“Toil, Glitter, Grime, and Wealth on a Flowing Tide”. William Lionel Wyllie (b. 1851). 7 Magazine of Art (1883-84): 309. The Magazine of Art caption somewhat confusingly states, “Painted by William L. Wyllie, South Kensington. Reproduced in Fac-Simile from a Drawing by the Artist.” [Click on image to enlarge it.]
Commentary
Last year [1883], Toil, Glitter, Grime, and Wealth on a Flowing Tide was the best water-piece in the Academy, and is one of the best things in the Chantrey Collection, for which it was bought. We reproduce it here from a drawing by the artist himself; and though it must needs lose something by the process, yet its essential qualities remain, and even gain, in black and white. The strong contrasts, the broad glory of the sunlit air and water, the full, mysterious flow of the tide, the quiet and swift activity and the breezy pleasure of the scene are suggested with good effect and strong reality. And I may note, too, the painter's command of detail, here displayed in an uncommon degree and without weakening the general effect. Clearly he understands his ships; and that barge in the left middle distance is heavy laden, and presses painfully up stream with full sails and an aching mast. Look, too, at the careful drawing of the foreground barges, and the truth with which he has rendered the liquid glitter and movement of the ripples. That black and busy tug, again; we seem to have met Irim in life, toiling and jianting with his grimy convoy. And then consider that bargee pulling at the sweep; his gesture has been truly caught, and the foreshortening of the bending oar is a little triumph in its way : the resistance of the water and the weight and strength of the man have been justly measured and minutely recorded. — Harry V. Barnett, 310
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References
Barnett, Harry V. “By River and Sea.” Magazine of Art 7 (December 1883-November 1884): 309-15. Internet Archive version of a copy in the University of Toronto Library. Web. 13 November 2014.
Last modified 13 November 2014