So, this is what antiquarianism looks like
I pick up a moldy coffee-table volume from the library’s “for sale” shelf: Understanding Watercolours, by one H.L. Mallalieu.
’Bout time the children learned about paintings and such.
I page through the book. J.M.W. Turner’s name is prominent: that’s all I have to know to make my decision. That’s pretty much all I do know about the subject. I pay the dollar.
At home, I look more closely at the book. It belongs to a series:
Uh, oh.
Well, this is a first. I’ve never before acquired a “how to” book for collectors. I’ve never desired to have any such thing in my, uh, collection.
Upon further review, the book is very strange indeed.
Well, that’s good to know: I had no idea about (a) or (b), but I guess I have the makings of a connoisseur.
’Bout time the children learned about paintings and such.
I page through the book. J.M.W. Turner’s name is prominent: that’s all I have to know to make my decision. That’s pretty much all I do know about the subject. I pay the dollar.
At home, I look more closely at the book. It belongs to a series:
- Understanding Watercolours
- Understanding Antique Wine Bottles [😳]
- Understanding Book-Collecting
- Understanding Miniature British Pottery and Porcelain
- Understanding Dolls
Uh, oh.
Well, this is a first. I’ve never before acquired a “how to” book for collectors. I’ve never desired to have any such thing in my, uh, collection.
Upon further review, the book is very strange indeed.
This book fills a long felt need for a practical introduction to the subject of collecting British watercolour paintings. There is a lot more to collecting than noting the price, the name of the artist and deciding whether or not one likes the subject.Very true. Indeed, the same principle applies to books about British watercolor paintings.
Many watercolours are either not signed or bear false signatures, or perhaps have been saddled with misleading attributions.Emphasis on “practical.” I’ve never seen anything so concerned with art, that so determinedly disregarded the aesthetic qualities of art – except when these have monetary implications (e.g., A is a more lucrative artist to collect than B, and you can tell that a work is by A rather than B because A paints tree-trunks better than B does). There is a quiz at the back of the book. Question: “These two watercolours are painted by different artists. a. Who? b. Does it matter?” Answer: “a. J.R. Cozens; b. Turner. – It is possible that Turner’s Monro School copy would be more expensive than the Cozens original, but if you said that it does not matter, you have the makings of a connoisseur and should take five extra points.”
The excellent text and carefully chosen illustrations take the collector behind the formal signature on the picture and show him what to look for in it, the idiosyncrasies of the artist, his style and his individual methods of working.
Yet even when all the technical points are understood there remains the whim of fashion which varies over long periods and has moved round, ignoring or puffing each artist in turn. Without an understanding of the movement of fashion, past collections and ideas on collecting, it would be hard to understand the subject.
This book, one of a series under the general title of ‘Understanding’, will be widely welcomed. There has never been such a practical and informative guide.
Well, that’s good to know: I had no idea about (a) or (b), but I guess I have the makings of a connoisseur.