,transcriber's ,note3 ,italics are enclosed in underscores4 ,other notes will be found near the end of this ebook4 ,,essay ,,on ,,art ,,and ,,photography4 #ahff4 ,illustration3 ,,printed ,,by ,m4 ,j4 ,,whitty #ah ,,cable ,,st4 ,,liverpool ,,essay ,,on ,art and ,photography4 ,,by ,a4 ,v4 ,,sutton4 ,,liverpool3 ,,michael ,,james ,,whitty4 ,,mdccclxvi4 ,illustration ,,dedicated ,,to ,,my ,friends and ,patrons4 ,illustration ,,introduction ,the idea that occurred to me in drawing in epitome a history of the amalgamation of ,art and ,science1 and ultimately induced me to attempt so hazardous a task1 was to enable the public to learn the true course to be pursued in order to give fresh vigour and impulse for the revival of ,fine ,arts1 and ,i have endeavoured to exemplify in a striking manner1 as far as my poor abilities admit1 the inestimable advantage the one confers upon the other1 which renders the combination so essential in advancing and developing a better1 truer1 and nobler style of art--a style that ,i feel assured will distinguish for ever the present generation4 ,with this view1 ,i have gathered materials from every common report or otherwise1 from personal acquaintance with some of the most distinguished artists of the day1 and it is with regret that ,i find how immeasurably incompetent ,i am to do justice to a subject so worthy of being treated by greater talents and accomplishments than are granted to me4 ,in sketching the various changes ,photography has undergone ere it reached the supremacy it now enjoys1 owing--principally to the natural instability of events--and in the rapid survey to which the limits of the ,essay constrain me1 ,i have been compelled to point out defects 8both in the ,art and the ,science10 without reserve1 but with all due respect to the opinion of others2 but while doing so1 ,i trust that ,i have rendered justice also4 ,as a professional artist1 the reader may be led to suppose ,i write with bias--not so4 ,i have most cautiously avoided any sentiment that might be so construed1 and beg that judgment may be suspended until these pages have been perused1 the perusal of which1 ,i sincerely trust1 may have the desired effect--not actually resulting in the revival of ,fine ,arts--but as an auxiliary for paving the way for others commanding a greater range of knowledge1 who may thereby be induced to embark in the cause ,i am humbly seeking to advocate4 ,,liverpool1 ,jany41 #ahff4 ,,essay4 ,illustration ,,essay4 ,when ,photography was first introduced1 it met with a severe struggle ere gaining the esteem it now happily enjoys4 ,artists of all grades unanimously condemned it1 looking upon it only in the light of a vehicle that would carry destruction to their own especial pursuits1 while on those who attempted to practice and advance it fell anathemas and ridicule4 ,so great was professional prejudice1 and so blind in its apprehension1 that it dexterously and successfully biased and enlisted the opinion of the ,press in its favour1 which echoed the assertions that1 under the most favourable circumstances1 8,photography could only be a caricature of the subject it portrayed40 ,thus was the combination of ,art and ,science for a time checked in its progress1 and the artists1 now exulting in having temporarily attained their purpose1 watched jealously the science of chemistry1 and depreciated as useless any further inquiry that seemed to encourage or aid ,photography4 ,the great body of the public1 as usual in all such cases1 remained neutral1 but fortunately1 for the advancement of the new art1 there remained a few who were more sanguine than their cotemporaries1 and generously bestowed their sympathy on the 8oppressed40 ,they saw in ,photography1 a great science1 then but in its infancy1 but which must ultimately compete with the finer arts2 its peculiar adaptation in copying rendering it still more valuable1 not only to artists1 in furthering their own success1 by securing truthfulness and accuracy1 but likewise in all the various usages to which it has since been so successfully applied4 ,too numerous to attempt to specify here4 ,at the period we speak of1 ,photography was entirely confined to that class of illiterate men who only pursued it to benefit by its novelty1 and like everything new1 particularly when added to cheapness1 produced a great amount of bad taste and unpardonable vulgarity4 ,it is1 no doubt1 an art which is peculiarly liable to be perverted to base and immoral uses1 but now that better taste prevails1 no such fears need be entertained4 ,all classes of society have been benefited by ,photography2 it has been a generous friend to the poor as well as to the rich1 and all must acknowledge its superior advantages and merits4 ,not only has it been fostered and liberally supported by the munificence of kings1 but also in the more humble walks of life has it been welcomed as a benefactor4 ,its patrons of all grades have not only derived pleasure from the novelty of its fascinations1 but inexpressible consolation from the souvenirs it affords of cherished places1 and the memory of those loved ones who may be far away1 or sleeping the 8sleep of death40 ,it would indeed be deplorable if an art so consecrated to all that is noble1 pure1 generous and holy1 were again to be jeopardised by the association of bad taste and worse usages4 ,in ,england we are fortunately protected from such an evil2 but in other countries1 particularly in ,france1 it still exists to an alarming extent1 and until the authorities there adopt the same measure of punishment as with us1 no one can walk the streets without being subjected to some gross outrage against propriety and