717. Charles Ricketts and The Vasari Society (1)

The Vasari Society for the Reproduction of Drawings by Old Masters was founded in 1905, and a first portfolio was probably issued in January 1906. Chairman of the committee was Sidney Colvin (1845-1927), Keeper of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum. 

Sidney Colvin
[from: Memories & Notes of Persons & Places, 1852-1912. 
London: Edward Arnold & Co., 1921

Charles Ricketts described him as follows in a letter from December 1911: 

[...] years have passed and transformed the journalist he then was, into a student; he is besides a gentleman [...]

Ricketts also spent cultural evenings organised by his wife, Frances Jane Colvin. In 1915, for example, he attended a recital by Muriel Lee Mathews and was impressed by her performance.

In 1905, the Committee of The Vasari Society consisted of Martin Conway (art critic, politician, cartographer and mountaineer), Charles Holroyd (painter and director of the National Gallery), Laurence Binyon (poet and curator, working at the Department of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum), Campbell Dodgson (art historian and curator, Keeper of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum), Roger Fry (painter and art critic), Charles J. Holmes (Slade Professor of Fine Art and c0-editor of The Burlington Magazine), Sid Montague Peartree (art historian and collaborator of The Dürer Society), Claude Phillips (art historian, Keeper of the Wallace Collection), Charles Ricketts and Robert Ross (manager of the Carfax Gallery and literary executor of Oscar Wilde).

With Binyon, Dodgson and Fry, Ricketts (the only member without a university education) formed the Executive Committee. Over the years, the composition of the committees would change, but Ricketts remained an active member until the end of his life.

The reproductions were executed in collotype at the University Press, Oxford. A 'Note' in the first volume explained: 'They are of the same size as the originals, except in the case of drawings exceeding 12 x 10 inches (30.5 x 25.5 centimetres) in size, which have been reduced. The drawings selected are such as admit of reproduction without the employment of more than the two colours usual in collotype, so that the renderings may be regarded as practically exact facsimiles.' 

The reproductions were accompanied by descriptions, 'intended rather as a guide to the student than as definitive critical notices'.

The first series ran from 1905 to 1915, when the World War I caused an interruption. The second series began publication in 1920. On 7 January 1910 The Times reviewed one of the annual issues, and reported 'that the position of the society may be regarded as satisfactory, though the number of subscribers remains more or less stationary.' The newspaper added: 'Needless to say, the more subscribers the society obtains the more drawings it will be able to reproduce. The drawings are very judiciously chosen from all schools, and some of them will probably be new even to students.'

Ricketts contributed to the series in two ways: some drawings from the joint collection of Ricketts and Shannon were reproduced, and Ricketts wrote a number of descriptions to accompany the drawings (these contributions remained unnoticed in his bibliography until now).

Drawings from the Collection of Ricketts and Shannon

Part II (1906) contains a reproduction of Wolfgang Huber's 'The Crucifixion', a pen and ink drawing on white paper, 32 x 21.5 cm. The drawing is listed as number 137 in All for Art (Fitzwilliam Museum, 1979): 'The drawing has been dated c. 1525. It may be connected with a lost altarpiece which Huber painted in Passau during the 1520s.' This information is not given in The Vasari Society edition for which Campbell Dodgson wrote the description.

Wolfgang Huber, 'The Crucifixion' (c. 1525)
[Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge]
[Creative Commons License (BY-NC-ND)]

In the years that followed, nine more drawings from their collection were selected for The Vasari Society edition: 

Index of Drawings from the Collection of CR and CHS [with links to the Fitzwilliam Museum Collection]

 

Barye, Antoine Louis Sec.Ser.VIII-15

Florentine School (Andrea del Sarto?) IV-5

Wolfgang Huber II-20

Lorenzo di Credi IV-1

North Italian School Sec.Ser.VIII-2

Rembrandt Sec.Ser.I-7

Verrocchio (School of) Sec Ser.III-2

Watteau, Antoine III-33, III-35; V-37

The second drawing (Florentine School) is now attributed to Fra Bartolomeo. The fifth drawing (North Italian School) is now attributed to Francesco Francia. The seventh drawing (Verrocchio) is now attributed to Fra Bartolomeo.

For Lorenzo di Credi, see also All for Art, number 111.

For Rembrandt, see also All for Art, number 165.

For Verrocchio, see also All for Art, number 203.

For Watteau (III-35), see also All for Art, number 204.

For Watteau (V-37), see also All for Art, number 206. 

Antoine Watteau, 'Reclining Lady seen from Behind' (undated)
[Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge]
[Creative Commons License (BY-NC-ND)]