Page:Bryan's dictionary of painters and engravers, volume 1.djvu/439

 CmSnOLM, Alexander, was bom at Elgin in the year 1792 or 1793, and at an early age was apprenticed by bis father to a weaver at Peterhead. He had a great aversion to the trade, and his predi- lection for art was so strong that he was accus- tomed to sketch figures upon the cloth on which he was occupied at the loom, and when his leisure per- mitted him to resort to the sea-shore, he found great pleasure in sketching on the smooth sand. When about fourteen years of age, he walked from Peter- head to Aberdeen, where he received his first lessons in light and shade. At this time there was a meeting of the Synod, the members of which he was permitted to sketch ; and his work gave such satisfaction, that he was forthwith commissioned to paint it, but this he was compelled to decline, as he was totally ignorant of the use of colours. He must have employed his leisure profitably, for when about twenty years of age he went to Edin- burgh, where he was patronized by the Earls of Elgin and Buchan, and was subsequently ap- pointed an instructor at the Royal Scottish Aca- demy. In 1818 he went to London, still under the patronage of the Earl of Buchan, and met with much encouragement. In 1829 he became an Associate Exhibitor of the Water-Colour Society and frequently sent works to thnt Institution. His favourite department of art was history, but he also painted portraits with eminent success. Having suffered from severe illness during nine years be- fore his death, his later productions do not exhibit that degree of vigour which characterize his earlier works. 'The Pedlar,' a water-colour paint- ing by him, is in the South Kensington Museum. He died at Rothesay, in the Isle of Bute, in 1847. The folloving are some of his most important works exhibited at the Royal Academy : Boys with a Burning Glass. 1S22. rue Cut Foot. 1S23.

Baptism of Ben Jensen's Daughter {trith portraits of Shakespeare, Jonson, Beaumont, Fletcher and Raleiah). 1837. The Lords of the Congregation taking the oath of the Covenant. 1S42., The Minister and his 'Wife concealing the Scottish Eegalia in the Church (his last icork). 1846.

CHODOWIECKI, Daniel Xicclaus, a painter and engraver, was bom at Dantzic in 1726. He was obliged at first to devote himself to shopkeep- ing, and could only practice drawing and painting, which he did in company with his brother Gott- fried, in his leisure moments — both of them having received some instruction from their father. His progress at last enabled him to follow these studies alone. He took to copying engravings and then to painting enan:el snufE-boxes, in which he was aided by Haid the Pole, and in which he made experiments ^vith designs of his own. He then in 1745 tried miniature-painting ; his portraits, which were remarkable for their characteristic resemblance and lifelike qualities, meeting with a favourable reception in all quarters. At this time he improved himself by practising drawing in Rode's studio, and then turned his attention to oil painting. Thus far he had only the nights to devote to these employ- ments. His first essay in etching was made in 1758. His etchings were drawn with such spirit that they soon attracted the attention of connoisseurs, and when he had painted the ' Separation of Jean Galas from his family,' and, in accordance with the wishes of his friends, had made an etching from that picture, his fame was fairly established. Orders from amateurs and dealers became so numerous that he was obliged to aban- don his miniature-painting. The Academy of Painting received him as its Reetor in 1764. In 1773, he made a journey on horseback to Dantzic, taking sketches of whatever there might be of interest on the route. On this journey, and during nine weeks spent in Dantzic, he kept a diary vrixh drawings, preserved in the Berlin Academy, which presents a most life-like picture of the then social condition of that city. On his return he received commissions from Lavater, for whom he executed many designs and some copper-plate engravings for his ' Essays on Physiognomy.' His fame spread so wide that it was -with the greatest difficulty that he could meet the demands of the book- sellers for drawings and engravings for books and almanacks. The number of paintings, designs, and etchings which he produced at this period was some- thing prodigious. This severe labour was injurious to his health, and during the last twenty years of his Ufe he suffered from swollen feet — but that did not prevent his following his ordinary pursuits. He became Vice-Director of the Academy in 1788, and Director in 1797. He was active and laborious up to within a few weeks of his death, which took place at Berlin in 1801. The Berlin Museimi con- tains ' Blindman's Buff ' and ' Der Hahnenschlag,' both of the year 1768.

Chodowiecki was a highly-gifted artist, who owed all his knowledge of art to his own study. This lack of instruction was the real cause why works on a larger scale lay beyond the limits of his artistic sphere, but the same reason led to his smaller works being so carefully finished. The genuine originality displayed in them, and a certain easy spiritual rendering, stamp most of his works with a peculiar character. He represents the feelings and affections, virtues and vices, just as he had observed them around him, with singular acuteness. Not unfitly has he been spoken of as the great depictor of the morals of his day. His productions are not disfigured by anything in the way of excess or defect. His drawings are marked by delicate but at the same time firm and clear outlines, the shadows being worked in with a light hand, but well defined. His early works in enamel are small masterpieces in respect of finish, and are full of life, grace, and cheerfulness. The same holds true of his miniatures. His performances in oil painting scarcely went beyond the range of experiments. As an engraver of small subjects he stands almost unsurpassed. He was the founder of a new style, representing modern figures with such truth and animation, and at the same time with such correctness of outline, as had till then never been thought possible on so small a scale. Apart from single plates, he illustrated with designs of his own composition the principal Uterary pro- ductions of his time, such as ' Minna von Bamhelm,' 'The Vicar of 'Wakefield,' 'Gellert's Fables,' 'Gil Bias,' Schiller's 'Robbers,' Sterne's 'Sentimental Journey,' as well as ' Don Quixote,' and the works of Shakespeare and Voltaire.

Chodowiecki's etchings and engravings amount to 2075 distinct works upon 978 plates. They are fully described in Engelmann's 'Daniel Chodowiecki's Sammtliche Kupferstiche ' published at Leipsic in 1857-60. Among his principal plates may be mentioned :

Jean Calas bidding farewell to his Life. 1767-8. Frederick the Great, accompanied by Peace ; rare.