moral feeling4 ,photography1 therefore1 has a double claim upon our affections--to preserve it unscathed and unsullied1 when we find it diverted into new channels that may endanger its purity and legitimate usefulness4 ,an art which assists the memory and educates the taste is entitled to encouragement1 the more particularly1 when by its aid we can recall in privacy the happy hours suggested by the contemplation of the sure-reflected lineaments of a doating mother1 an affectionate sister1 a tender loving wife1 or a fond and innocent child4 ,one great reason why ,photography is so frequently applied to unworthy purposes is1 owing to its cheapness1 for1 where there is a supply of anything novel1 combined with cheapness1 patrons will present themselves4 ,this is a public weakness which is to be regretted1 for although competition may be consistent with the 8spirit of the age10 it is an unpardonable error when cheapness is resorted to as a means to success1 in place of trying to excel by artistic or superior merits alone4 ,in no stage of ,photography have we been further advanced and initiated into the grand applications of its science than by the introduction of the 8paper process20 it presented to the mind of the photographer a channel for experimentalising and uniting art proper with his own1 for previously the word ,art was foreign to the ear of the professional photographer2 all that was deemed essential in the pursuit was that you should acquire a knowledge how to produce a photograph free from all the optical and chemical defects4 ,light was only studied to secure the image with brilliancy on the plate1 of the subject or object about to be copied4 ,if it came out clear1 clean1 and sharp1 the operator was delighted with his success--its artistic merits were never consulted2 no question asked whether the face came out with the rich1 soft1 rotundity of nature2 whether the light and shade had given tone and gradation1 to add harmony to the picture2 whether the line of the head had been carried to prevent awkwardness to the figure2 whether the eyes did not look askance to the pose of the head2 its artistic superiorities1 in fact1 were never looked for1 which explains why1 at that period1 photographs were taken1 as a general rule1 simply head-bust1 most commonly called vignettes1 or as the ,americans would term it1 ambrotype4 ,such were the productions of the 8,glass ,age40 ,but from the time the 8paper process0 established itself1 ,photography at once took its place among the finer arts1 and having gained the victory1 the artists that had disdainfully resented its popularity1 ventured to advance into the new field of enterprise1 and not only were they delighted in procuring such an auxiliary1 but they laboured in trying to improve the application of its science to ,portraiture4 ,though painting renders the chemical result subordinate1 and likewise subservient to the skill of the artist1 when removed from the pressure frame to the easel1 yet in no way does it depreciate ,photography as an art which is necessary to assist in securing with unerring accuracy of outline momentary indications of character1 expression of face1 and costume1 consisting of numberless and minute details2 all of which are at once portrayed on a tablet of glass reflected through the ,camera2 and which1 if not satisfactory to the mind of the operator1 he may arrange according to his own artistic taste1 judgment and skill1 with a view of securing pictorial effect and individual character4 ,it would be utterly impossible to estimate the advantages ,photography has conferred upon all mankind1 or to anticipate the still greater wonders it is yet destined to achieve4 ,having sketched the early struggles which ,photography had to surmount to claim a high place for its followers1 we now proceed to examine its distinguishing features4 ,in scrutinizing the works of even the greatest artists of our day1 we are sure to find some fault--some error4 ,why is it that imperfection should exist even in works of the highest rank1 grand in conception1 beautiful in execution1 rich in modulation1 truthfulness of outline and form1 and harmonious in colouring8 ,for the simple reason1 that true excellence can only be found in composition pictures where the creative mind of the artist has been free to labour in accordance with its own poetic fancy1 and when such perfection exists in portraiture without the aid of ,photography1 it will indeed be an exception6 ,when the practical eye of an artist takes up a ,work of ,art1 he at once recognizes the forte of the genius in some one particularity4 ,say for instance one artist may excel in the master-stroke of execution1 and by a few strokes of the brush give much more artistic and life-like effect than another would by hours of close application and the minutest finish--the difference between these two artists being that the one was a true born artist1 and the other a lover of the art--simply one who had acquired its mechanism from untiring study and practice4 ,we will again find others who excel in the amalgamation of colours1 others for composition1 others for costumes and drapery--others for the delicacy and transparency of the flesh tones2 and we might still further attempt to specify their various fortes of particular excellence1 by dissecting the human forms and classify them by their technical terms in anatomy4 ,for instance1 ,i have known artists who have excelled in the execution of a face1 and yet fail in the representation of the hair--all their heads conveying to the observer an idea that they were wigged6 ,in other productions we are at once made sensible that the artist has one ideal for a