AUGUSTE BROUET, PAINTER-ETCHER.
BY MARCEL VALOTAIRE.
THE great name of Rembrandt has been so often profaned by hazardous comparisons that I feel no little hesitation in introducing it here in commencing these brief notes on the work of Auguste Brouet. Nevertheless it cannot be helped. There can be no doubt that at the first glance the etchings of this artist in their general appearance call to mind those of Rembrandt— as to that the accompanying reproductions will give the reader some idea —and for such an impression there is certainly ample justification, but one ought to hesitate before going a step further and drawing conclusions as to an influence, an adaptation, or a parti-pris. We have to do here with a happy and very remarkable coincidence, and that is all.
Auguste Brouet, a Parisian bred and born, hails from a humble family of the Montmartre quarter, where he passed his childhood amongst the picturesque population whose types he was later in life to record with so much felicity. Apprenticed as a lad to a lithographic printer and then to a musical instrument maker, he finally returned to lithography, and acquiring a taste for drawing devoted his leisure hours in the evening to a course of study at first under Gustave Moreau and then under Delaunay. It became evident, however, that the path he was to follow was neither that of painting nor lithography, but etching, to which he felt an overpowering attraction. At the age of sixteen he made his first attempt at etching, using as his sole implement a nail, and as his plate a scrap of zinc gutter-pipe with a ground if one may so call it—of floor polish. The proof obtained from a single biting of this little plate, Les petits Joueurs de Dis, is quite remarkable, and arrests attention because it immediately reminds one of Rembrandt, although at that time the youthful debutant was completely unaware of the great Dutch master's existence as an etcher, and certainly had never seen one of his etchings. Thus from this early beginning as an aquafortist, Brouet has remained himself, and his manner and style are borrowed from no one, but are peculiarly his own. a We will not follow him through all the vicissitudes of his life as an artist without means, obliged to undertake any sort of odd job to get a living—drawing, painting water-colours, executing engravings after the masters, making colour-prints as much on behalf of other artists better known than himself as on his own account. Such worries are so frequent in the careers of artists of talent that we need not dwell on them. Rather let us turn to what he has accomplished.
Among the subjects which Brouet has chosen for his plates are interior scenes, landscapes, picturesque bits of Rouen, of Moret, of Pont de I'Arche, and they are not without merit. But those in which he distinguishes himself as indeed a master are his little etchings inspired by the life of the humble denizens of Montmartre and the outlying quarters of Paris—humble folk with whose mode of life he is familiar through having shared it, and whose types he has set down with all the ability of which he is capable. They are all small prints, of a format appropriate to the subject and in keeping with the artist's technique. They make no pretence of decorative effect, and have been made solely for the portfolio of the amateur. There, however, they justly claim a leading place. See the intensity of expression in every one of them, whether isolated silhouettes or scenes of family life ; observe how accurate is the observation and the precision with which the rendering is effected, not only without hardness, but on the contrary with a most skilful enveloppement of contours ; and then ask yourself how many etchers possess in an equally high degree the qualities here revealed.
This incontestable superiority is largely due to the fact that Brouet has never strained his powers by essaying extraordinary or out-of-the-way subjects. He has just simply taken his models from among the artisans, the " little merchants," the street types that have come under his observation every day, and whose characteristics he was perfectly familiar with before he sketched them. Here he has done no more than follow the example of his illustrious forerunners, Rembrandt and Whistler, both of whom took delight in recording, in exquisite little plates, types and scenes from the life of the people. The poor of Brouet, let it be said, provoke neither pity nor sorrow. He is an artist and only an artist ; he sees, and renders what he sees. These famished and tattered people of the streets—are they really sad themselves i Certainly not. If life is often hard for them they bear the burden not without philosophy, and they are not strangers to laughter and song. Brouet has not fallen into a very common error, for which an inopportune philanthropy is responsible ; his poor are more true to life and more beautiful for not being at all " down in the mouth." Still keeping to the same locality, Brouet has portrayed the gipsies, the pedlars, the acrobats, and the travelling circuses that haunt these parts. And elsewhere, having had occasion to work with a ballet-girl as model, he has done a number of studies of dancers which are distinguished alike by purity of line and by truthfulness of vision. In treating all these subjects in their various stages of progress, Brouet is not guided by any hard-and-fast method. Sometimes, in the case of a single figure, his sureness of hand enables him to make his drawing direct upon the copper. At other times—in his street scenes, for example—he makes his composition either by the aid of sketches jotted down hastily on some scrap of paper or from more finished drawings which are in themselves complete works of art. Then, in attacking the copper, he uses only very exceptionally the mezzotint process or maniere noire ; occasionally he employs the roulette, but most frequently his work is etching pure and simple, relieved at times by the drypoint. He is not in favour of numerous " states," preferring rather to destroy an indifferent plate than to persist in revising it. Thus his proofs give the impression of being fresh and spontaneous. This boldness of procedure is justified in Brouet's case by his incomparable qualities as a draughtsman. His drawings, indeed, are worthy of particular study, but unfortunately they cannot be further discussed on this occasion.
If the name of Auguste Brouet, now in the full possession of his gifts, is as yet little known to the public, it is because he has elected to remain too much in the shade ; his little etchings are scarcely ever seen at exhibitions. He has, however, not escaped the observation of discerning amateurs, who have recognized the worth of this unassuming artist and the future which awaits him. In this connexion I take the liberty of mentioning the name of Monsieur G. P. Grignard, who has with much patience gathered together the complete oeuvre of Brouet from the beginning, and has generously provided the material for illustrating this article.
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