde +stets unedel; selbst der Wahnsinn muss hier mit einer gewissen +Schüchternheit auftreten, und im höchsten Entzücken muss ein +sanfter Wiederschein der Melancholie leuchten." The relation +of this to Lessing, both in the "Laokoon" and in the "Dramaturgie" +is at once apparent.</p> + +<p>The dislike for caricature centers around the comic efforts of +Smirke for whom Tieck has hardly a good word to say. In the +discussion of Reynolds' picture, Tieck remarks, half in jest, that +he regrets his strictures on Smirke in the face of this greater +caricature by Reynolds. The sum total of his criticisms of +Smirke is unjust: thruout the series and especially in some of the +plates that Tieck saw, this painter has caught the comic spirit +well, and tho overpraisd by his contemporaries, has done some +very clever work both in the "Gallery" and in Bell's "British +Theater."<a name="FNanchor_37_37" id="FNanchor_37_37"></a><a href="#Footnote_37_37" class="fnanchor">[37]</a></p> + +<p>Tieck's principal censures are directed against the figure of +Simple in the "Merry Wives" and that of Dogberry in the comic +trial in "Much Ado." Simple is for Tieck neither the character<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[P:34]</a></span> +as Shakspere conceived him, nor is he funny. It is again, says +Tieck, a mere exaggeration, tantamount to a confession of inability. +That the spectator cannot laugh at the character is the +artist's greatest punishment; in overstepping the just limits of +the comic and the natural, he has made the figure insignificant. +Unlike Hogarth, says Tieck, Smirke has not the power of expressing +character by means of the distortions of the exterior. +To put an artist below Hogarth is with Tieck to put him very +low; in this respect he stands on the plane of August von +Schlegel in the <i>Athenæum</i> and has not risen to the level of admiration +for the Englishman displayed by Novalis in the "Fragments."</p> + +<p>The best that Tieck can say for the Dogberry scene as a whole +is, that in spite of its exaggerations, it has much comic power. +But, he goes on to explain, it is a far different thing for Smirke +to exaggerate than for Shakspere, for the latter always draws +human beings, while the figures of the former are at times hardly +to be distinguisht from apes.</p> + +<p>To a certain extent the figure of Dogberry and more especially +the face, justify Tieck's repugnance. In its way, the face is +fully as bad as that of Reynolds' Beauford. Tieck says, "Selbst +ein vertrauter Leser des Shakspeare findet sich nicht in den hier +dargestellen Caricaturen, von denen die Hauptperson in einer +Wuth, die lächerlich sein soll, so ekelhaft verzerrt wird, dass +man nur ungern mit dem Blick auf dieser Zeichnung verweilt." +This is in every respect tru. Smirke has here mist all the +comic elements of the character, and has produced not the +ridiculous malapropian Dogberry but a demoniac grinning mask +of a face and a twisted, distorted and frenzied figure. Tieck +proceeds, "Ein Künstler, der die komischen Scenen des Shakspeare +darstellen will, sollte doch von seinem Dichter so viel gelernt +haben, dass dieser seine Caricaturen nie ohne eine gewisse +Portion von phlegmatischer Laune lässt, die so oft unser Lachen +erregt, und aus der blossen Erfahrung sollte er wissen, dass +selbst der lächerlichste Zwerg, wenn er schäumt, in eben dem +Augenblicke aufhört lächerlich zu sein. Jedes Subject hört auf, +komisch zu sein, sobald ich es in einen hohen Grad von Leidenschaft +versetze. Denn das Lächerliche in den Charakteren entsteht +gewöhnlich nur durch die seltsam widersprechende Mischung<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[P:35]</a></span> +des Affects und des inneren Phlegma; wenigstens so hat +Shakspeare seine wirklich komischen Personen gezeichnet. +Der Mangel an Genie zeigt sich gewöhnlich in Uebertreibung +und gesuchten Verzerrungen des Körpers."<a name="FNanchor_38_38" id="FNanchor_38_38"></a><a href="#Footnote_38_38" class="fnanchor">[38]</a></p> + +<p>The scene from the "Merry Wives" in which Dr. Cajus catechizes +William on his Latin, represents very well the type of +scene the choice of which Tieck condems as unsuited for representation. +It is not because there was something in the humor +of them that Tieck did not grasp, but because he rejects on principle +all that is secondary and episodical. Such scenes as are +told and not acted, that is, the epic portions of the plays, as +well as the reflectiv and filosofical portions would hav to be excluded. +It is the fate of the principal characters which is of +prime importance, and the moment must be chosen with their +activities in view. This emfasis on the principal character is +also strongly reminiscent of the doctrin of Lessing's "Dramaturgie." +It has been shown how it affects what Tieck has to say +about composition and it is the prime factor in his feeling for +what is the proper moment and subject of representation.</p> + +<p>Some of the scenes which Tieck rejects are Hodges' picture of +the melancholy Jacques, and the murder of the princes in "Richard III." +Neither of these is acted out on the stage. From the +"Merry Wives" he proposes Falstaff's three adventures: the +basket scene, the Witch of Brentford scene and the final torturing +of Falstaff by the practical jokers. These giv a chance for +variety of grouping and a gradation of expression in all the chief +characters of the play. The scene in which the two women +read identical letters from Falstaff, Tieck regards as the worst +possible, for reasons that he says he need not recall but which +are obviously those of lack of stress on the main character.</p> + +<p>The scenes that Tieck recommends were actually chosen by +the artists whose work appears later in the series and so Tieck's +judgment is, in a way, confirmd. These scenes are the skeleton +of the farce element and bring out the structure of the Falstaff +plot which Tieck evidently regards as the main theme. It +is interesting to note, however, how little the choice of subject +has to do with the artistic merit or demerit of the plates. The +subsequent plates, which would hav fully satisfied Tieck's requirements +as to the moment of presentation are artistically +among the worst in the series.</p> + +<p>The two scenes from "As You Like It" suggested by Tieck,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[P:36]</a></span> +the one where Adam admonishes Orlando (II, 3) and the scene +in the forest where Orlando enters bearing Adam on his shoulders +(II, 7) hav not the same structural relation to the whole as hav +those from the "Merry Wives." These moments lend themselves +very well to representation but are chosen on another +basis of judgment. They show that for Tieck Orlando was of +more importance than Rosalind, for he suggests no scene with +her in it as especially representativ of the play. In the first of +these two scenes, the action has already begun; the scene is the +culmination of the episode containing the first relation of the +brothers. It is in itself not a vital part of the action. The +scene in the forest, on the other hand, has more of the qualities +demanded by Tieck: a variety of characters and an important +moment. This is a moment—tho not the initial one—when Orlando's +fortunes mend and he comes to his frends. The scene +in which he first meets the Duke's party is of more significance. +It seems as if the governing principle is contrast rather than a +desire for elucidation of structure in serial arrangment. Orlando +and Adam, ill-fortune and good luck, are juxtaposed.</p> + +<p>Tieck conjectures that the eavesdropping scene from "Much +Ado" (III, 1) is included in the collection because it was played +by popular actresses of the contemporary English stage. Tieck +misses the structural importance of the scene. It is apart of the +intrigue; it has a direct effect on Beatrice who comes from it a +changed woman. To Tieck, however, it ment as little as the +similar eavesdropping scene from "Love's Labor Lost" (IV, 3), +in which play he claims there is no suitable scene for representation.</p> + +<p>The scene from "Winter's Tale" in which Perdita welcomes +the disguised Duke (IV, 3), offering him flowers the while, is +condemd in favor of the one immediately following in which the +Duke discloses himself. Here again Tieck stresses the contrast +and wishes a climax, a dramatic moment. So he praises such +scenes as the putting away of Hero at the altar and the deth of +Beauford, however much he derides the execution of the latter, +by Reynolds.</p> + +<p>For the sake of bringing out the wretchedness of this execution, +Tieck points out that tho he has often before bewaild the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[P:37]</a></span> +choice of moment, he cannot do so in this case for no better +could hav been selected. He details the good points in the +scene: "Man denke sich einen Bösewicht auf dem Todtenbette, +den die Verzweifelung wahnsinnig gemacht hat, der keine Seligkeit +hofft; diesen besucht in seiner Todesstunde Heinrich, der +junge gefühlvolle König, ein Schwarmer in der Religion, der +von diesem Anblick auf das tiefste gerührt wird; Warwick und +Salisbury, zwei männliche Krieger, begleiten ihn hierher. Beauford +ist die Hauptperson, alle Zuschauer haben ihre gauze Aufmerksamkeit +auf ihn gerichtet. Der Künstler hätte hier rühren +und erschüttern können; ich sehe in Gedanken den weichen +Heinrich Thränen vergiessen, im schönsten Contrast mit dem +Cardinal, der ihn, in der Abwesenheit seines Geistes, kalt und +ohne Bewusstsein anstarrt. Warwick und Salisbury, weniger +gerührt, aber doch interessante Physiognomien, die durch +leichtere Nuancen von einander unterschieden sind. So sehe +ich in der Phantasie das schönste tragische Gemälde ..."</p> + +<p>In "Romeo and Juliet" the choice of the ball scene meets +with Tieck's disapproval. The scene is "Ohne Wirkung." Tieck's +main reason why the scene is not good is that the painter +has interpreted literally the metafor, "My lips two blushing pilgrims +stand" and has represented Romeo in the garb of a pilgrim +to correspond to Juliet's anser, "Good pilgrim." As Tieck +rightly points out, there is no need for such a gise. The choice +of the more highly keyd situation at the supposed deth of Juliet +meets with Tieck's approval and shows that where there is a +choice, the emfasis of his selection is apt to be on the superlativ +moment.<a name="FNanchor_39_39" id="FNanchor_39_39"></a><a href="#Footnote_39_39" class="fnanchor">[39]</a></p> + +<p>One other idea seems to be in Tieck's mind and it is hard to +believe that he was not unconsciously influenced by the stage +presentation of the plays when formulating it. That is the desire +to hav a number of people in the picture. Nearly all the +plates that he condems hav but few characters and his dictum of +variety demands a reasonable number to choose from. This dramatic +point of view is in accord with his attitude in all other +fases of the discussion. It has been pointed out how rarely the +artistic makes the prime appeal to him.</p> + +<p>Tieck's second point in regard to choice of subject is that the +comedies offer a wider field and a better opportunity than the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[P:38]</a></span> +tragedies. The general basis for this notion is allied to his +theory of the worthlessness of caricature, that is, that there is +an exaggeration, an overacting of the part possible in tragedy +that is less likely to occur in comedy.</p> + +<p>The statement of the evils of exaggeration is very sweeping +and includes in some of its details both comedy and tragedy: +"Der dramatische Dichter hat Momente in seinen Schauspielen, +die kein Pinsel oder Griffel jemals darstellen kann; ich meine +jene Sprünge und überraschenden Wendungen des Affectes, jene +fürchterlichen Blitze des Genies, bei denen der Zuschauer zusammenfährt, +wo der Dichter unerwartet durch eine neue verdrängt: +diese Momente sind oft die glänzendsten des Schauspiels, +und bei keinem Dichter finden sie sich so häufig als bei +Shakspeare in seinen Tragödien." Tieck's illustration for this +is the passage from Lear beginning, "No, I will weep no more," +etc. He continues, "welcher Maler wird es wagen, wenn er +den Sinn ganz durchdringt, ... diese Stelle auf die Leinwand +zu werfen? So innig diese Verse beim Lesen oder bei +der Darstellung rühren, so frostig würden sie vielleicht als ein +Gemälde dargestellt erscheinen: oder wenn sie auch hier rührten, +so würde das Gemälde doch nie jene Erschütterung in uns +erregen, jenes Anschlagen von hundert Gefühlen. Man würde +immer nur den weinenden Lear sehen oder den erzürnten Vater, +der sich zur Kälte zwingt; das Ineinanderschmelzen dieser beiden +Empfindungen, verbunden mit der Verstandesschwäche, +die dem Schmerz endlich ganz erliegt und Wahnsinn wird, wäre +selbst ein Rafael unmöglich: hier steht ein grosser Grenzstein +zwischen dem Gebiet des Malers und des Dichters."</p> + +<p>The result of overstepping these bounds is that the painter is +likely to enter into rivalry with the poet, to feel his lack of ability +in the struggle and to produce empty declamation insted of +a work of the creativ imagination and to offer to the spectator +nothing for either imagination or reason.</p> + +<p>But in the comedies there are many moments which almost +force themselves on the painter. These are scenes in which he +can portray the poet just as he finds him and in which his rivalry +is legitimate and, indeed, may tend to make him surpass the +poet. If he can do this it will be by bringing out more plainly +the light shades of the poet's meaning and he will become a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[P:39]</a></span> +commentator, so to speak, of these. Under such circumstances, +the painter must be very careful to choose just the most beautiful +and most interesting passages.</p> + +<p>The relation to Lessing is again at once clear. The culminating +moment of passion as it appears in the tragedies is not +suitable from the artistic point of view for reproduction but the +comedies, from their admixture of the flegmatic, the almost imperativ +concomitant of Shaksperean humor, tone down this +superlativ expression and are therefore within the pale. How +Tieck carries out his theory in practis, has been sufficiently +shown: his love for the sentimental and melodramatic, for the +climatic and striking lead him to neglect his delimiting theoretical +remarks.</p> + +<p>Before leaving the discussion of Tieck's article, it may be well +to compare it with another contemporary treatment of the Boydell +Gallery. This is by the famous traveler and publicist, +George Forster. It was Forster's account which furnisht Fiorillo +with much of his data for the treatment of the "Gallery" in his +history of British art, but it is hardly likely that the account is +a source for Tieck. I hav no external evidence and the internal +evidence is entirely negativ.</p> + +<p>If Friedrich Schlegel's estimate of Forster's artistic capabilities +be accepted, it is just such pictures as these, where the social +interest is great and the artistic valu is secondary, that should +bring out Forster's strength of judgment. Forster was also a +finely discriminating amateur, with a decided sense of tactile +form based on a sincere love of Greek art and confirmd by a +study of Winkelmann and Lessing, beyond whom he past in his +appreciation of the portrait and the landscape and of the coloring +of the great masters.</p> + +<p>Forster's essay, "Die Kunst und das Zeitalter" (1791), was +written about the time that he saw the Boydell pictures. It +shows his attitude toward Greek art and givs more than a hint +of his standards which point so clearly toward Schiller. His +"Ansichten vom Niederrhein," especially the discussions of the +galleries and collections at Düsseldorf, Brussels and Antwerp +fully express his ideas on Dutch and Flemish art, especially emfasizing +the characteristics of Rubens for whose fleshy types +Forster had little use.</p> + +<p>In the discussion of British art which comes as an appendix to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[P:40]</a></span> +the "Ansichten," Forster includes a rather detaild description of +the Boydell paintings. He did not see the engravings, or rather, +his description is based on the paintings as they hung in the +gallery in Pall Mall and so the material of this sketch in two +parts, is in one way fundamentally different from that of Tieck. +All the discussion of technique in which Tieck was so weak, is entirely +lacking in Forster. His point of view, too, is different. +He is the traveld, experienced man from whose traind eye and +broad judgment more may be expected than from the student +Tieck. There is, as Friedrich Schlegel says, an out-of-doorness +in Forster's work that Tieck could never hav had; the over-emfasis +on Shakspere on the part of the latter is only one product +of his inexperience.</p> + +<p>In spite of all this, it is surprizing to find what correspondences +there are between the student Tieck and the more traind +Forster. The latter who knew vastly more of English life than +Tieck, fails to understand it in just those vital points where +Tieck went farthest astray. Smirke and Peters fare badly at his +hands, perhaps because of a certain puritanism in his atitude, or +to quote Schlegel, because "Keine Vollkommenheit der Darstellung +konnte ihn mit einem Stoff aussöhnen, der sein Zartgefühl +verletzte, seine Sittlichkeit beleidigte oder seinen Geist +unbefriedigt liess." For this reason he can call one of the +Peters paintings from the "Merry Wives" a brothel (ein Speelhuis) +or refer to the women of that artist as "lockere Nymphen."</p> + +<p>Besides the same general dislike for the caricatures of Smirke +that was noted in all previous instances, there is the usual praise +of Hodges, the usual condemnation of Opie's bad drawing. +Füessli, too, comes in for his share of the blame: "Der Beifall, +welchen Füesslis Gemälde in England erhalten, bezeichnet mehr +als alles die Ueberspannung des dortigen Kunstgeschmacks. +Dieser junge Schweizer ... brachte nebst der Kenntniss +akademischer Modelle sein malerisches Kraftgenie mit sich über +das Meer; seiner Phantasie ward es wohl unter wilden Traumgestalten +und Bildern des Ungewöhnlichen. Diese Stimmung ... verführte +ihn nur gar zu bald zu allen Ausschweifungen +der Manier. Es ist zwar leicht das Alltägliche zu vermeiden, +indem man Kontorsionen darstellt ..." (page 466). Again: +"Es sind nicht Menschen, die dieser Künstler phantasiert, sondern<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[P:41]</a></span> +Ungeheuer in halb menschlicher Gestalt, mit einzeln sehr +gross gezeichneten und sehr verzerrten, verunstalteten Theilen +und Proportionen: ausgerenkte Handgelenke, aus dem Kopfe +springende Augen, Bocksphysiognomien u. s. f...." (page +503). Northcote is damned with the faint praise "Nicht ohne +Verdienst," a frase that clings to the characterizations of his +work from the <i>Anzeigen</i> to Fiorillo. Barry is shown to lack +grace, noble greatness and beauty. His distorted figures border +on caricature and his forms are of giants, colossi. His coloring +is bad in spite of his theoretical knowlege and good drawing.