One of the last artful dialogs I had with my best friend, Bob Cassidy, before he passed away last year was about an engraving. I think he had purchased a copy somewhere and wanted to know more about it. It must have been appealing to him. He called me and inquired about the print. Verbally, he mentioned that Vogel was on the left side, and Wallis was on the right side of the print and that it was entitled "The Brothers". I indicated that one was the artist and one was the engraver.
Internet Fair Use - The Brothers by Vogel
He wanted to know what it was worth. After a little online investigation. I was able to determine that the current asking price was $20 - $60 in good condition and provide him more detail information about the print.
"The Brothers" by Christian Leberecht Vogel was engraved by R. [Robert] Wallis. The method of print was a genuine engraving on steel, printed on high quality heavy stock paper; published by Selmar Hess, NY 1888, signed in plate. The image dimensions were 8.7/8" wide x . 6.3/4" high in landscape orientation. The paper size is 12.1/2"wide x 9.1/8" high. It shows a chiascuro background and foreground, two adolescent brothers reviewing a book, one with stylus in hand, one looking off into the distant view, bathed in light.
Christian Leberecht Vogel [4 April 1759, Dresden - 6 April 1816, Dresden] was a German painter, draughtsman, and writer on art theory. His pupils included Louise Seidler, and he was the father of the court painter and art professor Carl Christian Vogel.
Robert Wallis [Nov. 7, 1794 - Nov. 23, 1878], was an English engraver and assistant of Charles Heath [1785–1848]. He was taught by his father, and became one of the ablest of the group of supremely skillful landscape-engravers who flourished during the second quarter of the nineteenth century.
Bob was in constant pain during his last days but his art kept him going each day. I surmise that he appreciated the detail in the engraving as an influence to his scratch-board art which he had been executing for a few years. I suggested to him that since he had a copy and I had a rendition, that we each should re-appropriate and re-interpret the original in our own art methods and share our results with each other. He agreed. But it was not to be. Shortly before he died, I received the engraving in the mail. I was surprised upon its receipt. It was a quiet, personal act from him to me.
Although he didn't say as much, I like to think that the engraving depicts us, two brothers in dialog about art and life and comparing notes across the country on a weekly, sometimes daily basis.
I was emotionally touched by these last interchanges.
Internet Fair Use - The Brothers (Detail)
Our very last phone discussion was about creating miniature artwork each together.
Internet Fair Use - The Brothers (Detail)
I treasure these last discussions as Living the Moment. I appreciate Bob's example of the Daily Walk, in the Creative Pursuit and the Artistic Endeavor. I think Art was the Life Force for Bob.
