Essay by Katie Arnold, Class of 2008

Charles Samuel Keene (1823-91) was a talented English artist whose works, including this drawing, were frequently published in Punch, a popular Victorian journal of the day. Respected as one of the finest draftsmen of his era, Keene illustrated modern life. As he described: "If you can draw anything, you can draw everything" (Pennell 34). His beautiful drawings were originally glued to wood blocks to be engraved for multiple printings and thus destroyed in the carving process. However, a new photographic transfer method was developed that allowed drawings, such as this one, to be spared. Keene could then keep the original drawings, reproduced for publication, often giving them to grateful friends and colleagues. His work related Victorian storytelling in true form.

In Chronic!, a man makes a selection at a drugstore counter. Across from him stands the druggist, who appears aged and experienced. The dignified gentleman placing his order is perhaps knowledgeable in the ways of modern medicine and has the means of purchasing the latest drugs and remedies. His attire displays his wealth. He wears a long coat and a top hat, a symbol of affluence. His rotund figure also demonstrates that he is well-fed. The man shows his authority by leaning over the counter towards the druggist, demanding his attention. The customer and chemist share a regular conversation about a common illness. It was these types of interactions that appealed to Keene's audience. People felt they could relate to the characters in his drawings because they were so realistic since they were generally observed and sketched directly from life. Unfortunately, due to their publication via wood engravings translated by other artists, his general audience did not get to see the sparkling superior beauty of his original drawings.

Keene's biographer, George Somes Layard, probably best summarized his contribution to his time: "Keene's humour was the humour of observation rather than the humour of invention. An acute observer of Nature, an eager spectator of the passing expressions and moods of his fellow-creatures, an impressionist of the finest quality, given a subject which he could fully appreciate, and he would picture it with an unerring certainty, an uncompromising realism" (204).