</p> + +<p>Forster sees thru Angelika Kaufmann and Hamilton better than +Tieck did. Hamilton's paintings are "Machwerk" and his figures +move in "Tanzschritt," while Angelika's are hermafroditic (page +501). "Die deutsche Muse Angelika verbarg die Inkorrektheit +und das Einerlei ihrer allzuschlanken Figuren unter dem +Schleier der Grazie und Unschuld" (page 459).</p> + +<p>For Forster, Shakspere is the most logical portrayer of nature +that ever existed; he meets the painter halfway in his work by +his excellent characterization of the salient features of a personage +and so givs the painter sharply defined subjects for his +fantasy. For the artists of the British school this is especially +valuable because effect is their highest aim and beauty only secondary. +Extremes of passion, astonishment, surprize are strivn +for. "Sie hascht nach der Wahrheit der Natur in ihren grässlichen +Augenblicken und erlaubt ihrer Phantasie den verwegenen +Flug, nicht in das schöne Feenland des Ideals sondern in die +verbotene Region der Geister und Gespenster."</p> + +<p>But while the general condemnation of British artists shows +far more perspectiv than is found in Tieck, the acquaintance +with the details of Shakspere's plays is never drawn on to point +out any defects in choice of subject matter. Forster can refer +to the acted plays from an experience that was at this time still +denied Tieck, but this experience does not result in any well-defined +theory of Shakspere-illustration as a whole and as we +found Tieck to hav. The melancholy Jacques in the forest is +a good scene for Forster, whereas Tieck rejected it as having no +structural relation to the rest of the play. Forster finds it +worthy of portrayal as one of the moments arising from Shakspere's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[P:42]</a></span> +variety of scene, character and condition of life, to say +nothing of the chance to show the lonesome melancholy stag by +the famous animal painter, Gilpin!</p> + +<p>On Reynolds' famous Beauford picture, Tieck and Forster are +entirely at odds. For Tieck the execution is terrible, the choice +of subject satisfactory. For Forster, the choice is inexcusable, +the execution in part masterly; a dying criminal in his last +throes seems to Forster an utterly impossible subject for representation. +So with Kirk's picture from "Titus Adronicus": in +spite of the attempt to meliorate the impression of the butcherd +Lavinia, the whole picture remains for Forster a disgusting +sight. The conclusion is obvious: Forster's sense of delicacy rebeld +at the crass and brutal; wildness and terror shockt him.</p> + +<p>But if Tieck's article compares favorably with Forster's in all +points respecting the "Gallery" itself, it must be confest that the +political, patriotic note, the application to Germany of the +principles of national betterment in art which arose in the mind +of Boydell, escape him. He was not, of course, like Forster, a +political writer, and revolutionary conditions had no immediate +interest for him as for the older man. And so his art criticism +does not look forward to Germany as does Forster's or as does that +of a propagandist like Kleist in his <i>Abendblætter</i> article. Tieck +does not rise above the milieu; the "Gallery" offers no hold with +which to test contemporary art in his own land. It is only a +beginning, clearsighted in part and in general sustaind, an ernest +of what the matured criticism of the Romantic school was later +on to do.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="NOTES" id="NOTES"></a>NOTES</h2> + + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Die Kupferstiche nach der Shakspeare-Gallerie in London. +Briefe an einen Freund. 1793. "Kritische Schriften," vol. I, pages 3-34. +[Kr. Sch.]</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> 2 For full title, see bibliografy.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> E. g. in the letters.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> Krit. Sch. I, 4. Jean Paul, Titan, I, 42. [Berlin, 1827.]</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> 1719-1804.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> Preface to the Prospectus and quoted in the preface to the +"Gallery."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> The facts on the "Gallery" are pretty well scatterd. The +statements in Allibone are not all correct. See Graves, "New Light on +Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery," <i>Magazine of Art</i>, vol. XXI, page 143 +ff. For some details as to the disposition of the pictures, see "Notes +and Queries," series 2, vol. VIII, vol. IX, 313, vol. X, 52. Also Pye, +"Patronage of British Art," London, 1848.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> Preface to critical works.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> Page 7.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> Copy in the Columbia University Library.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> Mr. L. L. Mackall kindly furnisht me with this +information.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> This Ms. (79 pp., vellum, quarto) contains the signatures +of all the subscribers or their agents. Romney, Warren Hastings, +Wedgewood, the King, the Queen and the Prince Regent besides a number of +English "persons of quality" are represented. The poets are +conspicuously wanting. The King of England gave the copy to the +University Library. Cp. <i>Gœttinger Gelehrte Anzeigen</i> (G. G. A.) +1791, page 1793; 1793, page 561.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> At least until after the time concerned here. This from +Wüstenfeld on the contributor to the <i>Anzeigen</i> furnisht by Professor +Wilkens.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> The plates which come into consideration and the order in +which they occur in Tieck are as follow: +</p><p> +"Love's Labor Lost," Tieck, page 9, (1) IV, 1 (G. G. A., 1794, page 10); +(2) IV, 2, small plates; (3) V, 2. +</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[P:44]</a></span><p> +"Merry Wives of Windsor," Tieck, page 10, I, 1 (G. G. A., 1794, page +969); page 12, II, 1 (G. G. A., 1794, page 969); page 13 (G. G. A., page +959); page 13, I, 4; IV, 1, small plates (G. G. A., 1794, page 970); V, +5. +</p><p> +"Twelfth Night," II, 3 (G. G. A., 1794, page 970); Tieck, page 15. A +small plate. +</p><p> +"Two Gent. Verona," Tieck, page 16, Last Scene (G. G. A., 1793, page +903); 17, IV, 3. Small plate. +</p><p> +"As You Like It," Tieck, page 17, II, 1 (G. G. A., 1793, page 561); page +17, last scene (G. G. A., 1793, page 561). +</p><p> +"Much Ado About Nothing," Tieck, page 19, III, 1 (G. G. A., 1791, page +1794); IV, 1; IV, 2. +</p><p> +"Winter's Tale," Tieck, page 21, II, 3 (G. G. A., 1794, page 9); IV, 3; +V, 3; page 22, two small plates (G. G. A., 1794, page 10). +</p><p> +I "Henry VI.," Tieck, page 24, II, 5 (G. G. A., 1794, page 970). +</p><p> +II "Henry VI.," Tieck page 25, III, 3 (G. G. A., 1794, page 10). +</p><p> +"Richard III.," Tieck, page 27, III, 1 (G. G. A., 1791, page 1794). +</p><p> +"Titus Andronicus," Tieck, page 28, IV, 1 (G. G. A., 1794, page 970); +page 29 (G. G. A. 1794, page 970). +</p><p> +"Romeo and Juliet," Tieck, page 30, I, 5 (G. G. A., 1793, page 561); IV, +5 (G. G. A., 1793, page 561); V, 3 (G. G. A., 1793, page 562). +</p><p> +"King Lear," Tieck, page 31, I, 1 (G. G. A., 1793, page 903-4); page 32, +III, 4 (G. G. A. 1793, page 904); page 33, last scene (G. G. A., 1793, +page 904); page 34 (G. G. A., 1793, Page 904). +</p><p> +Tieck mentions in all 39 plates; of these 24 are large plates and the +rest small ones. In only 6 instances does Tieck enter into even a slite +criticism of the small plates. In some cases, his remarks are so meager +that it is only by a comparison with the original that we can tell what +plate he means.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> Boydell's Catalog, page 28 ff. It may be worth while to +mention in this connection that the Catalog has a number of errors in +the list of these supplementary plates. The proof was red carelessly and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[P:45]</a></span> +the results are jumbled. Only by a careful comparison with the originals +in the 1802 edition, for the results of which there is no room here, can +this be straightend out.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> "Romantische Schule," page 57-8.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> For possible influence of Du Bos, cf. Tieck's doctrin of +poetry as an imitativ art. Kr. Sch., page 24. See Howard, <i>Publications +of the Mod. Lang. Assn.</i>, vol. XXII, page 4. The letters to Wackenroder +in Holtei, 300 Briefe, etc.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> Volbehr, Dessoir, Stöcker. D. L. D.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> Kr. Sch. I, 321. It is doutful if Tieck knew any of the +Hogarth Shakspere plates. The dates of issu (Dobson, pp. 310, 340 ff.) +are all later than the writing of the Boydell article. For Tieck and +Hogarth, Köpke, I, page 148.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> Of course the emfasis on color is entirely wanting in the +body of the work. Tieck nowhere in the essay points out how engraving +can suggest color.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_21_21" id="Footnote_21_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> Literary paralels are at once apparent. So, Schiller's +Prolog to "Wallenstein."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_22_22" id="Footnote_22_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> Schriften, vol. X, pages 302-3.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_23_23" id="Footnote_23_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_23"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> Weitenkampf, 155.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_24_24" id="Footnote_24_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_24"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> One or two actual errors of fact hav crept into the paper. +Kyder for Ryder and Northcate for Northcote. The latter error and +Tieck's Slatbard may hav arisn, as Professor Wilkens suggested to me, +from Tieck's notoriously bad handwriting which was misinterpreted by the +compositor. At any rate, Tieck made no later effort to correct. The +"Rev." before Peters' name misled both Tieck and Forster into laying too +much emfasis on his sacerdotal function. The G. G. A. calls him a +dilettante.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_25_25" id="Footnote_25_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25_25"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> Walzel, 279; Sulger-Gebing, 41, 154. Engel ("Angelika +Kaufmann," 36, 37, 43) while not denying her preference for this dress, +is of the opinion that it was not suited to her. "Im Schäferkleide, den +Hirtenstab in der Hand, Atlaspantöffelchen an den Füssen, ein +bebändertes Hütchen auf der gepuderten Coiffure, umgeben von einem +Hofstaat schöngeistiger Verehrer und Verehrerinnen, so hatte sie +unzweifelhaft eine weit natürlichere und tüchtigere Figur gemacht als in +der Vestalinnentracht die sie—das Bregenzerwaldnymphlein—in der +Folgezeit zu bevorzugen pflegte."</p></div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[P:46]</a></span></p> +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_26_26" id="Footnote_26_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26_26"><span class="label">[26]</span></a> Biografers of Sir Joshua generally agree that his pictures +in this series, with the possible exception of "Puck," are failures. +Boydell paid 400 and 1500 guineas for the two largest and this was +considerd by some an exorbitant price.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_27_27" id="Footnote_27_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27_27"><span class="label">[27]</span></a> Minor's edition, pages 27, 30.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_28_28" id="Footnote_28_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28_28"><span class="label">[28]</span></a> There is the possibility of a crude symbolism having been +intended for Shakspere's "Blow, winds," etc.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_29_29" id="Footnote_29_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29_29"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> The West picture was very popular. Cf. <i>Teutsche Mercur</i>, +1791, pages 445-6, for a criticism of Berger's engraving from it.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_30_30" id="Footnote_30_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_30_30"><span class="label">[30]</span></a> See, 300 Bfe. page 79.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_31_31" id="Footnote_31_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_31_31"><span class="label">[31]</span></a> This is a difficult point to decide. The citizen class was +limited by such sumptuary laws as is shown by the records, but most +writers agree that the violations were open and common.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_32_32" id="Footnote_32_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_32_32"><span class="label">[32]</span></a> The figure with the helmet is unquestionably that of +Marius, the tribune. He enters from the street and is drest in street +costume. Titus, who has been in the house, wears only a fillet around +his hed. In the play, Marius commands the boy to stand near him for +refuge, but in the picture the moment just previous is chosen, when the +boy is still near his grandfather. Forster wrongly holds that the +helmeted figure is Titus.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_33_33" id="Footnote_33_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_33_33"><span class="label">[33]</span></a> Cf. A. W. v. Schlegel in <i>Athenæum</i>, 2, 212, "Man kennt +Reynolds Ugolino aus dem Kupferstiche: es ist ein alter Mann, der +hungert, aber es ist nicht Ugolino." For his criticism of Boydell, 2, +198.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_34_34" id="Footnote_34_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_34_34"><span class="label">[34]</span></a> Marie Joachimi-Dege has given a very careful account of +the erly Romantic and Storm and Stress attitude toward Shakspere. Her +book needs supplementation thru a study of the Romantic Shakspere +criticism, written from the English point of view.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_35_35" id="Footnote_35_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_35_35"><span class="label">[35]</span></a> In his Academy discourses. Bohn ed., vol. I, page 460 ff. +Reynolds points out that those who praise the "invention" of Timanthes +in the Agamemnon picture hav not been painters but literary men. They +use it as an illustration of their own art. He says, "I fear that we +have but very scanty means of exciting those powers over the imagination +which make so very considerable and refined a part of poetry. (Cf.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[P:47]</a></span> +Boydell's preface.) It is a doubt with me if we should even make the +attempt. The chief, if not the only occasion which the painter has for +this artifice, is when the subject is improper to be more fully +represented, either for the sake of decency, or to avoid what would be +disagreeable to be seen; and this is not to raise or increase the +passions, which is the reason given for this practice, but on the +contrary to diminish their effect.... We cannot ... recommend an +undeterminate manner or vague ideas of any kind, in a complete or +finished picture. This notion, therefore, of leaving anything to the +imagination opposes a very fixed and indispensible rule in our +art,—that everything shall be carefully and distinctly expresst, as if +the painter knew, with correctness and precision, the exact form and +character of whatever is introduced into the picture. This ... must not +be sacrificed ... for uncertain and doubtful beauty which, not naturally +belonging to our art, will probably be sought for without success." +After praising the artifis of Timanthes, Reynolds goes on to say, +"Suppose this method of leaving the expression of grief to the +imagination, to be ... the invention of the painter and that it deserves +all the praise that has been given to it, it is still a trick that will +serve only once; whoever does it a second time, will not only want +novelty, but will be justly suspected of using artifice to evade +difficulties. If difficulties overcome make a great part of the merit of +Art, difficulties evaded can deserve but little commendation." Among the +names of those who discuss the "trick" Lessing's is, of course, wanting. +Gilray's satirical plate on Boydell should be compared for this and +other points. Copy in N. Y. Public Library.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_36_36" id="Footnote_36_36"></a><a href="#FNanchor_36_36"><span class="label">[36]</span></a> In this connection, the letters mention Engel's +"Mimik"(1785).</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_37_37" id="Footnote_37_37"></a><a href="#FNanchor_37_37"><span class="label">[37]</span></a> Some of the latter pictures by Smirke are very fine; e. +g., the face of Jessica which justifies the statement of the Dict. Nat. +Biog. that Smirke had "good drawing, refinement, quiet humor." Bryan has +a cooler comment: "Smirke was well spoken of in the comedy vein." Tieck +likes him better in tragedy (page 34). Fiorillo's comment is "Seit +Hogarths Zeiten hat kein Künstler so viel Charakter oder so viel +Ausdruck in seine Figuren gebracht, noch eine Scene mit so viel echter +Laune bearbeitet."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_38_38" id="Footnote_38_38"></a><a href="#FNanchor_38_38"><span class="label">[38]</span></a> To me the Tieck-Schlegel translation of this scene misses<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[P:48]</a></span> +all the best points of the original. To be sure, Tieck had nothing to do +with its translation. (Friesen, I, 136; Sybel, III, 463 ff). It was not +that Tieck was not interested in puns, altho the Dr. Cajus scene seems +uninteresting to him on that account. Tieck himself made a good many +puns. Cf. "Viehsiognomie," the first lines of his sonnet on the sonnet +and the "gemein" from the <i>Allgemeine deutsche Bibliothek</i> in "Das +jüngste Gericht." His sensing of English puns seems not to hav been so +keen. So in a discussion of Mss. readings toward the end of the essay on +the erly English Theater (Kr. Sch. I, 320) after calling one faulty +reading "Unsinn" he continues, "In derselben Rede: +</p><p> +<span style="margin-left: 3.5em;">If you can construe but your doctor's bill<br /></span> +<span style="margin-left: 3.5em;">Parse your wife's waiting woman, etc.