The Strand Magazine, Vol. 27, January 1904, No. 157 — John Shaqi
The Strand Magazine, Vol. 27, January 1904, No. 157Various
General
The Strand Magazine, Vol. 27, January 1904, No. 157
Various
English literature -- Periodicals; Short stories, English -- Periodicals
Gradually these pictures, each done by a separate artist, under the
eyes of the colour expert or master-lithographer, assume greater
perfection, as colour by colour is added, one from every stone, until in
No. 9 one would fain think, as the artist himself may have thought, that
the picture was finished, or at least approaching completion. But, as a
matter of fact, it is only half completed. It is still lacking many
necessary qualities; the reds and the greens and the greys and the gold
have yet to be added. What a quaint enigma is presented by Nos. 11, 12,
14, and 15! Taken by themselves they seem meaningless, but combined with
their forerunners and successors they are seen to be essential to the
finished picture.
[Illustration: ELEVENTH STONE--MEDIUM YELLOW.]
In the very final stages the stones are devoted to greys, which by
overlaying one another impart a roundness and solidity to the design
which it would otherwise lack. It may be mentioned that this
reproduction is, according to Mr. Tuck, the most successful, as it is
the most elaborate, colour-lithograph ever attempted.
[Illustration: TWELFTH STONE--DARK RED.]
[Illustration: THIRTEENTH STONE--DARK FLESH TINT.]
In the case of an ordinary colour-drawing the usual method is to
prepare a keystone--that is to say, an outline of the picture, together
with the black or grey portions. It is then marked off into colours,
each colour requiring, as has been said, a separate stone. Of the
uncoloured outline as many copies are printed as there are to be colours
in the finished picture, and each of these serves as a key or guide in
determining in what position on each stone the separate colour shall be.
Each artist then sets to work on his own part of the picture, which is
very often, as will be seen by our illustrations, a picture by itself.
The master-lithographer knows just how many of these pictures will be
necessary to achieve a facsimile. It may be that one colour will
frequently have to be printed over another in order to produce the
precise effect.
[Illustration: FOURTEENTH STONE--DARK BLUE.]
For colour-printing the stone is polished. Naturally the order in which
the colours succeed each other is very important, and must be carefully
considered. But perhaps the great object of the maker of pictures from
stones, after the picture in its various phases has been prepared, is to
see that each colour falls accurately into its proper place on the
paper. Nothing is more common, in a badly done lithograph, than to find
in the face of the human subject, say an attractive young lady, the
flesh colour overlapping the collar or the hat, or even extruding itself
out into space beyond the ear. All this implies bad "registering." The
drawing on each stone must be made to fit in, or register, with the
preceding one, so that, as the paper is passed through the printing
machine, the picture is built up colour on colour, each, however, being
allowed to dry before the next is applied.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account