On books and arts

In Short

Frederick Wedmore gathers his critical essays spanning literature, the stage, and the fine arts, originally written for periodicals and daily papers. He investigates the strict mechanics of the short story, examines literary relationships like those of Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Balzac, and reviews historical and contemporary theatrical performances. Turning to visual media, he assesses Dutch seventeenth-century drawings, master etchers like Méryon and Whistler, and painterly technique from Chardin to his own contemporaries. Wedmore's collection endures because it offers an unpretentious, highly disciplined study of artistic form and restraint across multiple disciplines.

The Story

Wedmore opens his survey by investigating the exacting demands of literary form, focusing particularly on the short story and the delicate nature of dialogue. He notes that critical moments in fiction require absolute authenticity of phrasing rather than cleverness, comparing the structural compression of short prose to the immediate impact demanded by the stage. Proceeding through literary history, he revisits the collaborative origins of the Lyrical Ballads, contrasting the imaginative medium of Wordsworth and Coleridge with Crabbe's prosaic realism. He then turns to the personal life and correspondences of Honoré de Balzac, tracing how the novelist's real-life admirations and romantic longings shaped figures like Feodora and informed his most personal written works.

Transitioning from the page to personal collecting and printmaking, Wedmore recalls encounters with old-fashioned print dealers and reflects on his own prized acquisitions, such as Turner’s Liber Studiorum. This personal connection to visual media leads into a comparative study of etching, where he contrasts Whistler’s immediate, vivacious lines with Méryon’s patient, architectural construction of sombre cityscapes.

The focus shifts next to the theatre, where Wedmore evaluates the craft of performance and dramatic writing. He contrasts the quiet, Kemble-style self-control of English actress Mrs. Siddons with the fiery, spontaneous passion of Rachel, examining how different eras respond to varied acting methods. Analyzing classic drama on the modern stage, he reflects on a production of John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi, arguing that modern audiences often lack the imagination required to appreciate stately poetic similes and dark Elizabethan tragedy.

In the final portion of the book, Wedmore conducts an extensive tour of European and British painting. He establishes the independence of Dutch seventeenth-century drawings, praising their ability to convey complete, immediate impressions rather than serving merely as preliminary sketches. He scrutinizes the majestic portraiture of Velasquez, highlighting how the Spaniard subordinated personal detail to general atmosphere in outdoor works while achieving intense psychological realism in busts like Innocent the Tenth. Wedmore then celebrates Chardin as the painter of French middle-class life, noting how the artist's quiet domestic scenes and still-lifes reflected a contented temperament. Passing through Moreau, Gainsborough's masterly draperies, and Cotman, he concludes with evaluations of his contemporaries—including Millais's Pre-Raphaelite roots, Lord Leighton, Burne-Jones, and Jean-Jacques Henner, whose refined handling of the nude brings the collection to a close.

How It Unfolds

The mechanics of prose The collection opens with an inquiry into short fiction and theatrical dialogue, insisting on economy of words and precise emotional truth over artificial cleverness.

Collaborations and creative origins Wedmore explores literary biography, examining how Wordsworth and Coleridge parted ways during the creation of the Ancient Mariner and how Balzac translated personal romance into fiction.

The print collector's craft Reflecting on visits to London print dealers, the author compares the spontaneous etchings of Whistler with the laborious, monumental copperplate compositions of Méryon.

Acting traditions on trial A study of dramatic execution contrasts the restrained, dignified technique of Mrs. Siddons with Rachel's intense realism, followed by a critique of modern audience reactions to Webster's Du Duchess of Malfi.

Masterpieces of light and line Wedmore analyzes seventeenth-century Dutch drawings and the portraiture of Velasquez, showing how technical finish serves to convey immediate, authentic impressions.

Domestic quietude and modern masters The survey moves through Chardin’s middle-class domestic scenes to Victorian landscape painters and contemporaries like Millais and Henner, emphasizing poetry and color harmony over dramatic sensationalism.

The People

Frederick Wedmore The author and critic acts as the central guide throughout the collection. He seeks genuine artistic truth, disciplined technique, and emotional sincerity, rejecting temporary fads or superficial cleverness in favor of lasting quality.

Honoré de Balzac The French novelist serves as a key subject of literary inquiry. Driven by a desire for public recognition while remaining devoted to his personal ideal of art, he channels his personal passions and romantic disappointments into his expansive fictional world.

Charles Méryon The French etcher represents the patient, monumental approach to printmaking. He wants to realize complex sombre visions on copper plates, working with Dürer-like discipline to erect lasting artistic structures line by line.

James McNeill Whistler The American-born etcher stands as Méryon's agile counterpart. He seeks immediate visual economy, using flexible and faultless lines to capture instantaneous impressions despite his eccentric public persona.

Mrs. Siddons The celebrated English actress embodies traditional dramatic discipline. Steeped in the Kemble family tradition of rigid self-control, she relies on dignity, firm contour, and deliberate deportment to rouse compassion in her audience.

Rachel The Swiss-born French actress represents spontaneous theatrical fire. She breaks away from artificial staging to bring raw, immediate, and naturalistic truth to classic tragic roles.

Jean-Jacques Henner The French painter exemplifies painterly poetry in the collection's closing pages. He uses classical and Biblical themes to create harmonious combinations of color, treating the nude figure with reticence and technical refinement.

In Its Own Voice

"And those of us who have a preference--derived, it may be, from the simpler generation of Dickens--for an unbending when it is a question of little matters, and, when it is a question of great ones, for ‘a sincere large accent, nobly plain’--well! there is much of modern finessing we are hardly privileged to understand."

Wedmore explains his standard for literary dialogue, favoring plain sincerity over over-refined modern phrasing.

"Méryon, upon the other hand, has been remarkable for building up, with learned patience worthy of Albert Dürer, little by little, his effects; so that when the thing is done, and that sombre vision of his has become a realised performance, he has not so much made a drawing upon a plate, as erected a monument (for so it strikes one) from base to coping-stone."

The critic contrasts Méryon's deliberate etching methodology with the rapid sketching style of his contemporaries.

"Contentment with the daily round, and with the common lot, alone could have allowed him to confine the subject of his work within the limits of a narrow experience."

Wedmore characterizes Chardin’s focused artistic temperament and his dedication to depicting Parisian middle-class life.

What It's Really About

Wedmore’s primary thesis is that enduring art relies on restraint, structural economy, and absolute fidelity to one's vision. Whether analyzing a short story's dialogue, an actress's stage presence, or an etcher's line, he argues against inflated cleverness and easy piquancy. True artistic greatness requires knowing what to leave out, allowing the fundamental medium to convey deep feeling without resorting to cheap melodrama or excessive finish. Through his comparative studies, Wedmore shows that across every medium—prose, drama, print, and oil—the works that survive are those built upon sincere observation, precise technique, and emotional self-control.

Why Read It Today

This essay collection appeals to readers, art historians, and literary enthusiasts who appreciate nuanced aesthetic judgment expressed in clear, refined English. Reading Wedmore offers the pleasure of standing beside a highly knowledgeable nineteenth-century connoisseur who walks through galleries and print shops with equal ease. The text provides valuable historical perspective on iconic figures like Whistler, Turner, Millais, and Balzac before their reputations were fully set in stone.

Readers should be prepared for late-Victorian prose syntax and occasional untranslated French phrases or period cultural references that assume a familiar acquaintance with nineteenth-century European art and European history. Wedmore does not offer dramatic narratives or biographical gossip; his writing remains strictly focused on formal appreciation and artistic technique. For those willing to engage with his measured pace, the book remains a rewarding study in how to look at art and literature with a disciplined, discerning eye.