<br /></span> +</p><p> +Parse? Was kann das bedeuten? Pierce ist dem aufmerksamen Auge leserlich +genug." Tieck seems to hav mist the play on the grammatical idea. To be +sure, I hav not seen the Ms., but Tieck was no very careful reader or +copyist.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_39_39" id="Footnote_39_39"></a><a href="#FNanchor_39_39"><span class="label">[39]</span></a> This is a scene where Tieck saw both L. and S. There were +two different paintings of the same subject, one with fewer figures, and +Tieck rightly points out that the less crowded one is the better. One of +the engravings is by W. Blake and is not given in any list of that +artist's work. Mr. W. G. Robertson, the most recent biografer of Blake +informs me in a letter that he does not know it.</p></div> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="A_PARTIAL_BIBLIOGRAPHY" id="A_PARTIAL_BIBLIOGRAPHY"></a>A PARTIAL BIBLIOGRAPHY</h2><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[P:49]</a></span></p> + + +<p> +Athenæum. Eine Zeitschrift von A. W. Schlegel und Friederich<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Schlegel, Zweiter Band. Berlin, 1799.</span><br /> +<br /> +Boydell, John.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Catalogue of the ... Shakspeare Gallery, London, 1789.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">The first edition of the catalog givs the painters' names</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">only: subsequent editions add the names of the engravers.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">There are copies of the various editions in the</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">Columbia, Harvard and New York Public Libraries.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">A Catalogue of Prints ... comprising the stock of J.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">and J. Boydell, London, 1808.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3.5em;">Copy in N. Y. Public Library.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">A Collection of prints from pictures painted for the purpose</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">of illustrating the dramatic works of Shakespeare, by the</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">artists of Great Britain. London ... 1803, 2 vols. in</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">one, atlas folio.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3.5em;">There are many copies in the U. S. and there is also an</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3.5em;">American reprint with letterpress explanatory of the</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3.5em;">plates.</span><br /> +<br /> +Dessoir, M. K. P. Moritz als Aesthetiker.<br /> +<br /> +Dobson, Austin. William Hogarth, New York and London, 1907.<br /> +<br /> +Engel, J. J. Ideen zu einer Mimik, 1848.<br /> +<br /> +Engel. Angelika Kaufmann, 1903.<br /> +<br /> +Fiorillo, J. D. Geschichte der zeichnenden Künste, etc. Bd. V.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Geschichte der Malerei in Grossbrittanien. Göttingen, 1808.</span><br /> +<br /> +Forster, Georg. Sämmtliche Schriften, III. Leipzig, 1843.<br /> +<br /> +Friessen, H. von. Ludwig Tieck. Erinnerungen eines alten<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Freundes. Wien, 1872.</span><br /> +<br /> +Göttingen. Anzeigen für Gelehrte Sachen, etc. The volumes<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">from 1791 to 1803 were used.</span><br /> +<br /> +Haym, R. Die romantische Schule, 1870.<br /> +<br /> +Holtei, K. Drei hundert Briefe aus zwei Jahrhunderten, Hannover,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">1872.</span><br /> +<br /> +Joachimi-Dege, M. Deutsche Shakspeare-Probleme im XVIII.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Jahrhundert und im Zeitalter der Romantik. Leipzig, 1907.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[P:50]</a></span>Köpke, R. Ludwig Tieck, Leipzig, 1855.<br /> +<br /> +Minor, J. Friedrich Schlegel. Seine prosaischen Jugendschriften,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Wien 1906.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Tieck und Wackenroder. Kürschners D. N. L. Bd. 145.</span><br /> +<br /> +Moritz, K. P. Ueber die nachahmende Bildung des Schönen.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">In D. L. D.</span><br /> +<br /> +Reynolds, J. Academy Discourses. Bohn Edition, London,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">1846.</span><br /> +<br /> +Shakspere, W. The Dramatic Works of William Shakspeare,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">London, 1802.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">This is the Steevens edition in nine volumes. Copy in</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">New York Public Library.</span><br /> +<br /> +Spooner, Shearjashub. Prospectus for publishing an American<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">edition of Boydell's illustrations of Shakespeare, N. Y., 1848.</span><br /> +<br /> +Sulger-Gebing. Die Brüder A. W. und F. Schlegel und die<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">bildende Kunst, 1897.</span><br /> +<br /> +Sybel. Erinnerungen an F. von Uechtritz. Leipzig, 1884.<br /> +<br /> +Volbehr. Goethe und die bildende Kunst, 1897.<br /> +<br /> +Walzel, O. F. Friedrich Schlegel's Briefe an seinen Bruder<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">August Wilhelm. Berlin, 1890.</span><br /> +<br /> +Wietenkampf, F. How to appreciate prints. New York, 1908.<br /> +<br /> +Zelak. Tieck und Shakspere. Tarnopol, 1900.<br /> +</p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<p><b>Transcriber's Notes</b></p> + +<p>There is much Idiosyncratic spelling in both English and German. This +has been retained, apart from the following four typos:</p> + +<p>page 15 "sehn" amended to "sehr";<br /> +page 30 "obobserver" amended to "observer";<br /> +page 40 "int he" amended to "in the";<br /> +page 54 "Grossbittanien" amended to "Grossbrittanien".</p> + +<p>On page 32, the typo "est giebt" has been left unchanged: it could be +either "es giebt" or "erst giebt" (more likely).</p> + +<p>Also on p. 32 "zu grob ist" should probably be "zu groß ist", but has +been left unchanged, as the letter ß does not appear elsewhere in the +text.</p> + +<p>Three obvious errors in punctuation have also been amended, as follows:</p> + +<p>page 12 "page 28." amended to "page 28:";<br /> +page 34 "darstellen will." amended to "darstellen will,";<br /> +page 41 Tanzschritt," amended to "Tanzschritt";<br /> +page 44 "G. G. A.." amended to "G. G. A.,".<br /> +page 48 "in in Das" amended to "in Das".</p> + +<p>Anchors for footnootes 31 and 36 are missing. They have been inserted in +the most likely locations.</p> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Tieck's Essay on the Boydell Shakspere +Gallery, by George Henry Danton + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BOYDELL SHAKSPERE GALLERY *** + +***** This file should be named 34937-h.htm or 34937-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/4/9/3/34937/ + +Produced by Margo Romberg, Karl Eichwalder and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This +book was produced from scanned images of public domain +material from the Google Print project.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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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 at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Tieck's Essay on the Boydell Shakspere Gallery + +Author: George Henry Danton + +Release Date: January 12, 2011 [EBook #34937] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BOYDELL SHAKSPERE GALLERY *** + + + + +Produced by Margo Romberg, Karl Eichwalder and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This +book was produced from scanned images of public domain +material from the Google Print project.) + + + + + + + + + + New York University + + OTTENDORFER MEMORIAL SERIES OF + GERMANIC MONOGRAPHS + + No. 3 + + TIECK'S ESSAY + + ON THE + + BOYDELL SHAKSPERE GALLERY + + + BY + + GEORGE HENRY DANTON + + + INDIANAPOLIS + + EDWARD J. HECKER, PRINTER + + 1912 + + + + + This Paper Is Dedicated + To the Memory + of + Oswald Ottendorfer + + + + +PREFACE + + +The material which was originally pland for my monograf in the +Ottendorfer series has since been independently publisht by Steinert in +his dissertation and book on Tieck's color sense and by O. Fischer in an +article, "Ueber Verbindung von Farbe und Klang" in the _Zeitschrift fuer +AEsthetik_. These three works renderd the publication of my material +superfluous, made a change of plan necessary and the result is that my +monograf has been very much delayd in appearing. + +As far as I know, there is no other study of Tieck's first critical +paper. I found it worth while to do this monograf because the comparison +with the original engraving brought out so many interesting facts, threw +light on Tieck's erly critical method, explaind his taste, showd his use +of sources and above all, contradicted the positiv assertion of Haym +that Lessing's influence is nowhere discernible. The meny interesting +facts about the gallery itself that came to light in the course of the +paper, the meny questions about it which I was unable to solv, may +perhaps become the matter of another article. + +The "Gallery" is for us now a revenant of a past and somewhat impossible +generation. A certain air of English commercial roastbeefism clings to +it. It is an England, the art of which knows nothing of Constable and +still less of Turner, an England which loves Shakspere without reading +him--as Tieck suspected--and whose gallofobia does not recognize the det +to France and the French elements in this very series. As an +interpretation of Shakspere, it is no more than on a plane with Colly +Cibber. Tieck saw this and felt it, but could not make clear to himself +what was wrong with it. The plates belong in parlors of the haircloth +age, where indeed, they may still often be found. It is before the day +of the painted snowshovel and the crayon portrait, but the delicacy of +the Adams' decorations has gone out and the new strength of Romanticism +has not come in. There is surely no tuch of the Elizabethan or Jacobean +spirit. + +I wish to take this opportunity to thank the various members of the +staffs of the Stanford University and the Columbia University Libraries, +of the Congressional and New York Public Libraries for their aid; +especially to thank Mr. Weitenkampf for his very great help on technical +matters. Mr. L. L. Mackall also furnisht me with very valuable +information. The paper underwent a most searching criticism at the hands +of Professor Wilkens, of New York University and I wish to express my +especial indetedness to him for his assistance in the matter. To +Professor McLouth my thanks are due for a constant kindly interest in me +as Ottendorfer fellow. Finally, it is a plesant duty to express my +appreciation of the benefits derived from that Fellowship and to thank +the Committee for having made me its third incumbent. + + G. H. D. + Indianapolis, Ind., September, 1911. + + + + + +TIECK'S ESSAY ON THE BOYDELL SHAKSPERE GALLERY + + +Tieck's attack[1] on the Boydell Shakspere Gallery[2] was his first +publisht critical production. It is significant to note that this first +essay in criticism delt both with Shakspere and with art, that is, with +the ruling passion of Tieck's life and with one of the strongest of his +secondary interests. The passion for Shakspere with the concomitant +sense of close personal relationship with him, came to be a major part +of Tieck's being and is clearly indicated even before this article.[3] +Tieck's decided aversion to the English national standpoint toward +Shakspere is strongly exprest in the essay. The man who later vainly +tried to convert Coleridge to a point of view with respect to the +dramatist that was opposed to all that was national and English, does +not, as a mere lad, hesitate to venture his douts as to whether the +English nation is equal to the task of illustrating its greatest +poet.[4] + +These illustrations are known as the Boydell Shakspere Gallery. They +were the idea of the engraver, Alderman John Boydell,[5] who wisht to +set up a great national monument to the genius of Shakspere and, at the +same time, to foster a school of historical painting in a land where +heretofore the portrait alone had attaind to any degree of +excellence.[6] The "Gallery" was begun in 1789 and was completed in +1803. At no sparing of expense to himself--the entire cost was upward of +L100,000--Boydell commissiond some of the best artists and engravers of +the time to portray scenes from all of Shakspere's plays. The oil +paintings, about 100 in number, were to be permanently housd in a +gallery bilt for the purpose in London and were to be bestowd on the +nation as a perpetual memorial to the great playwright's genius. The +Napoleonic wars, "that Gothic and Vandalic revolution," and the deth in +poverty of Boydell, renderd necessary the disposal of the collection by +lottery (1804). The lucky ticket was held by a London connoisseur named +Tassie. At his deth the collection was scatterd, tho subsequently a few +of the pictures were recollected and are now in the Shakspere Memorial +in Stratford.[7] + +The plates from these pictures are, all in all, no better and no worse +than engravings of the day are likely to be. It is illustration work in +which the story interest is the predominant feature. Interpretation of +Shakspere takes precedence over art, and even Boydell places the painter +below the poet and speaks disparagingly of the ability of the former to +understand and to portray. The purposes of the "Gallery" harmonize with +Tieck's point of view and his predilection for the interpretativ in +criticism minimizes the esthetic aspects of his discussion. + +Tieck's essay is in the form of four letters, and was written while he +was a student at the University of Goettingen. It had the approval of his +teacher, Johann Dominik Fiorillo, (himself afterward well-known as the +author of an extensiv history of art,) tho it was not especially written +under Fiorillo's gidance.[8] It was intended, on the surface at least, +as an open and emfatic protest agenst the too lavish praise of the +plates in the journals. The general tone, then, is polemic tho directed +agenst no particular person or article. + +In the preface to his critical works[9] Tieck asserts that the article +is a product of the year 1793 and that it was published in 1794. It +appeared in the _Neue Bibliothek der schoenen Wissenschaften und +freyen Kuenste_, 55ten Bandes zweytes Stueck, pages 187-226, which bears +the date 1795,[10] and according to the Messkatalog, did not appear till +Michaelmas of that year.[11] Tieck's memory, therefore, faild him as to +the date of publication and he has also fallen into a slite error, or +rather inaccuracy, in regard to the time of origin. The article could +not have been completed within the calendar year 1793, because a number +of the plates that Tieck discusses are dated December 24, 1793, and +could hardly hav got to the continent in the same year. While it may be +possible that the plates were postdated, there is no evidence of such +fact at hand. Moreover, the "Gallery" was reviewd in the _Goettinger +Gelehrte Anzeigen_ under dates about six months after the appearance of +the individual plates in England and these reviews, as will be shown +hereafter, were extensivly used by Tieck. In these reviews, the plates +are always spoken of as recently arrived. The prints were issued +regularly to the subscribers, of whom the University, according to the +Ms. catalog in the Boston Public Library, was one.[12] It is hardly to +be supposd that the young student would have erlier access to the +pictures than the reviewer for the semi-official university publication. +This reviewer was Heyne[13] who afterward mediated the publication of +Tieck's article. The article was no dout written before Tieck settled in +Berlin in the Fall of 1794 but its writing went out over the confines of +1793. The next series of plates appeard in June, 1794, and is not +included in Tieck's article, tho this is no proof that the article was +completed before June, since the plates probably did not arrive in +Germany till well in the Summer. + +Tieck's essay has been almost entirely neglected by Tieck scholars. It +is not a great piece of constructiv criticism, nor can it be said to +contain the ripe judgments of a mature mind. It is, however, a fresh +and, on the whole, convincing analysis of the plates and as such +deserves a careful examination. It will be seen that the article has a +very definit foundation in preceding criticism but that Tieck, tho +borrowing freely from one source at least, namely the _Goettinger +Gelehrte Anzeigen_, has not slavishly plagiarized nor has he been servil +in his adoption of the ideas of others. And it is also worth noting that +Tieck's criticism was regarded as sufficiently authorativ by Fiorillo to +have been used as a partial source for the latter's critique of the +Boydell plates. + +Tieck claims that the praise of the "Gallery" in the contemporary +magazines is excessiv. This claim is exaggerated. Meny important +magazines do not discuss the plates even where there was an excellent +opportunity. So, for example, Wieland's _Mercur_ and Nicolai's +_Allgemeine deutsche Bibliothek_ do not mention them, tho from time to +time engravings from other contemporary paintings are discust. For +instance, Nicolai's journal has one long discussion of the state of +contemporary art, especially of engraving (No. 110, 1792) but omits all +reference to the Boydell series. The criticism in Meusel's _Museum fuer +Kuenstler_ is on the whole, destructiv. One discussion, for example, +(No. IV, page 99) is a violent attack on engraving in general and calls +the "Gallery," "Diese die Malerei zu grunde richtende Gelegenheit," and +condems the "Kraemergeist" at the bottom of the enterprize. The value of +line in engraving is, however, pointed out, and Bartolozzi and Ryland, +who had but little to do with the series are faintly praisd. Other +mention in Meusel's magazines is either entirely unoriginal summary +(_Museum_, VI, 352) or mere cursory comment (_Miscellaneen_, Stueck 30.) +The articles on caricature (Neue _Miscellaneen_ X., 154 and Archiv I, +66) are so late that they cannot be taken into consideration in +connection with Tieck's paper. + +With the _Goettinger Gelehrte Anzeigen_ the case is different.