Sidney Farnsworth

“ Calligraphy and Illumination are inseparably bound up with each other. The art of Illumination cannot be severed from that of Writing. One cannot imagine the decoration apart from the writing. Undoubtedly this sprang from a desire to beautify the writing. Man sought to make his manuscripts beautiful, and the result was a form of illumination, at first very primitive, but gradually developing into the beautiful art that we are so familiar with in the choice manuscripts of the middle ages. ”

“ A natural leaf is a thing of beauty, there is nothing rigid or stiff about it, but one that is cut out of paper is dead and unyielding in every respect and is absolutely devoid of all feeling. One should get all the life and feeling possible into one’s drawing, and this comes from plenty of practice in careful and thoughtful drawing from nature.
When making plant studies for one’s own use in design there is no need to limit oneself by making outline drawings in pen and ink, as when they are intended to be reproduced by means of line-blocks. ”

“ The student will never regret the time spent in the study of the best work of the Middle Ages. By this means he is brought face to face with examples of the work of artists who were masters in this particular craft. The study of the best work that the mediæval artists have produced, combined with plenty of study from nature, is, without doubt, the finest training that the modern illuminator could possibly have. ”

“ Imitating someone else is equally foolish, as an imitation can never be equal to the real thing. Art is worth nothing unless it springs spontaneously from the joy of working, without any concentration on its æsthetic aspects. Therefore the thing for the modern illuminator to do is not to imitate either ancient or modern artists, but simply seek to do his best, giving the best workmanship that he is capable of. There are untold possibilities in the future for the development of schools of illumination as great as any of those that have existed in the past. ”

“ When commencing the study of the art of illumination it is extremely important that it should be approached from the proper standpoint. It is to be feared that this has not always been the case. The lure of the bright gold and colours has often led both teacher and taught astray, and the proper use of the pen in writing has been almost entirely neglected. ”

“ It has not been written with the idea of introducing a quick and easy method of becoming expert in the art of illumination. Success, in this, as in anything else of importance, can come only through hard work.
I have endeavoured to foster interest and enthusiasm, so that the student may not look upon the hard work entailed with this subject merely as a certain amount of drudgery to be got through. To one who is keenly interested in any particular study hard work often becomes a pleasure, and it is only when such is the case that the full benefit is derived from such study. ”

“ The most important thing, in the eyes of the advertiser, is not so much the design of the poster as the goods advertised, and the lettering calling attention to these must be clear, distinct, and prominent. Lettering, therefore, that is based on the Roman type is best for this kind of work.
Illumination, in general, appeals to a different type of individual. Something is required that is away from the ordinary. Also as illumination is so inseparably bound up with writing, it is almost essential that a true pen-formed lettering should be used. ”

“ In the Middle Ages the illuminated MS. book occupied a very prominent position. The printing-press was not then in existence, so the manuscript book was without a rival. To-day the printing-press is to the forefront and the manuscript book is practically unheard of. There is, nevertheless, no reason why the art of illumination should not be practised in the same manner as was formerly the case. It is true that beautiful books are produced by the printer, but there ought also to be a demand for books beautiful, written and illuminated by artists of the present day. ”

“ Ordinary hand-writing is a development of the kind of writing used by the old calligraphers. Generally speaking, the connection between the two is not recognised. Probably if this were so calligraphy of the present day would be much better than it generally is. The fact that it is generally referred to as “printing” shows how the connection has been lost. Drawing is thought to be more akin to it than hand-writing. It is no uncommon sight to see a student carefully drawing the shapes of the letters and then filling them in with a fine mapping pen. ”

“ When the position of the initial and the opening words is determined, the black lettering should be proceeded with. The student should endeavour to ensure perfect freedom in working, also to aim at preventing the writing from looking as if a great deal of trouble had been taken to make it fit and space well. For anyone to derive any joy out of it, there must be a feeling of spontaneity and freedom about it. He should allow his imagination to work when writing. If he studies the words that he is writing he is bound to have suggestions come to his mind. ”

“ For the purpose of illumination, Roman lettering is not by any means ideal. It is much better to select a true pen-formed alphabet; but for modern usage, such as the various branches of commercial work, Roman lettering is used a great deal. It possesses one very great advantage, that is, its legibility. As the man in the street has his daily newspaper printed in a form of Roman lettering, he is therefore more familiar with this type than any other. ”

“ Poetry generally seems to require to be written with a lighter type of letter and with the lines of lettering wider apart. It is, however, not wise to lay down hard and fast rules with regard to this: one should be able to feel what is the best thing to do.
When writing the MS., and, indeed, right through every stage, absolute quiet is necessary to concentrate one’s mind on the work. One should endeavour to give it one’s undivided attention. ”

