ITS INCEPTION—A THEORY OF EVOLUTION—A DISTINCT PROGRESS

"In proportion to his force the artist will find in his work an outlet for his proper character."—Emerson.

Its Inception.—It was the dawn of a new sense when primitive man first ornamented his weapons, utensils, and the walls of his cave dwellings with incised drawings,—pictorial representations which enabled him to record events or suggest and illustrate thoughts and ideas when his somewhat limited vocabulary failed him.

It was a severely utilitarian epoch of the world's history, and the crude yet intensely realistic manifestations of man's artistic desires were the more remarkable that they were wholly dependent upon stern necessity for their realisation. Childlike in their simplicity, yet both graphic and vigorous in expression, these ancient drawings bear testimony to the intense desire of primeval man for some suitable and satisfying form of pictorial expression. Such incised drawings were undoubtedly the earliest forms, which the mind of man suggested and his skill attained, of conveying information and displaying pictorial or ornamental art. They were but crude conceptions of the untutored art of a savage race, yet, with a characteristic quaintness of expression, they abundantly prove the existence of an innate, imitative, and artistic faculty, inspired by an insatiable craving for illustrative delineation.

A Theory of Evolution.—The antiquity of the engraver's art, then, is exceedingly remote, and its earliest records display frequent evidences of manipulative skill and artistic perception—evidences which are still more convincing when the environment and scanty resources of its exponents are fully appreciated. It was a most unique phase of that process of evolution whereby the social education of the human race was advanced, and through countless ages it has indicated the same onward roll of progressive intelligence.

Responsive to the ever-changing conditions of life, the necessities of mankind were constantly increasing. His higher intelligence also created a greater diversity of interests, and consequently demanded a fuller and more expressive vehicle of communication for his thoughts. No longer content with what was only needful for the maintenance of social or commercial intercourse, he sought to add to the archaic simplicity of his drawings, skilful arrangement, and a certain degree of artistic feeling and interpretation. It was as though some transitory flashes of artistic power in the minds of prehistoric artists were struggling with an inability to give adequate expression to their inceptions. Their productions, some of them dating from the PalÆolithic and Neolithic periods, were not pretentious works of art. Their primary purpose being representative, their merit was, of course, decided by the success or failure of such representation, apart from any artistic qualities they might possess.

A Distinct Purpose.—The evident care with which many of the ancient incised drawings or engravings were executed and preserved, together with the permanent character of the materials employed, seems to indicate that these simple yet graphic representations were produced with the distinct purpose of perpetuating a memory as well as for the amplification of a meagre language,—a purpose which considerably enhances their interest, and suggests that the primeval engraver appreciated some at least of the possibilities of his art. Moreover, they frequently possess an intense veracity and directness of imitation which renders them of inestimable value as reliable historical records. Had caprice alone directed the artist's efforts, they would not in so many instances have merited the interest and approval which they now receive.

Such, then, were the beginnings of an art that subsequently reached its maturity only by a slow growth of gradual development, and "which, in the modesty and seriousness of its earlier manifestations, is at least as interesting as in the audacity of its later and more impressionistic phases."

Engraving as a reproductive as well as an ornamental art was at different periods modified in accordance with ever-changing conditions produced by the exigencies of national and industrial policy. Its frequent adaptation to the various circumstances with which it was indissolubly associated, and the fluctuations of an enthusiasm which was more or less dependent upon national as well as social prosperity, fully justifies the statement that "its history is the mirror of a nation's progress."

The rude methods of ancient artists can be distinctly traced through Egyptian, Assyrian, and Grecian history. Hieroglyphic and symbolic figures, engraved on ancient Egyptian monuments, bear testimony to a vast progress both in expressive and inventive power. Assyrian antiquities disclose an art which is even more suggestive and picturesque, while the ancient Greeks developed the highest qualities of pictorial power, and raised the art to a marvellous pitch of excellence.

Beyond this brief epitome of the early history of engraving we need not venture. The idea of taking impressions from any form of incised drawings was not suggested until many centuries later.