[14] +Tieck saw and used its articles as a basis for his work, tho the credit +of having written the first connected essay from a single viewpoint +belongs to him. The not over laudatory criticisms of the _Anzeigen_ are +often paralel, even down to the wording of details with Tieck's +judgments, but it would be a mistake to suppose that Tieck used the +articles without having seen the engravings and without having given the +pictures careful consideration. The fact that Tieck follows the errors +of the _Anzeigen_ is significant, but it is equally significant that he +corrects the errors of the magazine from his stock of observd judgments. +Generally, where Tieck follows the _Anzeigen_ most closely he is at his +worst. The somewhat superficial and scanty remarks of the journal were +no surrogate for the clear vision and power of adaptibility of the young +man. Tieck's personal regard for Shakspere, which amounted to a real +passion, was entirely wanting. + +The use of the articles in the _Anzeigen_ must be shown in detail, and +Tieck's indetedness must be definitly brought out. Paralels will +sometimes show convergence and sometimes divergence of ideas, but in +general it will be seen that Tieck practically never used his material +without some personal addition. + +There is one set of cases which is peculiar and which deservs special +attention. The plates in question are: "Much Ado," III, 1, ditto IV, 2, +and "As You Like It," last scene. + +A word of explanation in regard to the Boydell plates is necessary. From +the original paintings there were two sets of plates engraved, known as +the large plates (L) and the small plates (S). The small plates were in +all but a few cases done from different pictures than were the large +ones. These large plates are those usually known as the Boydell Gallery. +Both sets were issued serially; the large set was also bound and issued +as a separate volume in 1803, and the small plates were used as +illustrations for the Steevens Shakspere edition of 1802, the letter +press of which also seems to have been issued in parts before the bound +volumes were finally put on the market. The bulk of Tieck's criticisms +applies to the large plates tho he has a few remarks on the small ones +as well. When he discusses the small plates, he always mentions the +fact, except in the three cases just cited. These are three of the cases +where L and S coincide in subject matter and where additional S plates +were afterwards printed as a gratuitous gift to the subscribers.[15] +These plates are among the first discust by the _Anzeigen_ (1791, page +1794) which mention the fact of the plates being for the Shakspere +edition, and that the extra plates are to be furnisht to make up for the +duplication of subject matter in these cases of L and S. This is what is +meant by the sentence, "Es wird sogar die Austauschung des einen Kupfers +kuenftig versprochen," a statement that corresponds perfectly with the +remark in the later Boydell catalog that this promis has been fulfild. +Tieck does not notis this statement of the _Anzeigen_ but treats these S +plates as if they were L, yet gives the names of the engravers of S. +This would look like a clear case of careless copying from the +_Anzeigen_ if it were not clear from the additions that Tieck makes to +the latter's criticism that he saw the plates too. The explanation of +the discrepancy may be that Tieck when he was writing his article +consulted the _Anzeigen_ for the facts in regard to the engravers, did +not notis that the S plates were referd to and carelessly copied down +what he saw. + +I shall now examin in detail some of the paralel criticisms. + +Much Ado, II; 4, G. G. A. 1791, page 1794: ... "wo in der Trauung statt +des Jaworts Pedro die Hero fuer keine reine Jungfer erklaert, und Hero in +Ohnmacht faellt; ... Das beste Stueck von allen in Ruecksicht der +Composition, Ausdrucks und Auswahl des Lichtes nur ist die Stellung der +Hauptperson ein wenig zu theatralisch; sonst aber alles gut geordnet; +schoene Contraste von Licht und Ruhe fuer das Auge." + +Tieck, page 19: "Das zweite Blatt enthaelt die Vertossung der Hero ... +und dies ist offenbar eines der vorzueglichsten. Das Licht ist sehr gut +geordnet, das Auge findet sogleich unter den Gruppen einen Ruhepunkt; +nur hat Hamilton dem Claudio eine zu theatralische Stellung und dem +Leonato zu wenig Ausdruck gegeben." + +Tieck carries the praise of the _Anzeigen_, the "Das beste Stueck" of +which refers only to the group under immediate discussion, to the whole +series. He takes his main critical vocabulary from the prototype and +adds the original differentiation of Claudio and Leonato to which +reference must be made later. + +"Much Ado," IV, 2; G. G. A., 1791, page 1794: ... "ein Gemisch von +verkrueppelten, unedeln Caricaturen ohne alle Grazie ... Zu bedauren ist +die Kunst, die an den Stich verwendet ist; denn der Stich ist einer der +besten." Tieck's criticism of this plate is paralel in so far as he +praises the mechanical perfection of the engraver, who is Heath of S, +and not Simon of L. So far we have the blind following of the model. But +Tieck also makes the picture a basis for a long discussion of caricature +and of thoro condemnation of Smirke, who is also no favorit of the +_Anzeigen_. As Tieck's letters show a profuse use of the word +caricature, he need not be especially indeted to the _Anzeigen_ for it. + +"Richard III," I, 1, G. G. A., 1791, page 1795. Here Tieck's borrowing +is direct. G. G. A.: "Eine schlechte Composition, ohne Ausdruck." Tieck, +page 27: "Die Composition ist schlecht, alle Figuren sind ohne +Ausdruck." G. G. A.: "Eine Menge Reflexe, Wiederscheine s. w. aber alles +dieses macht keine Wirkung, und das Auge findet keinen Ruhepunkt." +Tieck, page 28: "und sucht durch unendlich viele Wiederscheine ... dass +das Auge bei den vielen Lichtmassen gar keine Ruhe findet." But again, +besides these verbal and associational paralels, Tieck has added a free +treatment of the composition, an examination of the drawing of the +figures, of which there is no hint in the model and, all in all, makes +the criticism his own. The impulse certainly came from the _Anzeigen_, +but the whole critique is a product of Tieck's self. + +"Richard III," IV, 3, G. G. A., 1791, page 1795: "Stellung gezwungen." +Tieck, page 28: "Der Moerder unnatuerlich." Here Tieck borrowed the idea +and after an examination of the plate changed the wording. + +"As You Like It," II, 1, G. G. A., 1793, page 561: "Ein treffliches +Landschaftsgemaelde." Tieck, page 18: "die reizende Landschaft." An +examination of the whole of Tieck's criticism shows that he has added a +characterization of Jacques, has discust the choice of this particular +subject, and in this connection shows especially that the plate under +discussion is only a vignette to the plays and not a part of the real +play itself. + +"As You Like It," last scene, G. G. A., 1793, pages 561-2: "Orlando, der +mit zeimleich ausgespreizeten Beinen." Tieck, page 18: "Seine +augespreizten Beine machen ihn widrig." Here Tieck has taken an +externality of the description and has given it a point. The use of the +word "widrig" gives a new tuch. + +"Romeo and Juliet," I, 5, G. G. A.: "die Hauptfiguren muss man suchen." +Tieck, page 29: "Die Hauptfiguren findet man nur mit einiger Muehe." +Notis, however, how Tieck then goes on independently to giv his own +point: "den Vater der Julie kann man nur errathen; Julie selbst hat +wenig Character. Tybald ist die ausdruckvollste Figur auf diesem +Blatte." Tieck also quotes in full the passage beginning, "If I profane +with my unworthy hand" which the _Anzeigen_ only indicates. This might +be laid to yuthful pedantry, were the whole not made far clearer for the +entire citation. + +"Romeo and Juliet," IV, 5, G. G. A., 562: "Julia nach genommenem +Schlaftrunk fuer todt gehalten, mit den Worten des Moenchs: Peace ho for +shame! ff. Dieser troestend, die Mutter die Haende ringend, Paris Julien +umfassend, ein Stueck mit vielem Affect" ... Tieck, page 30: "Julie hat +den Schlaftrunk genommen und scheint gestorben, ihre Aeltern sowie ihr +Braeutigam Paris sind in Verzweifelung, der Pater sucht Alle zu troesten." +In the discussion of the small plate which follows, the _Anzeigen_ +points out the changes which have been made on it, this being one of the +supplementary small plates for the 1802 text edition. Tieck also notises +the fact of the change but that he took his information not only from +the _Anzeigen_ but from an examination of the original is proved by his +additions to the information of the _Anzeigen_. Tieck's comment is, +"Mehrere unnuetze Personen weggelassen." This reason goes at least one +step farther than the _Anzeigen_ comment. In the magazine, the effect of +the double light in L is adversly criticized. Tieck adds to this, "Der +alte Capulet hat auf beiden Blaettern wenig Ausdruck." That both Tieck +and the magazine use the fraze "tut ... Wirkung" in this place seems of +secondary importance. A mere linguistic reminiscence, where it is not +connected with an idea, is not influence. This must be sought in basic +ideas, in hints which point the way for new lines of thought, in an +adoption of facts. An author like Tieck shows independence when he adds, +eliminates and remolds what he receives, even tho the form of the +thought clings often to him. + +So, then, when the _Anzeigen_ (1793, page 562) has the fraze "Julie in +dem Grabgewoelbe erwachend," the fact that Tieck (page 30) introduces his +criticism with the words, "Julie erwacht, als der Moench eben in das +Gewoelbe tritt," is of slite consequence. This is a simple description of +fact. Of much more importance is the fact that the magazine goes on to +point out that not nature but the stage should be the model for the +painter in this case, a doctrin which Tieck not only does not mention, +but in fact, utterly rejects when the time comes to discuss it in the +course of the treatment. + +In the criticism of Schiavonetti's plate after Angelica Kaufmann (G. G. +A., 1793, page 903; Tieck, pages 16-17) Tieck agrees with the _Anzeigen_ +but is thoroly independent in his resoning and adds constantly to what +the magazine asserts. That both find the disguisd Julia beautiful is not +unresonable, and as the disguise is a part of the play it is not strange +that Tieck mentions it. In the same section of the magazine is a passage +which finds a later echo in Tieck. "Koenig Lear reisst sich die Kleider +vom Leibe" (903). Tieck (32): "und reisst sich endlich die Kleider ab." +The verbal paralelism has significance here only because there are other +hints at this time which may hav aided Tieck: e. g., the fact that the +artist has departed from the scene as Shakspere portrayd it. Tieck is +definit in stating just who is added, which proves that he knew his +Shakspere and saw the plate. Tieck also points out the spiritual +difference between Shakspere and the "famous West," a distinct addition +to the matter in the _Anzeigen_. "Winter's Tale," II, 3, G. G. A., 1794, +page 9: "Der eifersuechtige Leontes laesst den Antigonous bey seinem ihm +vorgehalten Schwerte schwoeren, dass er das Kind, das ihm seine Gemahlin +geboren hatte, in eine Einoede aussetzen will. Sind gemeine Figuren." +Notis how in Tieck, while the general terms of the description are the +same, because following the line of least resistance in externalities, +the whole discussion takes on an individual character, and is expanded +into a critique of Opie's drawing which was always unsatisfactory to +Tieck. Tieck (page 21): "Der eifersuechtige Leontes laesst den Antigonus +schwoeren, das Kind auszusetzen.... An den Darstellungen aus diesem +Stuecke ist viel zu tadeln, vorzueglich an dieser ersten Scene. Leontes, +die Hauptperson, ist steif und ohne allen Ausdruck, alle uebrigen +Personen sind dick und plump gezeichnet und ganz ohne alle Bedeutung. +Leontes laesst den Antigonus, so wie Hamlet seine Gefaehrten, bei seinem +Schwerte schwoeren. Schauspieler und Zeichner aber fehlen, wenn sie es so +vorstellen, wie Opie es hier gethan hat. Die alten Schwerter bilden oben +am Griffe ein Kreuz und auf dieses legte man die Hand, in Ermangelung +eines eigentlichen Crucifixes.... In diesem Blatte entdecken sich auch +bald viele Fehler in der Zeichnung. Das Auge wird von der Hauptperson +auf die Lichtmasse, folglich, auf das Kind hingezogen; die Hauptfigur +tritt gar nicht genug hervor, sondern haengt mit den hinter ihr stehenden +zusammen; die Koepfe im Hintergrunde sind eben so gross, wie die der +vorderen Personen. Alles verraeth den ungeuebten Kuenstler." As an example +of Tieck's rejection of the opinion of the G. G. A., the discussion of +"Winter's Tale," V, 3, will suffice. This is the statue scene which +Tieck absolutely condems on account of poor engraving, expression and +posing. Where the magazine says "Die Statue, der man es doch sehr gut +ansieht, das es eine lebende Figur ist, macht grosse Wirkung." Tieck +(22) contradicts thus: "Die Statue ist sehr unnatuerlich, sie sieht mehr +einem Geiste, als einem Menschen aehnlich." + +There are, finally, three further cases in which Tieck takes a hint from +the _Anzeigen_ and develops it. "2 Henry VI," III, 3, (1794, page 10): +"Kardinal Beauford ... ein scheuslicher Anblick, in mehr als einem +Verstande." Tieck (page 25): "Dieses abscheuliche Blatt." But Tieck, in +a passage too long to quote, goes on to giv cogent reasons for not +liking the picture, not one of which is derived from the _Anzeigen_. The +other passages from the "Merry Wives" (I, 1 and II, 1, G. G. A., 1794, +page 970; Tieck, 11-12) take the hint that Smirke drew caricatures and +not human beings and borrow the adjectiv "widrig." With this slender +borrowing Tieck develops a full discussion of Smirke and of these +plates with no further assistance from the _Anzeigen_ than a hint on the +engraving of textiles. + +These passages on "Henry VI" and on the "Merry Wives" are doubly +interesting, however, because they show that Tieck's judgment of Smirke +and Northcote offers a very close paralel to that of the magazine. +Tieck's reasons are fuller, but they show no more ability in Tieck than +in the reviewer of the _Anzeigen_ to understand some of the most +characteristic features of English humor as exemplified in Smirke, while +the pupil and biografer of Sir Joshua fares badly because of his alleged +bad composition and poor light effects. It will be shown later that on +both of these latter questions Tieck held views quite independent of the +_Anzeigen_. + +Of Kirk's plate from "Titus Adronicus" the G. G. A., 1794, page 970, +says, "Den Ausdruck an der Lavinia abgerechnet ein gut Stueck." Tieck +(28) begins with a weak, "an dem Blatte ... ist vielleicht viel zu loben +und wenig zu tadeln" but "rights himself like a soldier" thus, "Man +sieht, dass der Kuenstler eine sehr richtige Idee von der Composition +hat, und dass er seinem Gegenstand mit Geschmack und Delicatesse zu +behandeln weiss. Er laesst uns die abgeschnittenen Arme der Lavinia nur +vermuthen; der geschickt geworfene Schleier entzieht unserm Auge den +unangenehmen Anblick," etc. + +The examples and paralels alredy given cover practically all of the +points of similarity between Tieck and his model. They show that Tieck +used the _Anzeigen_ constantly and minutely but they can not fail to +impress the reader with the fact that Tieck invariably rises above the +plane of the jottings in the magazine in form and in substance. The +content of Tieck's criticisms is very much greater than that of his +prototype and the form is far more polisht. These apercus of Heyne did +not prevent Tieck's independent thinking; they never fettered him. He +followd them in a number of places in his paper and once or twice falls +into their error thru youthful carelessness or misapprehension. They did +not often confuse his judgment or hamper his vision. He never ruthlessly +plagiarizd them. That they were a source can not be denied, but that +they form the real basis of Tieck's critique is not for a moment +tenable. This came unquestionably from himself, and he must be given +credit or blame for the good or bad in it. + +Tieck set about the task of criticising the "Boydell Gallery" with no +diffidence, but with many misgivings, amounting almost to prejudises, as +to the valu of the set of plates. He was aware that this work was +intrinsically in a class which is, all in all, artistically inferior. +His judgments are objectiv, but they promis no prescience of a higher, a +more spiritual attitude toward art. Art in this case servs +interpretation and the struggle away from what the plates represent has +hardly commenced. Tieck feels that the whole group does not do Shakspere +justis, but he nowhere says that the subjectiv interpretation of the +poet must remain the lasting one for the individual; indeed he asserts +quite the contrary on the very first page of his paper. It is to be +expected that Tieck's common sense and fancy should rebel at the +platitudinarianism of the pictures; that at times he is no more than on +the plane of the sentimental "Enlightenment" is also to be expected. The +valu of the study is in such harsh negativ criticism as it exercises +where emfasis is false or where bad taste prevails in the performance of +the artists' task. + +Tieck came to the work with a good first-hand knowledge of Shakspere and +this lessens the juvenile and jejune qualities of his work. He is weaker +on the comedies than on the trajedies, for the former require a keener +sensing of English life than it was possible for Tieck to hav obtaind at +the time of writing. But even for the comedies, some of his observations +are very just and show that he could interpret Shakspere with sense and +precision. The present discussion will attempt to find out by a careful +examination of the plates just what Tieck saw in these pictures and how +far his interpretation was right. The results should show, in a general +way, something of the powers of interpretation possest by the youthful +Tieck, and how this power of interpretation conditiond his judgments. + +The general theoretical standpoint upon which the essay was written is +that of Lessing, and a careful perusal will show that Haym was wrong +when he postulated no Lessing influence on the article.