nose1 and if the picture represents innumerable figures1 they are all possessed of the same type of nasal organ6 ,in others again1 we find the artist manifest in some peculiarity in the eye or in the mouth2 but it is not any of these artistic individualities we ask for when we are desirous of possessing a faithful likeness of some loved one1 nor do we care to find as we scan their well-remembered features1 the artist's ideal of a nose1 an eye1 a mouth1 a chin1 or some other member1 in place of its1 perhaps1 more homely characteristic4 ,in nature we are daily witnessing how the various types of features1 at once the most classic and homely--highest and lowest1 come to mingle so congruously in one face1 but such as nature has thought fit to endow us1 such do we want to be faithfully and accurately delineated1 and if such combination of distinctive specialities of art are required for portraiture1 which is rarely1 if ever1 found individually1 then how inestimable is the aid of ,photography6 ,many are under the impression that its process exaggerates to such an extent that the object or subject reproduced is figuratively distorted1 which constituted the opprobium attached to its productions4 ,this is a mistake4 ,if the operator uses a first-class instrument1 and sufficiently large to secure the same perfect definition at the extreme margin of the plates as in the centre1 and regulated by the diaphragm with space sufficient for the required length of focus1 no aberation or distortion will be visible4 ,but if a questionable lens is used1 and the aperture too small for the flatness of 8field0 required1 then the whole model will be more or less distorted2 its receding lines obtruding as to become perfectly blurred and indistinct2 the shadows black1 without detail1 and the lights hard and flat4 ,but let it be remembered that this ,essay is entirely confined to the aspirants to ,art in its higher branches4 ,photography in the hands of a lover of its art1 initiated in the theory and practical knowledge of its science1 would not waste valuable time in the production of such enormities4 ,we have1 therefore1 only to deal with its advantages in its higher order of execution2 or if we deviate a while from our theory1 it is but to confirm our arguments1 and give the reader an opportunity to discriminate for himself between the two4 ,but to return to the fallacy of portraiture being confined to the erroneous pencil of the deceitful imagination of an artist possessing one or more only of those capabilities essential to the production of the truthfulness of individuality4 ,how can it be expected that he can pourtray1 from a few short sittings taken from nature1 to be afterwards finely finished from memory with that unerring accuracy that the ,photograph identifies8 ,i have never yet seen a portrait painted from life that conveyed the idea of life4 ,as the eye rests upon the canvas1 the mind at once feels that artificially life has been attempted to be represented1 even when the likeness has been so striking as to draw from the observers an exclamation of 8how like10 and in its artistic merits 8how beautiful40 ,but the absence of that individuality which casts an air of naturalness in the ,photographic production is lost in the creative picture1 and the cold statue-like aspect which is conventual in ,art1 in no way associates the mind with a sentiment of familiarity in the past or present1 as the case may be4 ,then how is it1 it may be asked1 that an artist who has given to the world works of surpassing excellence--standard models for future ages--is yet incapable of adapting himself to pourtray the simplicity of real life as it is8 ,why cannot the artist thus enabled to invest the imaginary characters of his works with all the sparkling vivacity of life1 identify the same in portraiture8 ,to solve this problem we must glance and circumspectly dwell for a time on the personal characteristics of artists4 ,not that we would suppose1 or would wish to suggest that fac-similar traits are hereditary to the born artist2 but as countries are remarkable for their individual nationalities1 so are the peculiarities in the temperament of an artist4 ,we might without offence notify it by calling it eccentricity1 for it has been said that genius and eccentricity are inseparable4 ,the active and creative mind of an artist is ever busy arranging subjects for his art4 ,if not drawn from ,scriptural1 historical1 or poetical sources1 it is from some grand scene of nature memory has conjured up as he treads1 the path of life1 ruminating with all the fancy of the imaginative poet buried in those early dreams yet to be realised in the various phases of life in some poetic fashion1 glowing resplendently1 as personified in the mock ,tableau ,vivants of his conception1 at a future day to be developed upon a piece of canvas cloth1 and embodied in all the beauty and vigour of life2 its characters standing out in bold relief so prominent in their varied and natural imitation1 that you might fancy they were in reality breathing the very breath of life6 ,thus left to conceive and portray by the inspired hand of genius without the fastidious or exacting interference of his patrons1 the artist will assuredly be successful1 perhaps beyond his most sanguine expectations1 but once interfere with him1 the spell is broken1 and once compel him to make alterations against his will1 not only will you find his touches niggardly1 but they are given without firmness1 force1 or effect4 ,the touches might be given at random1 for any advancement of their creative merit2 his ideas are1 in fact1 crippled1 and if that picture is ever completed1 the eye and mind