ORIGINAL ETCHING !! Priest Children Admonition

The Reprimand
Artist: Carl Schloesser - Etched by: L. Lowenstam
Editor: Philip Gilbert Hamerton

100+ years old art print ... in excellent condition ... reverse side is blank !

Size: Size of the print: 9 1/4 x 13 1/4; image area: 5 3/4 x 7 3/4 inches.
Condition: Excellent condition. Printed on heavier laid paper.  Plate mark present.
 

    PHILIP GILBERT HAMERTON (1834—1894) was an English artist and author. In 1866 he published his standard work on Etching and Etchers.  He was also an art critic to the Saturday Review.  In 1870 he established an art journal of his own, The Portfolio, a monthly periodical, each number of which consisted of a monograph upon some artist or a group of artists, frequently written and always edited by him. The monographs were accompanied by the original prints taken from the plates, etched by the eminent etchers of the day solely for the purpose of being published in The Portfolio. A limited number of etchings was printed.
 

THE subject of this picture will be almost immediately understood from Mr. Lowenstam's careful etching.  The priest, whilst taking his walk in his parish, has  met there two children by accident, and suspecting from their guilty look that they have been doing something that he disapproves of, perceives the bird-cage which the boy is holding behind his back, accepts it as evidence of bird-catching, and reprimands them accordingly.  They seem, just at present, to be rather deeply impressed by the condemnation of ecclesiastical authority, but how long this wholesome state of mind will last we will not venture to predict.  Meanwhile the birds are there still in the cage, and if the priest does not deliver them at once they are likely to remain there, unless some more tragic fate awaits them.  Mr. Carl Schloesser's works generally include a humorous element, but not of a forced or violent kind, as the reader may judge from the figure of the priest here, which makes us smile by its homely truth of costume and expression. The painter is a well-known German artist, originally belonging to Darmstadt.  For some time past he has been living in London, where he has rapidly won reputation, and has been cordially welcomed by some of our best artists. In the year 18/6 he exhibited The Village Lawyer at the Royal Academy, which attracted much attention by its effect and technical skill, as well as by the interest of the subject.  This picture may be known to our readers by the wood engraving from it which appeared in the ' Illustrated London News.' Mr. Schloesser was invited to contribute to the first exhibition at the Grosvenor Gallery, and exhibited a picture called The Refectory. Amongst many former works by Mr. Schloesser which were popular on the Continent we may mention Forbidden Fruit, which belonged to the late Emperor Napoleon III. The subject was a German schoolroom, with boys smoking, and suddenly caught in the enjoyment of the forbidden pleasure by the stern master when he comes back from a short absence. Mr. Schloesser's talents have been handsomely recognised by the juries of the International Exhibitions.  At Vienna he was distinguished by the gold medal and the cross of the Order of Merit.

                                                                                                                    [Source, The Portfolio for 1878, pp. 49.]