[16] Tieck's +letters to Wackenroder show that he was reading the Laokoon at this +time, but even if a preoccupation with Lessing were not easily +postulable, the matter of the paper itself will show a distinct +recrudescence of Lessing's ideas. And not only Lessing, but the school +of critics out of which Lessing arose, e. g., Winkelmann and DuBos, +were also a part of Tieck's reading.[17] + +The article has a total lack of coloristic reflexes; it emfasizes form, +if not line; its thoro reasonableness takes into consideration all that +Lessing has stood for in the domain of art. It has the same standpoint +as that of a Goethe returnd from Italy and of a Karl Philipp Moritz from +whom, to be sure, Tieck was turning away in disgust.[18] + +The article fails to solv the problem in Tieck's mind of reconciling his +natural desire away from the regulated and calm with the current and +traditional in British art. The conflict is between a desire in theory +for moderated effects, for the toning down of emotion, and a desire, in +practis, for strong contrast and superlativ effects. Lessing, in art the +enemy of all realism, finds in Tieck a condemer of Hogarth, a +condemnation that persists in Tieck as late as the essay on the erly +English Theater (1828),[19] and persists on grounds similar to the +fundamental principle of beauty laid down by Lessing. + +It would be a mistake to argu from the foregoing that in this article +Tieck was not a realist, or at least strongly inclined toward realism in +his practis. His realism was that of the yung enthusiast for whom each +variation from the sense of his idol was a blasfemy, and he points out +(page 24) that there can be none of that deception of the senses which +is a part of the pictorial arts where "ich irgend eine auffallende +Unnatuerlichkeit entdecke; denn die Nachahmung der Natur ist der Zweck +des Kuenstlers." Such strict imitation of nature is more to be expected, +to be sure, in the work of the lesser lights, such as are the men who +did the pictures for the "Gallery," than in the work of a real genius, +and one is glad to overlook, in the works of the latter, those minor +faults which almost entirely disappear in the face of a thousand +beauties. So, says Tieck (page 14) "who would pass by the divine +masterpieces of a Rafael and yet with weighty mien find fault with the +bad coloring of a single garment?" There are clearly two kinds of +artist. The one is the genius who may be carried too far by his +enthusiasm, the other is the colder painter, who by his choice of +subject, composition, correctness of drawing, and grace must make up for +his lack of genius, and who can not hope to attain the emotional effects +of his rival, but who must be content to arouse a cooler feeling, that +is, the satisfaction of the spectator. In this series, where genius is +excluded from the outset, Tieck expects a strict adherence to fact, to +verisimilitude, and the correct interpretation of Shakspere must be +insisted on. + +In order that the soul may get an immediate enjoyment of the work of +art, Tieck recommends (page 4) that the painter choose well-known +subjects. He says: "The soul passes immediately to the enjoyment of the +work of art and curiosity does not stand in the way of his enjoyment as +in the case of obscure or unknown subjects. I am alredy prepared for the +sentiment that the work of art is to arouse in me, and surrender myself +all the more willingly to the illusion. If the subject of the picture is +in itself beautiful and sublime, or if a great poet has furnisht the +painter with the invention, the composition and the emotions, our +enthusiasm is arousd, we giv our wonder and our delight to the painter." + +The painter, then, is only an interpreter of the poet, whose purpose it +is to seize the spirit of the poet, to portray those fine and spiritual +ideas which only a related genius can grasp and make concrete by an +appeal to the senses thru color-magic[20] the intangible creations of +the poet's brain. He makes lasting what the reader gets but a fleeting +glimpse of, and what even the actor can giv but little permanence (page +3).[21] + +Whether or not Tieck was influenced by the prospectus to the set, +indeed, whether he saw it or not, there is no way of knowing, but his +statement that these pictures in their entirety will form a national +gallery of historical paintings which will drive the scenes from Greek +mythology out of England, is much like Boydell's own statement of +purpose mentiond above. It is also an erly paralel to the Romantic +insistence on a new mythology, a nativ mythology, rather than one drawn +from foren sources which was a part of Friedrich Schlegel's canon. + +The engravings as such are treated by Tieck under five different heds. +These are: the mechanical technique, drawing with perspectiv and line, +composition (which Tieck does not clearly differentiate from design), +expression and choice of subject. These five heds comprize all the +points in which the pictures are treated, but not each picture is +treated from all five. The five giv, however, the full range of Tieck's +ideas on the engravings. They show the things that attracted his +attention, and where the influence of the _Anzeigen_ is felt, they serv +to show how different, after all, his own ideas were. Often the magazine +does not tuch one or more points of the five. + +Tieck's discussion of the technique of the engravings is, as may be +expected, rather thin, and the frazes that he uses are stereotyped. +Several of the plates praisd by him are quite without merit and such +generalities as, "schoen gestochen," "vorzueglich," "vortrefflich gut," +are not very significant. Negativ praise like "nichts zu tadeln" or "die +Ausfuehrung verdient alles Lob" show that on technical points Tieck was +judging very superficially and that his attention to the "Gallery" had +been attracted by something else than the perfection of the plates. + +These engravings are in the now old-fashiond stipple, tho parts of them +are in line. At the time of writing, Tieck may not hav known the +difference between line and stipple, tho in "Zerbino" a reference to the +"pointed manner," used in a punning way, shows that by that time Tieck +had become acquainted with it.[22] Nor does Tieck indicate in any way +the "Gallery's" sparing use of the increasingly popular mezzotint. He +makes no mention of the line manner of Flaxman, if he knew him. He does +not see that the line engravings in the set are poorer all thru than the +stipple prints, and that in some of the line plates the cutting is so +deep and the execution so clumsy that the resulting plates are muddy and +crude and are lacking in tone, grace, and even in exactness of +execution. + +In one or two places where satin is excellently reproduced, Tieck +praises the texture of the fabrics. The large plate by Simon from the +"Merry Wives" has a wonderful lace apron which a recent writer on +engraving has cald one of the best examples of the stipple manner.[23] +As Tieck refers to the other fabrics on the plate, which is one of those +with duplicated subject and which in the _Anzeigen_ seems only to hav +been discust in the S form, it seems clear that Tieck also saw L here, +as S is by no means so fine a plate; in fact L has the best fabrics in +the series. + +Of the twenty-four large plates discust by Tieck, there are only +thirteen which receive technical criticisms and of these thirteen, three +are lumpt together under one comment so that in all there are only ten +separate technical criticisms. Of these, six occur in the first six +plates and with the eighteenth plate, Kirk's scene from "Titus +Andronicus," the criticism of the mechanical side ends with a weak, +"sehr gut gestochen," showing that Tieck did not progress in his +technical criticisms. His interest in the engravings as engravings waned +as the essay proceeded: it never rose above an attention to textiles +and, even there, Tieck did not see all the finer differentiations of +velvet, chiffon and lace, tho the fine satins distinctly appeald to him. +Perhaps as fair an example as any of his inexactness, is his praise of +the plate from "As You Like It" in which Jacques lies watching the +wounded deer (II, 1). This is one of the poorest of the plates and yet +Tieck says, "Die Ausfuehrung verdient alles Lob." Fittler's plate from +"Winter's Tale" (IV, 2), while weak and without character, is not as bad +either in actual cutting or in general managment, and yet Tieck condems +it unmercifully. So, too, the bad plates by Middiman come in for no +special condemnation from Tieck, tho Middiman is by far the worst +engraver in the series, and is particularly bad after Hodges, the plates +after whom Tieck saw.[24] + +Drawing, as such, fares rather better than engraving, tho less than half +the pictures are criticized from this standpoint. Colorless expressions +like "Keine Fehler" and "Viele Fehler" are not wanting and in many cases +where whole bodies are out of drawing or where individual parts are bad +Tieck has nothing to say. + +It is especially interesting to note that Tieck finds the drawing of +Angelika Kaufmann without error. ("Two Gent. Verona," last scene). Here +he declares that no clumsy clothing conceals the figures, but the lines +are well brought out under the garments. The disguised Julia is at once +recognizable in spite of her masculin attire, and the manner of the +artist is "grazioes." An examination of the figure shows that Julia's +figure has something of the immature in it and that the face is rather +boyish. One thinks at once of the somewhat malicious words of Friedrich +Schlegel to his brother, "Wie Angelika Kaufmann, der die Busen und +Hueften, auch immer wie von selbst aus den Fingern quellen." Both Tieck +and Schlegel felt the sensuous charm of the painter whose best known +self-portrait is in the garb of a Vestal Virgin, tho the Schlegels, +like Georg Forster, had no illusions as to the qualities of her art.[25] + +Engravings in stipple emfasize less than line engravings mere questions +of drawing. It is perhaps with some instinctiv feeling for this that +Tieck suggests that one of Hamilton's pictures has been hurt by the bad +engraving, just as certain other plates have gaind thru the engraver +(page 22). The hint for this point came originally from the _Anzeigen_ +but Tieck has developt it. While it is now no longer possible to check +up each plate with its corresponding picture, it is true that the +engravers were relatively better craftsmen, as a rule, than the +painters. In hardly any one case is the painting a sample of the best +work of the artist. Often, as in the case of Sir Joshua Reynolds, the +painting redounds but little to his credit.[26] Where, as in the case of +Barry, Sir Joshua's great rival, the picture is reckond with his +superior work, the only conclusion is that Barry was a very bad artist +and so Tieck considers him. The engravers, on the other hand, had had no +better chance in years to exhibit their art than in this imposing +series, and most of the best names in stipple appear in it. The best +that Tieck does to recognize this fact is in the occasional lament for +the waste of good labor on a bad subject or painting (e. g., page 20). + +Besides having the good feeling for the human form under the garment, as +in the case of the figure of Julia and of those of Mrs. Ford and Mrs. +Page by Smirke, Tieck also criticizes several cases of misdrawing. So, +the clumsy legs of one of Opie's figures are scored and in blaming this +failing of Opie, Tieck hits one of the most pronounced weaknesses of +that artist both in the "Gallery" and in Bell's British Theater. But +Opie, the "Comedy Wonder," is hardly the "ungeuebter Kuenstler" that Tieck +makes him out to be. Here Tieck, following the criticism of the +_Anzeigen_, from which he may have got the hint on Opie's drawing, +develops the criticism too far and goes astray. There is a constant +suspicion that Tieck is trying to master a jargon. + +Often it is a mere chance whether Tieck will see or not see a +peculiarity. Some of the sentimental, foolish, and misdrawn hands escape +his notis, whereas in other cases he criticizes them. + +Perhaps the best example of Tieck's criticism of drawing is that of +Northcote's plate to "Richard III." (III, 1, page 27). He says, "Der +alte Cardinal scheint ganz verzeichnet zu sein, man ist ungewiss, ob er +steht oder kniet: in beiden Faellen ist die Zeichnung fehlerhaft." +Tieck's strictures are correct. The space from the waist down is found +upon examination to be abnormally long for a kneeling person, and +groteskly short for one standing. Tieck's critique is good, for it +points out the error and the reason, and shows that in any case the +alternativ is a bad one. + +Tho Tieck may hav been over-kind to Angelika Kaufmann, he quite agrees +with his contemporaries in the condemnation of another German Swiss +living in England, namely Fueessli, whom he calls one of the worst of the +admirers of Michaelangelo. The michaelangelesk school of the day faild +in its expression of great muscular effort, in that it put for strength +distortion and violence. Fueessli was one of the most important +adherents, or rather, was the greatest representativ of the fad perhaps +anywhere and seems therby to hav largely incurd the displesure of his +German critics. That Tieck really understood Michaelangelo is shown by +his later article in the "Phantasien ueber die Kunst." He defends him +from the charge of having drawn to show his knowledge of anatomy and +among other things, exclaims on his "greatness, his wild grace, his +fearful beauty."[27] But Tieck had no use for those of his imitators who +caught only the extravagance of his figures and debased his Titanic +creations into bizarre contortions by over-emfasis on mere muscle. + +That Tieck was not unconscious of the effect of mere line is shown by +his pointing out the unplesantness of the line made by Leontes' figure +in Hamilton's picture of the statu scene from "Winter's Tale." +Awkwardness and violence, anything that savord of "affectation and +bombast," where in Shakspere "power and energy" are found, met Tieck's +disapproval. So this figure of Leontes, so Orlando standing with his +legs far apart, so the faces drawn by Fueessli. Wherever there were +violent angles, sharp points and corners, Tieck felt himself ill at +ease. When he saw in some of Fueessli's plates faces which giv the +impression of the plaster blocks of the art schools that are used to +draw from the cast, the square chins, the noses, either very pointed or +cut off square, imprest him as repulsivly inhuman. "Widrig, unnatuerlich, +abgeschmackt, manierirt," are the terms applied to Fueessli's cursing +scene from Lear. + +It would hav been interesting had Tieck seen Fueessli's later scenes in +the "Gallery." The Bottom scenes from the "Midsummer Night's Dream" show +that fantastic imagination which was the artist's strong point. All the +forms from the fairy world were there, Moth, Peascod and a welth of +other spirits. There is a distinct appeal to the imagination which +justifies the painter of "Die Nachtmahr," tho the faces of Titania and +Oberon are here too hard and sullen. But the imagination shown has a +curious similarity with the work of Tieck in his later stories such as +"Die Elfen," and which has so warm an afterglow in "Die Vogelscheuche." + +Composition means for Tieck especially order. He has not yet lernd the +principle of triangulation of arrangement enunciated by Caroline in the +"Gemaelde" essay in the _Athenaeum_. He expects no more than that the +principle character shall be in an important place in the picture and +insists that the lighting devices serv to throw such personages into +relief. So when the perspectiv is bad it is because of the wrong emfasis +on the principal figures rather than that the harmony of the whole is +disturbed by a wrong arrangement. + +What irritates Tieck especially is an arrangement of figures in the +picture in the regular semi-circle borrowd directly from the theater. +The evil of unnaturalness which such attitudinizing brings with it, is +enhanced by light effects drawn from the same source. So, for example, +where the light is that of a lamp, only so much light as a lamp would +giv, or the effect of natural lamp-light is allowable. If, on the other +hand, the sunlight streams into the room, the source of the sunlight +should be evident as outside the room. Tieck might hav mentiond as an +example of this some of the fine interiors of Pieter De Hoogh. The light +effects should not be harsh but graded down so that no violent light +contrasts occur within the same room. The light, too, should be broken +up, not kept in a mass as if it were a separate entity to be treated +apart from all other objects. + +All this is perfectly resonable and not especially technical. It is +conveyd in stray hints rather than in any set discussion of light +effects in any one place. Often, too, Tieck's dislike for some other +aspect of a painter's work leads him astray on this point. This is tru +in the case of Northcote, whose really good treatment of the high +lights Tieck has in one or two cases entirely overlookt. There seems to +hav been a distinct appeal made, too, by the sheen and glitter of +certain textiles and the scintillating, flickering light of the later +periods of Tieck's work is presaged as erly as this. On the whole, +however, it is not the glitter of the world of out-of-doors, but of the +world of the shut-in, of the world of little things which appeals so +strongly to Tieck and which he treated with such banality in the story +"Ulrich der Empfindsame." + +Thus, Tieck's landscape criticism is very bad and even tho, as has been +pointed out, the basis for his adjectivs lies in the _Anzeigen_ +articles, his expansion beyond them brings no real betterment. In the +plate from "Love's Labor Lost" (IV, 1, page 9), when Tieck was feeling +his way into his subject, his general impression was one of plesure, and +so the landscape is "reizend." In the whole essay, "reizend" is the only +constructiv epithet applied to landscape and it occurs only twice. +Hamilton's landscape is purely conventional and, except for a vista, of +which Tieck was all his life fond, offers nothing to commend it. The +failure of Tieck to judge rightly must be laid at the door of too great +reliance on the _Anzeigen_. + +Tieck criticizes only one other landscape as such, tho in a third case a +landscape background is discust adversly. For the scene from "As You +Like It" in which Jacques watches the wounded deer the term "reizend" +seems quite impossible. Engraved by Middiman after Hodges, a combination +which augurs ill, the scene is without dout the worst in every way that +Tieck saw. The composition is bad: Jacques, a figure without grace of +expression, sprawls in a comedy landscape and the features of the +wounded deer hav a strong Hebraic cast. Here, if ever, the scene is +drawn from the stage and not from nature and stage properties are models +for tree and foliage. When Tieck says that the scene is one to arouse +cheerfulness in the beholder, he is correct but not in the sense that he +ment. The reliance on his source is not enuf to account for his +aberration; the failure to judge aright must be laid at Tieck's door. + +After pointing out the value of the whole, and the effect made by the +light of the torch held by Gloster ("Lear," III, 4), Tieck shows that +this effect, striking as it is, detracts from the unity of the +composition, since it shifts the emfasis from Lear and his pain. Lear, +morover, is not the Lear of Shakspere but a giant, and the effect of +this Herculean form is made further improbable by the exaggeration of +the wind blowing from all directions in the picture and driving the +garments of Lear with it, winding them impossibly about him. The effect +of these draperies, says Tieck, is baroque and there is no thought of +quiet strength or noble simplicity.