will at once intuitively feel that there is a want1 and that want will be inspiration4 ,the ideas of an artist are irreproachable and impassable4 ,once confined1 his own conceptions swayed1 his capabilities are disabled2 mind and hand must be as free as the wind of heaven1 unshackled by prejudice or importunities4 ,having thus solved the problem why artists cannot adapt themselves to follow nature in its identical peculiarities1 the same reasons likewise explain the necessity why ,art and ,photography should be combined1 a consumation still more desirable in the art of portraiture1 where the artist1 perforce1 is made obedient to the truth of reality4 ,the portrait thus conveyed by ,photography1 is not only an immense saving of time1 labour and trouble1 both to artist and sitter1 by being enabled to secure individuality1 but the variety of talent required for an artist to execute a portrait from life1 is thus adequately balanced4 ,in the 8,operating0 ,department another stamp of artistic merit is required--8,conception10--the eye being called upon in every way to arrange such pictorial effect that its every production may be in themselves studies4 ,thus has the felicitious combination of ,science and ,art become irrevocably united--each depending upon the other for success4 ,the latter is1 as ,i have before remarked1 distinguished for its unerring accuracy of drawing in all its individual properties and shading2 the former for imparting all the glowing warmth of nature2 and this inestimable acquisition has likewise invoked a higher1 purer1 and simpler standard for the truthful representation of contemporaneous life1 by unavoidably adhering to the reality of nature1 surrounding1 in place of being personified1 in some fantastic guise or otherwise poetic myth4 ,art1 in the present age1 stands conspicuous for its great achievements in ,truthfulness1 which has been guided and assisted by the aid of the ,camera4 ,perspective1 the great key to ,art1 was fabulous before ,photography was introduced2 and by its aid what perfection has it not obtained1 not only is distance mathematically exact1 but the round1 soft1 accuracy of light and shade in nature1 is most beautifully defined6 ,photography not only aids and assists the ,fine ,arts1 but gives invaluable aid to ,architecture1 ,astronomy1 ,geology1 ,mineralogy1 ,science of ,chemistry1 ,physiology1 ,literature1 and numberless sciences1 and likewise what the human eye is incapable of discerning1 the microscope reveals and ,photography delineates4 ,thus are we supplied with copies perfected by its aid1 of every work of art1 ancient and modern1 thus multiplied and preserved for generations to come4 ,we will now glance1 in conclusion1 upon the defects which have tended to constitute that opprobrium attached to the productions of photographic portraits by the public in general4 ,the opinion that ,photography exaggerates to such an excess that1 the lineaments it has pourtrayed are quite distorted1 or that five or ten years have suddenly been added to a 8sitter's0 age1 and their youth apparently eclipsed by the lines being1 perhaps1 too harshly defined1 and the shadows too strongly marked1 adding innumerable furrows1 reverential and admired in old age1 but despised in youth6 ,this defect is most easily obviated1 and no one who loves his profession will consent to such over-printed copies going out into the world1 for it is by the after process that this defect exists1 and not in the actual taking of the photograph1 unless the subject is very badly lighted1 which will occur when there is too much or too little light4 ,it is possible to print a proof until all the details1 even in the high lights1 are entirely obliterated1 and the likeness scarcely discernable4 ,but this is entirely the fault of the artist4 ,care must be taken that each impression is carefully watched1 and printed according to scale2 this undoubtedly requires the most exacting patience and perseverance2 but with untiring care expended upon each impression not the slightest trace of exaggeration will be visible1 every shade and detail will be rich in the soft rotundity which nature rejoices in4 ,these few short hints1 and brief and explanatory statements of ,general ,art ,principles1 may1 we trust1 be found enlightening and useful to all supporters of ,fine ,art1 not forgetting that a small grain of seed often becomes a goodly tree2 let us not trample its first tender shoots beneath our feet1 in contempt at its feeble efforts to obtain expansion1 as it breaks from its mother bed of soil to imbibe the freshness of the dew-drops and the glorious sunbeam of day4 ,no6--let us by careful training assist its maturity by removing from its path any noxious weeds that spring up spontaneously1 and by the same method of cultivation eradicate the evils that threaten to sap its tender youth4 ,if this theory had been in practice some hundred years ago1 how much further advanced might the world have been1 had not neglect and cold indifference thrown its shadow on all scientific pursuits8 ,then1 let us not fall into the folly of our ancestors by standing aloof1 each waiting for the other to take the first step in advance1 so biased by the prejudice of the times that we unite in the general cry1 in place of going forward and judging discriminately for ourselves4 ,illustration ,illustration ,transcriber's ,notes ,this book does not have a ,table of ,contents4 ,hyphenation and spelling were not changed4 ,simple typographical errors were corrected4 ,all illustrations are decorative4 ,some are shown within decorative borders4 ,those borders were used on all pages of the original book1 including the ones with text4