“ The first thing to endeavour to grasp is how to cut and use the pen. After this has been mastered, the next step should be the formation of letters. This is followed by forming letters into words. Then comes writing and designing with masses of writing. Not until the student is thoroughly familiar with the use of lettering should he attempt to add any decoration to it. A fine piece of writing in black, or black and red, on vellum or fine hand-made paper is a piece of decoration by itself, but a bad piece of lettering cannot be made beautiful, however much ornament be added afterwards. ”

“ Without a doubt the use of leaf, raised and burnished, is the ideal method of gilding. If the student examines any of the old MSS. of the best periods he is bound to be struck with the brilliance of the raised gold, and he will notice how superior are the results to any produced by means of gold paint. Gold-leaf gilding, even if it is unburnished, is infinitely more brilliant than either gold paint or shell gold. Some difficulty may at first be experienced in handling the leaf, as, being so thin, it has an unpleasant habit of blowing about. ”

“ Book decoration, both in connection with MS. book and the printed book, is, however, the thing most in keeping with the true spirit of illumination. Illumination seems to be bound up with book production, and, if the modern collector could only see that a fine illuminated manuscript was a work of art as desirable as a picture for a permanent possession, there ought to be a fair demand for the work of the modern illuminator. ”

“ Illumination and printing should both develop along their special lines, the developments of both depending on the exigencies of the materials employed. Thus, in relation to the printed book, the printing process should be developed to get the best results possible.
Probably the ideal printed book would have the decoration printed from wood-blocks engraved by the artist himself. If the decoration and illustrations take the form of reproductions of drawings there can never be the same life and vitality as when the whole is the direct creation of the artist. ”

“ The illuminated address is the form which most modern illumination takes. The greater number of these cannot, even by the widest stretch of imagination, be called works of art. Not only are they generally executed with vivid and crude colour schemes, but also the style of decoration is usually extremely bad. Some of the letters are painfully contorted. Others are represented as if they were solid blocks throwing shadows, and are drawn in false perspective. Meaningless flourishes abound. Occasionally a little bit of decoration, that has been copied from some mediæval work, is introduced. ”

“ A test as to whether an artist has succeeded is to observe, when the book is shown to anyone, whether the words are noticed at all, or if the decoration only is admired without any apprehension as to what the words are about. If the latter is the case, then, to some extent, the artist has failed. A manuscript that has been illuminated in the right spirit should enable the reader to understand and appreciate the words better. ”

“ If this is persisted in, the result will be that the drawing will be lacking in vitality, besides being not nearly so intelligible. If the endeavour be made to keep constantly before the mind the fact that it is form that one is drawing, and everything is carefully reasoned out before attempting to draw it, the finished drawing will not only have far more life in it, but it will also be much easier to understand.
One should also strive to draw with feeling; there is a great difference between a living plant and an artificial reproduction of it. ”

“ The great thing to remember when doing work for reproduction by chromo-lithography is to get a good effect with as few colours as possible. There is no need in this case to make the drawing more vigorous than is required, as the lithographer will endeavour to get exactly the same effect as in the original.
The student who is ignorant as to the different methods of reproduction employed should at any rate, after paying a little attention to the descriptions given, avoid making designs that are almost impossible to reproduce satisfactorily. ”

“ Some students seem to be afraid that they will not be able to keep the writing the same size unless they use two lines. It is strange that in ordinary hand-writing they would never think it necessary to rule two lines to keep their writing the same size. The use of two lines is necessary to the beginner until he has become familiar with the pen, but there is no necessity to keep using these, for they only hamper him and give him less freedom in working. ”

“ Brushes soon spoil if they are put away dirty. The colour gets between the hairs and prevents the brush from coming to a point. If the colour dries in the brush it is very difficult to get it quite clean afterwards. One would think it was hardly necessary to state that brushes should not be placed so that they are resting on their points, but they are often left in this way by careless people. When a brush has been used for Indian ink it will be found that washing in ordinary water will be insufficient to clean it. ”

“ This form of writing can be quite easily formed with the slanted-cut pen.
There is no need to employ a fine pen for putting in the thin strokes, as is so often the case, as the complete letter may be formed with the same pen if it is cut with a nice chisel point. It is most important that the student should form the whole of the letter with the same pen, without any touching up afterwards. The practice of forming letters roughly and shaping them up afterwards with a fine pen tends to cultivate most unworkmanlike habits and cannot be too severely censored. ”

“ That there are abundant ways in the present day in which the modern illuminator may make use of his craft has been amply exemplified in the preceding pages. The work of the craftsman, of course, stands first and foremost, but it must be remembered that the machine has come to stay, and the artist must endeavour to realise something of the great possibilities that there are in this direction. ”

“ A complete edition of the works of a favourite poet is a good example for illumination in this manner. It would take far too much time, as well as being too costly, for the modern illuminator to write out a large volume of poetry, but it might be nicely printed and illuminated in this way. ”