[28] + +In the composition of this picture Tieck also notises that the figure of +Edgar is practically the same as that of a figure in West's Deth of +General Wolf. A comparison with the latter picture at once reveals the +justness of Tieck's observation. The figure of the Indian seated in the +foreground is strikingly like that of Edgar, both in form and in general +expression, and it is evident that West has repeated himself. In +general, Tieck does not make comparisons of this kind. He confines his +remarks to the picture itself, and probably was not well acquainted with +the run of contemporary British art.[29] + +Tieck's judgment of composition did not go far beyond this emfasis on +the principal figure. A general series of colorless frases like "gut +geordnet" occurs, but expresses only a mild acquiescence in the +arrangement. Tieck was fond of the posing sentimentalities of groups +like the landscape plate from "Love's Labor Lost," but he tries hard to +get away from them toward a realism which drew upon actual perception +for its postulates and which was not based upon premises--inadequate for +art--of Shakspere illustration. On the other hand, and here he departs +constantly from the canon of Lessing, there is no striving for abstract +beauty. Charm and grace, beauty in motion as it is exprest by the female +figure in Anne Page and a few other cases, are Tieck's nearest approach +to it.[30] + +The general reason for Tieck's failure is that in actuality these +pictures were not ugly or inartistic to him. Where he criticizes it is +oftenest the idea; the execution and the relation to an abstract +standard are of less consequence, and his theory once more limps behind +his practis. He may berate Hogarth as an artist without beauty but it is +clear that his extoling of Rafael is a mere matter of fashion; he is in +the same category with Domenichino, whom Tieck's generation and the next +succeeding one considerably overestimated. In Michaelangelo, Tieck +knows the strength of the drawing and not the wistfulness that pervades +even the most Titanic of the master's creations. In general, affectation +of pose, mannerism and preciosity are Tieck's bane only where the +sentimental is not concernd. + +An interesting commendation of the composition of a plate is that of +Kirk's picture from "Titus Adronicus" (IV, 1). Tieck likes the plate +because of its taste and delicacy in only suggesting the mutilated arms +of Lavinia. Kirk has avoided the frank naturalism of the original by the +use of draperies, and this appeals to Tieck as a toning down and is in +line with what had been suggested before in regard to Tieck's attitude. + +This plate has an accessory which Tieck objects to, namely the over +large colum in the background. Usually, but not in this case, Tieck +criticises the accessories from the standpoint of the stickler for +historical accuracy, rather than for any artistic merit or demerit. So +the tomb of the Capulets in "Romeo and Juliet" is not Italian of the +period, and the dresses of the women in "Merry Wives" are in violation +of the sumptuary laws of the time.[31] In the deth of Mortimer (1 "Henry +VI.," V, 2) the family tree lying on the ground adds a tuch of symbolism +which Tieck approves, tho in the same scene he criticizes the mean +character of the prison, saying that for such a noble prisoner a better +place of incarceration would hav been found. + +Tieck makes no clear distinction between passing expression (Ausdruck) +and permanency of feature (Miene). His discussion of expression goes +hand in hand with composition, since, as was mentiond above, composition +has so close a relation to the placing of the principal character. There +is a definit point of view, however, in Tieck's discussions of +composition; in his strictures and encomiums on expression of face and +figure it is practically impossible to find a consistent _pou sto_. In +places, his powers of observation seem to hav deserted him and his +lapses are not attributable to a too great leaning on the articles in +the _Anzeigen_. Tieck's theoretical discussion of the common-sense +element in these illustrations may be ever so clear and his demands on +the artist may be ever so high, but his practical application of these +principles is by no means as strict as might be expected. Indeed, in +theory Tieck demands one thing and in practis another. + +It is Tieck's desire that the artist should catch the individual note in +these figures and raise it to an ideal, that he should choose the +expression with care and never sacrifice it to coloring or drapery and +that he should avoid all necessity of using symbols to designate his +characters. But when Tieck actually examins the pictures, he stresses +theatrical pose or mien and pays no attention to those obvious tricks +whereby expression is obtainable: the skilful use of light and shade on +the face, the treatment of the lines of the mouth, and the placing of +the eyes. Occasionally, as in the ball scene in "Romeo and Juliet," it +seems as if the treatment of the eyes of a figure--in this case that of +Tybalt--attracted his attention, but there are so many other plates in +which the eyes are quite as good and are nevertheless past over, that +the instance of Tybalt seems fortuitous. + +Tieck uses the expressions "ohne Ausdruck," "wenig Ausdruck" and "ohne +Charakter," "wenig Charakter" almost exclusively in his negativ +criticism of the plates and his positiv criticism substitutes "viel" for +"wenig." Such frases are not very definit and Tieck misapplies them +constantly. In four out of the five cases of Tieck's largest caption, +"ohne Ausdruck," he is certainly incorrect and the postulation of "wenig +Ausdruck" is wrong in at least two out of the three cases. It is not a +matter of personal opinion nor can it be a difference in point of view +between the twentieth century and the end of the eighteenth. It is +largely bad judgment on Tieck's part. In the three cases where Tieck +sees "vielen Ausdruck" not one is in reality especially distinguisht for +vividness. Two even vie with the most expressionless in feature and hav +no special pretentions to significance of posture. In the five plates +where Tieck uses "ohne Charakter" or "wenig Charakter," the epithets are +in general tru. + +Tieck got the hint for an advers criticism of the faces of Mrs. Ford and +Mrs. Page from the _Anzeigen_. He exclaims, expanding his model, "Welch' +widrige Gesichter! welch' uninteresante Figuren!" There is in the pose +of Mrs. Page a most awkward droop of the neck, but in Mrs. Ford's face +there is a rollicking Irish drollery, a freshness of complexion and a +witchery of the eyes that are quite charming. The painting was by +Peters, whose "sprightly humor" was so much admired by his +contemporaries. + +One of the two pictures of Leontes in the "Winter's Tale" shows his +giving the oath to Antigonous to destroy the child. In Leontes' frowning +face Tieck sees no expression, altho it is unquestionably one of the +most lively of the series. The stiffness of pose that Tieck objects to +in the picture may well be accounted for by the full suit of armor that +Leontes wears. The face is far more expressiv than that of the other +Leontes picture and yet Tieck's judgment on them is the same. + +One of the most striking failures on Tieck's part to see character +interpretation of real subtlety is in Northcote's portrayal of "Richard +III." There can be no dout that Tieck's general dislike of the artist, +which was based on the adverse criticisms of the _Anzeigen_, led his +judgment astray. The face of Richard is all in all the most +characteristic of the series in so far as Tieck saw the series. +Richard's "subtle, false and trecherous" look with the smile of his grim +humor is well caught; the eyes and mouth are excellent and giv a very +adequate idea of the deviltry of the man, of his lewd cunning and his +scheming. What Tieck might well hav objected to is the sentimentalizing +of the two princes whom the artist has transmogrified into fat little +babies, just as in the next picture the two hav become well-fed little +beef-eaters. + +As Tieck fails to see sentimentality in this picture, so he misses +extravagance in the church scene from "Much Ado." Tieck borrowd much in +this discussion from the _Anzeigen_ but his remarks on expression are +his own. He says that Leonato has too little expression. There can be no +dout as to the figure intended for Leonato. Claudio is identified by a +very theatrical gesture and by a Mefistofelian Don Juan behind him. The +fainting Hero, over whom Beatrice is bending, falls into Benedix' arms. +The only other figure, that of an older man, and who therefore cannot be +Benedix, is standing in a most theatrical posture with clencht fists, +eyes upturnd, rigid and ridiculous. If Tieck ment that this figure +should represent Leonato, he has shot wide of the mark in his criticism +and displays a most unrefined love of the melodramatic. Figures like +this are not often found in the "Gallery." Ordinarily excess of +sentiment and a cheap display of emotion giv way to stiffness and +awkwardness. + +Tieck was dissatisfied with all the reproductions of Lear. They hav all +too much of the gigantic, too little of the childish old man. He points +out that the face as drawn by Fueessli expresses nothing but rage; the +same exaggeration is found in the drawing of West who sacrifices truth, +nature and emotion to a striking first impression. Barry's Lear only +excites laughter and the lack of expression in the face is made up by +the storm-wind in the hair. Again, however, issu must be taken with +Tieck's attitude, for it is impossible to regard these faces as +expressionless. It is not that they hav too little, but too much, and of +a wrong kind. Tieck nowhere draws the clear distinction and nowhere +makes it evident that he regards "Ausdruck" as a term to be interpreted +in any but a common sense way. + +It seems apparent that those plates which had a certain sentimentality, +a certain saccharin quality appeald to Tieck. He likes the prettiness of +Anne Page and cleverly notes the touch of scorn in her face. If he had +recalled Reynolds' Mrs. Siddons he would hav recognized the same trait +of hardness around the mouth, a line that is often found in the pictures +of English women. Perhaps Tieck's interest went hand in hand with his +enthusiasm for Rafael, and lack of discrimination lets him take all as +of equal value. The face of young Lucius in "Titus Adronicus" and the +face of Juliet in the tomb are examples of this. Tieck argues that the +boy has a good deal of expression, but a cool observer can see only +melodrama in the pose and blankness in the face. The most interesting +thing about the plate has escaped Tieck's attention, namely that both of +Titus' hands are represented. It seems an especially noteworthy omission +in a picture which Tieck praises for not showing the stumps of +Lavinia.[32] + +Tieck several times criticizes a picture for making a good first +impression and then not being able to stand the test of close +observation. An example of this is Northcote's portrayal of Mortimer and +York (1 "Henry VI.," II, 5) which is really spoild according to Tieck by +the strong light masses which at first sight seem very striking. These +light masses throw the main figure into relief, but Tieck objects to the +unnatural posture of the dying man. Close examination of the figure +reveals the fact that Mortimer is really well drawn; the lines of the +drapery distort the general impression, but that part of the drawing +comprising the actual sitting figure is that of a broken old man, fallen +in a heap and dying. Any one who has seen Irving's masterly +representation of the dying Louis cannot but be imprest by the +verisimilitude of Northcote's presentation. What Tieck says of the minor +characters on the plate is true; they are expressionless in the extreme. + +Tieck is fully justified in calling Reynolds' scene from "Henry VI." +"dieses abscheuliche Blatt," where the word "abscheulich" is reminiscent +of the _Anzeigen_. He asks further, "Ist dies der Kuenstler der Familie +des Ugolino?"[33] With much better right he might hav askt, "Is this the +painter of the 'Age of Innocence' and the man who loved to paint +children?" Both the Shakspere plate and the stiff Ugolino picture +attempt to portray the horrible, and the only other plate that Sir +Joshua did for the "Gallery," namely, the Hecate plate from "Macbeth," +the same selection of a grewsome subject is made. Neither of these +pictures can be sed to conform with Reynolds' well-known doctrin that +the function of art is to arouse the imagination, for in these pictures +there is nothing left for the imagination but exhaustion. They show a +vein of the bizarre without the great fancy of Fueessli and are realistic +to a degree that stopt at nothing. It is not to be wonderd at that Tieck +exhausts himself in condemnation of the plate that he saw. + +It is plain that Tieck saw in the plate a caricature and an evasion. The +caricature was the dying man and the evasion was the veild face of the +young king. Tieck felt that the artist had veild the face of his +character to conceal his want of skill in the portrayal of a supreme +moment of emotion. Here Tieck certainly breaks with the doctrin of +Lessing who praised the expedient of Timanthes in veiling the face of +Agamemnon at the sacrifice. Tieck tacitly accuses Reynolds of shirking +an obvious task. He wisht something superlativ, whether in fleeting +expression or in that permanency which is caused by iterativ emotion. +Such a desire, the emfasizing of Shakspere's "Kraft" and "Energie" +leaves him on the plane of the Storm and Stress in his attitude toward +the British poet.[34] If the words of Sir Joshua himself are to be taken +as a criterion, his theory is different from his practis in this case, +and Tieck has condemd him out of his own mouth. + +Beauford, whom Tieck calls a caricature, certainly leaves nothing to +the imagination, as Reynolds wisht for art.[35] Tieck's description of +the figure is apt, "Beauford liegt da, mit den Zaehnen grinsend, das Bett +in Verzuckungen kneifend, eine ekelhafte, verzerrte Caricatur, ueber die +man lachen koennte, wenn sie etwas weniger abscheulich waere. Genie and +Enthusiasmus koennen hier die Hand und Kritik unmoeglich irre gefuehrt +haben; denn weder das eine, noch der andere gehoert dazu, um diese Zuege, +diese Umrisse hervorzubringen." + +The word caricature is, even before he found it in the _Anzeigen_, a +term of deepest reproach with Tieck. In his essays to Wackenroder he +says, speaking of a certain actor, "Ich gestehe dass er vielleicht viele +Scenen natuerlich und einige komish darstellt, aber nach meinem Urtheil +spielt er in keiner einzigen schoen, mit einem Worte, er macht +Carrikatur, und die kann nie schoen sein, wenn sie auch noch so vielen +Ausdruck hat. Das Komische und das Schreckhafte graenzen ueberhaupt +vielleicht naeher aneinander, als man glaubt ... Vielleicht ist das wahre +komische Spiel so wie Unzelmann est giebt, alles so leicht, so +uebergehend, keine Periode, keine Idee, keine Stellung moeglichst +festgehalten, keine Grimasse in Stein verwandelt." + +After pointing out the value of the unspoild taste of childhood in +matters of esthetic judgment, Tieck continues: "Du kannst leicht die +Erfahrung machen, dass Carrikaturen den Kindern nie gefallen, denn sie +erkennen in ihnen nur mit Muehe den Menschen wieder, sie fuerchten sie +wirklich; sie koennen ungleich laenger eine andre Figur ohne Ausdruck und +bestimmten Charakter betrachten, ja tagelang darueber brueten, und +Ausdruck und Charakter hineintragen, hundert Traeume spinnen sich in +ihrer Seele aus, ... Carrikaturen gefallen ueberhaupt vielleicht nur +einem kalten noerdlichen Volke, dessen Gefuehl fuer den feinen Stachel der +stillen Schoenheit zu grob ist, oder die schon die Schule der Schoenheit +durchgegangen sind, und deren uebersatten Magen nur noch die gewuerztesten +Speisen reizen koennen, die es daher gern sehen, wenn die Schoenheit dem +Ausdruck aufgeopfert wird, weil sie in der Schoenheit keinen lebenden +Ausdruck mehr finden. Du wirst sehen, dass ich hier nicht bloss von der +komischen Carrikatur spreche, sondern von jedem Ausdruck irgend einer +Leidenschaft, der die Schoenheit ausschliesst." He then goes on to +indicate the relation of what he had sed to Lessing and confesses his +indetedness to him in the matter. The highest effects when used in +sculpture and painting are also caricature.[36] + +Paralel to this statement in the letters is the discussion in the essay +of the valu of the comedies of Shakspere over his tragedies as material +for illustration. Tieck says (page 15), "Im Trauerspiele ersteigen +meistentheils gerade die schoensten Scenen eine Hoehe des Effects, die der +Maler schwerlich ausdruecken kann, ohne widrig zu werden. Der +Schauspieler verliert schon oft jene Grazie, die jedem Kunstwerke noethig +ist, wenn er manche Scenen der tragischen Kraft so wiedergeben will, wie +er sie im Dichter findet, doch kann die Mimik hier noch das Unangenehme +vermeiden; der Malerei ist es aber meist unmoeglich, denn jene +Verzerrungen, die auf der Buehne nur voruebergehend sind, werden hier +bleibend gemacht; dort erschrecken sie durch ihr ploetzliches Entstehen +und Verschwinden, hier werden sie ekelhaft, weil durch das Feststehende +und Bleibende des Widrigen der dargestellte Mensch zum Thier herabsinkt. +Jemehr der Maler den Affekt hinauftreibt, desto mehr nimmt er zugleich +Interesse und Tadel von seinem Helden. Die hoechsten Grade des Zorns, der +Wuth oder der Verzweifelung bleiben im Gemaelde stets unedel; selbst der +Wahnsinn muss hier mit einer gewissen Schuechternheit auftreten, und im +hoechsten Entzuecken muss ein sanfter Wiederschein der Melancholie +leuchten." The relation of this to Lessing, both in the "Laokoon" and in +the "Dramaturgie" is at once apparent. + +The dislike for caricature centers around the comic efforts of Smirke +for whom Tieck has hardly a good word to say. In the discussion of +Reynolds' picture, Tieck remarks, half in jest, that he regrets his +strictures on Smirke in the face of this greater caricature by Reynolds. +The sum total of his criticisms of Smirke is unjust: thruout the series +and especially in some of the plates that Tieck saw, this painter has +caught the comic spirit well, and tho overpraisd by his contemporaries, +has done some very clever work both in the "Gallery" and in Bell's +"British Theater."[37] + +Tieck's principal censures are directed against the figure of Simple in +the "Merry Wives" and that of Dogberry in the comic trial in "Much Ado." +Simple is for Tieck neither the character as Shakspere conceived him, +nor is he funny. It is again, says Tieck, a mere exaggeration, +tantamount to a confession of inability. That the spectator cannot laugh +at the character is the artist's greatest punishment; in overstepping +the just limits of the comic and the natural, he has made the figure +insignificant. Unlike Hogarth, says Tieck, Smirke has not the power of +expressing character by means of the distortions of the exterior. To put +an artist below Hogarth is with Tieck to put him very low; in this +respect he stands on the plane of August von Schlegel in the _Athenaeum_ +and has not risen to the level of admiration for the Englishman +displayed by Novalis in the "Fragments." + +The best that Tieck can say for the Dogberry scene as a whole is, that +in spite of its exaggerations, it has much comic power. But, he goes on +to explain, it is a far different thing for Smirke to exaggerate than +for Shakspere, for the latter always draws human beings, while the +figures of the former are at times hardly to be distinguisht from apes. + +To a certain extent the figure of Dogberry and more especially the face, +justify Tieck's repugnance. In its way, the face is fully as bad as that +of Reynolds' Beauford. Tieck says, "Selbst ein vertrauter Leser des +Shakspeare findet sich nicht in den hier dargestellen Caricaturen, von +denen die Hauptperson in einer Wuth, die laecherlich sein soll, so +ekelhaft verzerrt wird, dass man nur ungern mit dem Blick auf dieser +Zeichnung verweilt." This is in every respect tru. Smirke has here mist +all the comic elements of the character, and has produced not the +ridiculous malapropian Dogberry but a demoniac grinning mask of a face +and a twisted, distorted and frenzied figure. Tieck proceeds, "Ein +Kuenstler, der die komischen Scenen des Shakspeare darstellen will, +sollte doch von seinem Dichter so viel gelernt haben, dass dieser seine +Caricaturen nie ohne eine gewisse Portion von phlegmatischer Laune +laesst, die so oft unser Lachen erregt, und aus der blossen Erfahrung +sollte er wissen, dass selbst der laecherlichste Zwerg, wenn er schaeumt, +in eben dem Augenblicke aufhoert laecherlich zu sein. Jedes Subject hoert +auf, komisch zu sein, sobald ich es in einen hohen Grad von Leidenschaft +versetze. Denn das Laecherliche in den Charakteren entsteht gewoehnlich +nur durch die seltsam widersprechende Mischung des Affects und des +inneren Phlegma; wenigstens so hat Shakspeare seine wirklich komischen +Personen gezeichnet. Der Mangel an Genie zeigt sich gewoehnlich in +Uebertreibung und gesuchten Verzerrungen des Koerpers."[38] + +The scene from the "Merry Wives" in which Dr. Cajus catechizes William +on his Latin, represents very well the type of scene the choice of which +Tieck condems as unsuited for representation. It is not because there +was something in the humor of them that Tieck did not grasp, but because +he rejects on principle all that is secondary and episodical. Such +scenes as are told and not acted, that is, the epic portions of the +plays, as well as the reflectiv and filosofical portions would hav to be +excluded. It is the fate of the principal characters which is of prime +importance, and the moment must be chosen with their activities in view. +This emfasis on the principal character is also strongly reminiscent of +the doctrin of Lessing's "Dramaturgie." It has been shown how it affects +what Tieck has to say about composition and it is the prime factor in +his feeling for what is the proper moment and subject of representation. + +Some of the scenes which Tieck rejects are Hodges' picture of the +melancholy Jacques, and the murder of the princes in "Richard III." +Neither of these is acted out on the stage. From the "Merry Wives" he +proposes Falstaff's three adventures: the basket scene, the Witch of +Brentford scene and the final torturing of Falstaff by the practical +jokers. These giv a chance for variety of grouping and a gradation of +expression in all the chief characters of the play. The scene in which +the two women read identical letters from Falstaff, Tieck regards as the +worst possible, for reasons that he says he need not recall but which +are obviously those of lack of stress on the main character. + +The scenes that Tieck recommends were actually chosen by the artists +whose work appears later in the series and so Tieck's judgment is, in a +way, confirmd. These scenes are the skeleton of the farce element and +bring out the structure of the Falstaff plot which Tieck evidently +regards as the main theme. It is interesting to note, however, how +little the choice of subject has to do with the artistic merit or +demerit of the plates. The subsequent plates, which would hav fully +satisfied Tieck's requirements as to the moment of presentation are +artistically among the worst in the series. + +The two scenes from "As You Like It" suggested by Tieck, the one where +Adam admonishes Orlando (II, 3) and the scene in the forest where +Orlando enters bearing Adam on his shoulders (II, 7) hav not the same +structural relation to the whole as hav those from the "Merry Wives." +These moments lend themselves very well to representation but are chosen +on another basis of judgment. They show that for Tieck Orlando was of +more importance than Rosalind, for he suggests no scene with her in it +as especially representativ of the play. In the first of these two +scenes, the action has already begun; the scene is the culmination of +the episode containing the first relation of the brothers. It is in +itself not a vital part of the action. The scene in the forest, on the +other hand, has more of the qualities demanded by Tieck: a variety of +characters and an important moment. This is a moment--tho not the +initial one--when Orlando's fortunes mend and he comes to his frends. +The scene in which he first meets the Duke's party is of more +significance. It seems as if the governing principle is contrast rather +than a desire for elucidation of structure in serial arrangment. Orlando +and Adam, ill-fortune and good luck, are juxtaposed. + +Tieck conjectures that the eavesdropping scene from "Much Ado" (III, 1) +is included in the collection because it was played by popular actresses +of the contemporary English stage. Tieck misses the structural +importance of the scene. It is apart of the intrigue; it has a direct +effect on Beatrice who comes from it a changed woman. To Tieck, however, +it ment as little as the similar eavesdropping scene from "Love's Labor +Lost" (IV, 3), in which play he claims there is no suitable scene for +representation. + +The scene from "Winter's Tale" in which Perdita welcomes the disguised +Duke (IV, 3), offering him flowers the while, is condemd in favor of the +one immediately following in which the Duke discloses himself. Here +again Tieck stresses the contrast and wishes a climax, a dramatic +moment. So he praises such scenes as the putting away of Hero at the +altar and the deth of Beauford, however much he derides the execution of +the latter, by Reynolds. + +For the sake of bringing out the wretchedness of this execution, Tieck +points out that tho he has often before bewaild the choice of moment, +he cannot do so in this case for no better could hav been selected. He +details the good points in the scene: "Man denke sich einen Boesewicht +auf dem Todtenbette, den die Verzweifelung wahnsinnig gemacht hat, der +keine Seligkeit hofft; diesen besucht in seiner Todesstunde Heinrich, +der junge gefuehlvolle Koenig, ein Schwarmer in der Religion, der von +diesem Anblick auf das tiefste geruehrt wird; Warwick und Salisbury, zwei +maennliche Krieger, begleiten ihn hierher. Beauford ist die Hauptperson, +alle Zuschauer haben ihre gauze Aufmerksamkeit auf ihn gerichtet. Der +Kuenstler haette hier ruehren und erschuettern koennen; ich sehe in Gedanken +den weichen Heinrich Thraenen vergiessen, im schoensten Contrast mit dem +Cardinal, der ihn, in der Abwesenheit seines Geistes, kalt und ohne +Bewusstsein anstarrt. Warwick und Salisbury, weniger geruehrt, aber doch +interessante Physiognomien, die durch leichtere Nuancen von einander +unterschieden sind. So sehe ich in der Phantasie das schoenste tragische +Gemaelde ..." + +In "Romeo and Juliet" the choice of the ball scene meets with Tieck's +disapproval. The scene is "Ohne Wirkung." Tieck's main reason why the +scene is not good is that the painter has interpreted literally the +metafor, "My lips two blushing pilgrims stand" and has represented Romeo +in the garb of a pilgrim to correspond to Juliet's anser, "Good +pilgrim." As Tieck rightly points out, there is no need for such a gise. +The choice of the more highly keyd situation at the supposed deth of +Juliet meets with Tieck's approval and shows that where there is a +choice, the emfasis of his selection is apt to be on the superlativ +moment.[39] + +One other idea seems to be in Tieck's mind and it is hard to believe +that he was not unconsciously influenced by the stage presentation of +the plays when formulating it. That is the desire to hav a number of +people in the picture. Nearly all the plates that he condems hav but few +characters and his dictum of variety demands a reasonable number to +choose from. This dramatic point of view is in accord with his attitude +in all other fases of the discussion. It has been pointed out how rarely +the artistic makes the prime appeal to him. + +Tieck's second point in regard to choice of subject is that the comedies +offer a wider field and a better opportunity than the tragedies. The +general basis for this notion is allied to his theory of the +worthlessness of caricature, that is, that there is an exaggeration, an +overacting of the part possible in tragedy that is less likely to occur +in comedy. + +The statement of the evils of exaggeration is very sweeping and includes +in some of its details both comedy and tragedy: "Der dramatische Dichter +hat Momente in seinen Schauspielen, die kein Pinsel oder Griffel jemals +darstellen kann; ich meine jene Spruenge und ueberraschenden Wendungen des +Affectes, jene fuerchterlichen Blitze des Genies, bei denen der Zuschauer +zusammenfaehrt, wo der Dichter unerwartet durch eine neue verdraengt: +diese Momente sind oft die glaenzendsten des Schauspiels, und bei keinem +Dichter finden sie sich so haeufig als bei Shakspeare in seinen +Tragoedien." Tieck's illustration for this is the passage from Lear +beginning, "No, I will weep no more," etc. He continues, "welcher Maler +wird es wagen, wenn er den Sinn ganz durchdringt, ... diese Stelle auf +die Leinwand zu werfen? So innig diese Verse beim Lesen oder bei der +Darstellung ruehren, so frostig wuerden sie vielleicht als ein Gemaelde +dargestellt erscheinen: oder wenn sie auch hier ruehrten, so wuerde das +Gemaelde doch nie jene Erschuetterung in uns erregen, jenes Anschlagen von +hundert Gefuehlen. Man wuerde immer nur den weinenden Lear sehen oder den +erzuernten Vater, der sich zur Kaelte zwingt; das Ineinanderschmelzen +dieser beiden Empfindungen, verbunden mit der Verstandesschwaeche, die +dem Schmerz endlich ganz erliegt und Wahnsinn wird, waere selbst ein +Rafael unmoeglich: hier steht ein grosser Grenzstein zwischen dem Gebiet +des Malers und des Dichters." + +The result of overstepping these bounds is that the painter is likely to +enter into rivalry with the poet, to feel his lack of ability in the +struggle and to produce empty declamation insted of a work of the +creativ imagination and to offer to the spectator nothing for either +imagination or reason. + +But in the comedies there are many moments which almost force themselves +on the painter. These are scenes in which he can portray the poet just +as he finds him and in which his rivalry is legitimate and, indeed, may +tend to make him surpass the poet. If he can do this it will be by +bringing out more plainly the light shades of the poet's meaning and he +will become a commentator, so to speak, of these. Under such +circumstances, the painter must be very careful to choose just the most +beautiful and most interesting passages. + +The relation to Lessing is again at once clear. The culminating moment +of passion as it appears in the tragedies is not suitable from the +artistic point of view for reproduction but the comedies, from their +admixture of the flegmatic, the almost imperativ concomitant of +Shaksperean humor, tone down this superlativ expression and are +therefore within the pale. How Tieck carries out his theory in practis, +has been sufficiently shown: his love for the sentimental and +melodramatic, for the climatic and striking lead him to neglect his +delimiting theoretical remarks. + +Before leaving the discussion of Tieck's article, it may be well to +compare it with another contemporary treatment of the Boydell Gallery. +This is by the famous traveler and publicist, George Forster. It was +Forster's account which furnisht Fiorillo with much of his data for the +treatment of the "Gallery" in his history of British art, but it is +hardly likely that the account is a source for Tieck. I hav no external +evidence and the internal evidence is entirely negativ. + +If Friedrich Schlegel's estimate of Forster's artistic capabilities be +accepted, it is just such pictures as these, where the social interest +is great and the artistic valu is secondary, that should bring out +Forster's strength of judgment. Forster was also a finely discriminating +amateur, with a decided sense of tactile form based on a sincere love of +Greek art and confirmd by a study of Winkelmann and Lessing, beyond whom +he past in his appreciation of the portrait and the landscape and of the +coloring of the great masters. + +Forster's essay, "Die Kunst und das Zeitalter" (1791), was written about +the time that he saw the Boydell pictures. It shows his attitude toward +Greek art and givs more than a hint of his standards which point so +clearly toward Schiller. His "Ansichten vom Niederrhein," especially the +discussions of the galleries and collections at Duesseldorf, Brussels and +Antwerp fully express his ideas on Dutch and Flemish art, especially +emfasizing the characteristics of Rubens for whose fleshy types Forster +had little use. + +In the discussion of British art which comes as an appendix to the +"Ansichten," Forster includes a rather detaild description of the +Boydell paintings. He did not see the engravings, or rather, his +description is based on the paintings as they hung in the gallery in +Pall Mall and so the material of this sketch in two parts, is in one way +fundamentally different from that of Tieck. All the discussion of +technique in which Tieck was so weak, is entirely lacking in Forster. +His point of view, too, is different. He is the traveld, experienced man +from whose traind eye and broad judgment more may be expected than from +the student Tieck. There is, as Friedrich Schlegel says, an +out-of-doorness in Forster's work that Tieck could never hav had; the +over-emfasis on Shakspere on the part of the latter is only one product +of his inexperience. + +In spite of all this, it is surprizing to find what correspondences +there are between the student Tieck and the more traind Forster. The +latter who knew vastly more of English life than Tieck, fails to +understand it in just those vital points where Tieck went farthest +astray. Smirke and Peters fare badly at his hands, perhaps because of a +certain puritanism in his atitude, or to quote Schlegel, because "Keine +Vollkommenheit der Darstellung konnte ihn mit einem Stoff aussoehnen, der +sein Zartgefuehl verletzte, seine Sittlichkeit beleidigte oder seinen +Geist unbefriedigt liess." For this reason he can call one of the Peters +paintings from the "Merry Wives" a brothel (ein Speelhuis) or refer to +the women of that artist as "lockere Nymphen." + +Besides the same general dislike for the caricatures of Smirke that was +noted in all previous instances, there is the usual praise of Hodges, +the usual condemnation of Opie's bad drawing. Fueessli, too, comes in for +his share of the blame: "Der Beifall, welchen Fueesslis Gemaelde in +England erhalten, bezeichnet mehr als alles die Ueberspannung des +dortigen Kunstgeschmacks. Dieser junge Schweizer ... brachte nebst der +Kenntniss akademischer Modelle sein malerisches Kraftgenie mit sich ueber +das Meer; seiner Phantasie ward es wohl unter wilden Traumgestalten und +Bildern des Ungewoehnlichen. Diese Stimmung ... verfuehrte ihn nur gar zu +bald zu allen Ausschweifungen der Manier. Es ist zwar leicht das +Alltaegliche zu vermeiden, indem man Kontorsionen darstellt ..." (page +466). Again: "Es sind nicht Menschen, die dieser Kuenstler phantasiert, +sondern Ungeheuer in halb menschlicher Gestalt, mit einzeln sehr gross +gezeichneten und sehr verzerrten, verunstalteten Theilen und +Proportionen: ausgerenkte Handgelenke, aus dem Kopfe springende Augen, +Bocksphysiognomien u. s. f...." (page 503). Northcote is damned with the +faint praise "Nicht ohne Verdienst," a frase that clings to the +characterizations of his work from the _Anzeigen_ to Fiorillo. Barry is +shown to lack grace, noble greatness and beauty. His distorted figures +border on caricature and his forms are of giants, colossi. His coloring +is bad in spite of his theoretical knowlege and good drawing. + +Forster sees thru Angelika Kaufmann and Hamilton better than Tieck did. +Hamilton's paintings are "Machwerk" and his figures move in +"Tanzschritt," while Angelika's are hermafroditic (page 501). "Die +deutsche Muse Angelika verbarg die Inkorrektheit und das Einerlei ihrer +allzuschlanken Figuren unter dem Schleier der Grazie und Unschuld" (page +459). + +For Forster, Shakspere is the most logical portrayer of nature that ever +existed; he meets the painter halfway in his work by his excellent +characterization of the salient features of a personage and so givs the +painter sharply defined subjects for his fantasy. For the artists of the +British school this is especially valuable because effect is their +highest aim and beauty only secondary. Extremes of passion, +astonishment, surprize are strivn for. "Sie hascht nach der Wahrheit der +Natur in ihren graesslichen Augenblicken und erlaubt ihrer Phantasie den +verwegenen Flug, nicht in das schoene Feenland des Ideals sondern in die +verbotene Region der Geister und Gespenster." + +But while the general condemnation of British artists shows far more +perspectiv than is found in Tieck, the acquaintance with the details of +Shakspere's plays is never drawn on to point out any defects in choice +of subject matter. Forster can refer to the acted plays from an +experience that was at this time still denied Tieck, but this experience +does not result in any well-defined theory of Shakspere-illustration as +a whole and as we found Tieck to hav. The melancholy Jacques in the +forest is a good scene for Forster, whereas Tieck rejected it as having +no structural relation to the rest of the play. Forster finds it worthy +of portrayal as one of the moments arising from Shakspere's variety of +scene, character and condition of life, to say nothing of the chance to +show the lonesome melancholy stag by the famous animal painter, Gilpin! + +On Reynolds' famous Beauford picture, Tieck and Forster are entirely at +odds. For Tieck the execution is terrible, the choice of subject +satisfactory. For Forster, the choice is inexcusable, the execution in +part masterly; a dying criminal in his last throes seems to Forster an +utterly impossible subject for representation. So with Kirk's picture +from "Titus Adronicus": in spite of the attempt to meliorate the +impression of the butcherd Lavinia, the whole picture remains for +Forster a disgusting sight. The conclusion is obvious: Forster's sense +of delicacy rebeld at the crass and brutal; wildness and terror shockt +him. + +But if Tieck's article compares favorably with Forster's in all points +respecting the "Gallery" itself, it must be confest that the political, +patriotic note, the application to Germany of the principles of national +betterment in art which arose in the mind of Boydell, escape him. He was +not, of course, like Forster, a political writer, and revolutionary +conditions had no immediate interest for him as for the older man. And +so his art criticism does not look forward to Germany as does Forster's +or as does that of a propagandist like Kleist in his _Abendblaetter_ +article. Tieck does not rise above the milieu; the "Gallery" offers no +hold with which to test contemporary art in his own land. It is only a +beginning, clearsighted in part and in general sustaind, an ernest of +what the matured criticism of the Romantic school was later on to do. + + + + +NOTES + +[1] Die Kupferstiche nach der Shakspeare-Gallerie in London. Briefe an + einen Freund. 1793. "Kritische Schriften," vol. I, pages 3-34. [Kr. + Sch.] + +[2] For full title, see bibliografy. + +[3] E. g. in the letters. + +[4] Krit. Sch. I, 4. Jean Paul, Titan, I, 42. [Berlin, 1827.] + +[5] 1719-1804. + +[6] Preface to the Prospectus and quoted in the preface to the + "Gallery." + +[7] The facts on the "Gallery" are pretty well scatterd. The + statements in Allibone are not all correct. See Graves, "New + Light on Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery," _Magazine of Art_, vol. + XXI, page 143 ff. For some details as to the disposition of the + pictures, see "Notes and Queries," series 2, vol. VIII, vol. IX, + 313, vol. X, 52. Also Pye, "Patronage of British Art," London, + 1848. + +[8] Preface to critical works. + +[9] Page 7. + +[10] Copy in the Columbia University Library. + +[11] Mr. L. L. Mackall kindly furnisht me with this information. + +[12] This Ms. (79 pp., vellum, quarto) contains the signatures + of all the subscribers or their agents. Romney, Warren Hastings, + Wedgewood, the King, the Queen and the Prince Regent besides a + number of English "persons of quality" are represented. The + poets are conspicuously wanting. The King of England gave the + copy to the University Library. Cp. _Goettinger Gelehrte + Anzeigen_ (G. G. A.) 1791, page 1793; 1793, page 561. + +[13] At least until after the time concerned here. This from + Wuestenfeld on the contributor to the _Anzeigen_ furnisht by + Professor Wilkens. + +[14] The plates which come into consideration and the order in which + they occur in Tieck are as follow: + + "Love's Labor Lost," Tieck, page 9, (1) IV, 1 (G. G. A., 1794, page + 10); (2) IV, 2, small plates; (3) V, 2. + + "Merry Wives of Windsor," Tieck, page 10, I, 1 (G. G. A., 1794, + page 969); page 12, II, 1 (G. G. A., 1794, page 969); page 13 + (G. G. A., page 959); page 13, I, 4; IV, 1, small plates (G. G. + A., 1794, page 970); V, 5. + + "Twelfth Night," II, 3 (G. G. A., 1794, page 970); Tieck, page 15. A + small plate. + + "Two Gent. Verona," Tieck, page 16, Last Scene (G. G. A., 1793, page + 903); 17, IV, 3. Small plate. + + "As You Like It," Tieck, page 17, II, 1 (G. G. A., 1793, page + 561); page 17, last scene (G. G. A., 1793, page 561). + + "Much Ado About Nothing," Tieck, page 19, III, 1 (G. G. A., + 1791, page 1794); IV, 1; IV, 2. + + "Winter's Tale," Tieck, page 21, II, 3 (G. G. A., 1794, page 9); + IV, 3; V, 3; page 22, two small plates (G. G. A., 1794, page + 10). + + I "Henry VI.," Tieck, page 24, II, 5 (G. G. A., 1794, page 970). + + II "Henry VI.," Tieck page 25, III, 3 (G. G. A., 1794, page 10). + + "Richard III.," Tieck, page 27, III, 1 (G. G. A., 1791, page + 1794). + + "Titus Andronicus," Tieck, page 28, IV, 1 (G. G. A., 1794, page + 970); page 29 (G. G. A. 1794, page 970). + + "Romeo and Juliet," Tieck, page 30, I, 5 (G. G. A., 1793, page 561); + IV, 5 (G. G. A. page 561); V, 3 (G. G. A., 1793, page 562). + + "King Lear," Tieck, page 31, I, 1 (G. G. A., 1793, page 903-4); + page 32, III, 4 (G. G. A. 1793, page 904); page 33, last scene + (G. G. A., 1793, page 904); page 34 (G. G. A., 1793, Page 904). + +Tieck mentions in all 39 plates; of these 24 are large plates + and the rest small ones. In only 6 instances does Tieck enter + into even a slite criticism of the small plates. In some cases, + his remarks are so meager that it is only by a comparison with + the original that we can tell what plate he means. + +[15] Boydell's Catalog, page 28 ff. It may be worth while to + mention in this connection that the Catalog has a number of + errors in the list of these supplementary plates. The proof was + red carelessly and the results are jumbled. Only by a careful + comparison with the originals in the 1802 edition, for the + results of which there is no room here, can this be straightend + out. + +[16] "Romantische Schule," page 57-8. + +[17] For possible influence of Du Bos, cf. Tieck's doctrin of + poetry as an imitativ art. Kr. Sch., page 24. See Howard, + _Publications of the Mod. Lang. Assn._, vol. XXII, page 4. The + letters to Wackenroder in Holtei, 300 Briefe, etc. + +[18] Volbehr, Dessoir, Stoecker. D. L. D. + +[19] Kr. Sch. I, 321. It is doutful if Tieck knew any of the + Hogarth Shakspere plates. The dates of issu (Dobson, pp. 310, + 340 ff.) are all later than the writing of the Boydell article. + For Tieck and Hogarth, Koepke, I, page 148. + +[20] Of course the emfasis on color is entirely wanting in the + body of the work. Tieck nowhere in the essay points out how + engraving can suggest color. + +[21] Literary paralels are at once apparent. So, Schiller's + Prolog to "Wallenstein." + +[22] Schriften, vol. X, pages 302-3. + +[23] Weitenkampf, 155. + +[24] One or two actual errors of fact hav crept into the paper. + Kyder for Ryder and Northcate for Northcote. The latter error + and Tieck's Slatbard may hav arisn, as Professor Wilkens + suggested to me, from Tieck's notoriously bad handwriting which + was misinterpreted by the compositor. At any rate, Tieck made no + later effort to correct. The "Rev." before Peters' name misled + both Tieck and Forster into laying too much emfasis on his + sacerdotal function. The G. G. A. calls him a dilettante. + +[25] Walzel, 279; Sulger-Gebing, 41, 154. Engel ("Angelika + Kaufmann," 36, 37, 43) while not denying her preference for this + dress, is of the opinion that it was not suited to her. "Im + Schaeferkleide, den Hirtenstab in der Hand, Atlaspantoeffelchen an + den Fuessen, ein bebaendertes Huetchen auf der gepuderten Coiffure, + umgeben von einem Hofstaat schoengeistiger Verehrer und + Verehrerinnen, so hatte sie unzweifelhaft eine weit natuerlichere + und tuechtigere Figur gemacht als in der Vestalinnentracht die + sie--das Bregenzerwaldnymphlein--in der Folgezeit zu bevorzugen + pflegte." + +[26] Biografers of Sir Joshua generally agree that his pictures + in this series, with the possible exception of "Puck," are + failures. Boydell paid 400 and 1500 guineas for the two largest + and this was considerd by some an exorbitant price. + +[27] Minor's edition, pages 27, 30. + +[28] There is the possibility of a crude symbolism having been + intended for Shakspere's "Blow, winds," etc. + +[29] The West picture was very popular. Cf. _Teutsche Mercur_, + 1791, pages 445-6, for a criticism of Berger's engraving from + it. + +[30] See, 300 Bfe. page 79. + +[31] This is a difficult point to decide. The citizen class was + limited by such sumptuary laws as is shown by the records, but + most writers agree that the violations were open and common. + +[32] The figure with the helmet is unquestionably that of + Marius, the tribune. He enters from the street and is drest in + street costume. Titus, who has been in the house, wears only a + fillet around his hed. In the play, Marius commands the boy to + stand near him for refuge, but in the picture the moment just + previous is chosen, when the boy is still near his grandfather. + Forster wrongly holds that the helmeted figure is Titus. + +[33] Cf. A. W. v. Schlegel in _Athenaeum_, 2, 212, "Man kennt + Reynolds Ugolino aus dem Kupferstiche: es ist ein alter Mann, + der hungert, aber es ist nicht Ugolino." For his criticism of + Boydell, 2, 198. + +[34] Marie Joachimi-Dege has given a very careful account of the + erly Romantic and Storm and Stress attitude toward Shakspere. + Her book needs supplementation thru a study of the Romantic + Shakspere criticism, written from the English point of view. + +[35] In his Academy discourses. Bohn ed., vol. I, page 460 ff. + Reynolds points out that those who praise the "invention" of + Timanthes in the Agamemnon picture hav not been painters but + literary men. They use it as an illustration of their own art. + He says, "I fear that we have but very scanty means of exciting + those powers over the imagination which make so very + considerable and refined a part of poetry. (Cf. Boydell's + preface.) It is a doubt with me if we should even make the + attempt. The chief, if not the only occasion which the painter + has for this artifice, is when the subject is improper to be + more fully represented, either for the sake of decency, or to + avoid what would be disagreeable to be seen; and this is not to + raise or increase the passions, which is the reason given for + this practice, but on the contrary to diminish their effect.... + We cannot ... recommend an undeterminate manner or vague ideas + of any kind, in a complete or finished picture. This notion, + therefore, of leaving anything to the imagination opposes a very + fixed and indispensible rule in our art,--that everything shall + be carefully and distinctly expresst, as if the painter knew, + with correctness and precision, the exact form and character of + whatever is introduced into the picture. This ... must not be + sacrificed ... for uncertain and doubtful beauty which, not + naturally belonging to our art, will probably be sought for + without success." After praising the artifis of Timanthes, + Reynolds goes on to say, "Suppose this method of leaving the + expression of grief to the imagination, to be ... the invention + of the painter and that it deserves all the praise that has been + given to it, it is still a trick that will serve only once; + whoever does it a second time, will not only want novelty, but + will be justly suspected of using artifice to evade + difficulties. If difficulties overcome make a great part of the + merit of Art, difficulties evaded can deserve but little + commendation." Among the names of those who discuss the "trick" + Lessing's is, of course, wanting. Gilray's satirical plate on + Boydell should be compared for this and other points. Copy in N. + Y. Public Library. + +[36] In this connection, the letters mention Engel's + "Mimik"(1785). + +[37] Some of the latter pictures by Smirke are very fine; e. g., + the face of Jessica which justifies the statement of the Dict. + Nat. Biog. that Smirke had "good drawing, refinement, quiet + humor." Bryan has a cooler comment: "Smirke was well spoken of + in the comedy vein." Tieck likes him better in tragedy (page + 34). Fiorillo's comment is "Seit Hogarths Zeiten hat kein + Kuenstler so viel Charakter oder so viel Ausdruck in seine + Figuren gebracht, noch eine Scene mit so viel echter Laune + bearbeitet." + +[38] To me the Tieck-Schlegel translation of this scene misses + all the best points of the original. To be sure, Tieck had + nothing to do with its translation. (Friesen, I, 136; Sybel, + III, 463 ff). It was not that Tieck was not interested in puns, + altho the Dr. Cajus scene seems uninteresting to him on that + account. Tieck himself made a good many puns. Cf. + "Viehsiognomie," the first lines of his sonnet on the sonnet and + the "gemein" from the _Allgemeine deutsche Bibliothek_ in + "Das juengste Gericht." His sensing of English puns seems not to + hav been so keen. So in a discussion of Mss. readings toward the + end of the essay on the erly English Theater (Kr. Sch. I, 320) + after calling one faulty reading "Unsinn" he continues, "In + derselben Rede: + + + If you can construe but your doctor's bill + Parse your wife's waiting woman, etc. + + + Parse? Was kann das bedeuten? Pierce ist dem aufmerksamen Auge + leserlich genug." Tieck seems to hav mist the play on the + grammatical idea. To be sure, I hav not seen the Ms., but Tieck + was no very careful reader or copyist. + +[39] This is a scene where Tieck saw both L. and S. There were + two different paintings of the same subject, one with fewer + figures, and Tieck rightly points out that the less crowded one + is the better. One of the engravings is by W. Blake and is not + given in any list of that artist's work. Mr. W. G. Robertson, + the most recent biografer of Blake informs me in a letter that + he does not know it. + + + + +A PARTIAL BIBLIOGRAPHY + + +Athenaeum. Eine Zeitschrift von A. W. Schlegel und Friederich + Schlegel, Zweiter Band. Berlin, 1799. + +Boydell, John. + Catalogue of the ... Shakspeare Gallery, London, 1789. The first + edition of the catalog givs the painters' names only: subsequent + editions add the names of the engravers. There are copies of the + various editions in the Columbia, Harvard and New York Public + Libraries. + A Catalogue of Prints ... comprising the stock of J. and J. + Boydell, London, 1808. + Copy in N. Y. Public Library. + A Collection of prints from pictures painted for the purpose of + illustrating the dramatic works of Shakespeare, by the artists + of Great Britain. London ... 1803, 2 vols. in one, atlas folio. + There are many copies in the U. S. and there is also an American + reprint with letterpress explanatory of the plates. + +Dessoir, M. K. P. Moritz als Aesthetiker. + +Dobson, Austin. William Hogarth, New York and London, 1907. + +Engel, J. J. Ideen zu einer Mimik, 1848. + +Engel. Angelika Kaufmann, 1903. + +Fiorillo, J. D. Geschichte der zeichnenden Kuenste, etc. Bd. V. + Geschichte der Malerei in Grossbrittanien. Goettingen, 1808. + +Forster, Georg. Saemmtliche Schriften, III. Leipzig, 1843. + +Friessen, H. von. Ludwig Tieck. Erinnerungen eines alten + Freundes. Wien, 1872. + +Goettingen. Anzeigen fuer Gelehrte Sachen, etc. The volumes from + 1791 to 1803 were used. + +Haym, R. Die romantische Schule, 1870. + +Holtei, K. Drei hundert Briefe aus zwei Jahrhunderten, + Hannover, 1872. + +Joachimi-Dege, M. Deutsche Shakspeare-Probleme im XVIII. + Jahrhundert und im Zeitalter der Romantik. Leipzig, 1907. + +Koepke, R. Ludwig Tieck, Leipzig, 1855. + +Minor, J. Friedrich Schlegel. Seine prosaischen + Jugendschriften, Wien 1906. + +Tieck und Wackenroder. Kuerschners D. N. L. Bd. 145. + +Moritz, K. P. Ueber die nachahmende Bildung des Schoenen. In D. + L. D. + +Reynolds, J. Academy Discourses. Bohn Edition, London, 1846. + +Shakspere, W. The Dramatic Works of William Shakspeare, London, + 1802. + This is the Steevens edition in nine volumes. Copy in New + York Public Library. + +Spooner, Shearjashub. Prospectus for publishing an American + edition of Boydell's illustrations of Shakespeare, N. Y., 1848. + +Sulger-Gebing. Die Brueder A. W. und F. Schlegel und die + bildende Kunst, 1897. + +Sybel. Erinnerungen an F. von Uechtritz. Leipzig, 1884. + +Volbehr. Goethe und die bildende Kunst, 1897. + +Walzel, O. F. Friedrich Schlegel's Briefe an seinen Bruder + August Wilhelm. Berlin, 1890. + +Wietenkampf, F. How to appreciate prints. New York, 1908. + +Zelak. Tieck und Shakspere. Tarnopol, 1900. + + + * * * * * + +Transcriber's Notes + +There is much idiosyncratic spelling in both English and German. This +has been retained, apart from the following four typos: + +page 15 "sehn" amended to "sehr"; + +page 30 "obobserver" amended to "observer"; + +page 40 "int he" amended to "in the"; + +page 54 "Grossbittanien" amended to "Grossbrittanien". + +On page 32, the typo "est giebt" has been left unchanged: it could be +either "es giebt" or "erst giebt" (more likely). + +Also on p. 32 "zu grob ist" should probably be "zu gross ist", but has +been left unchanged, as the letter ss does not appear elsewhere in the +text. + +Three obvious errors in punctuation have also been amended, as follows: + +page 12 "page 28." amended to "page 28:"; + +page 34 "darstellen will." amended to "darstellen will,"; + +page 41 Tanzschritt," amended to "Tanzschritt"; + +page 44 "G. G. A.." amended to "G. G. A.,". + +page 48 "in in Das" amended to "in Das". + +Anchors for footnootes 31 and 36 are missing. They have been inserted in +the most likely locations. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Tieck's Essay on the Boydell Shakspere +Gallery, by George Henry Danton + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BOYDELL SHAKSPERE GALLERY *** + +***** This file should be named 34937.txt or 34937.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/4/9/3/34937/ + +Produced by Margo Romberg, Karl Eichwalder and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This +book was produced from scanned images of public domain +material from the Google Print project.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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