Essays

Chesterton was a journalist: he wrote several essays that were later bundled in, for example, 'The defendant', or 'Twelve types'. This last book can be described as a collection of 'mini-biographies', but actually the essays discuss some general concepts, with a certain person as starting point.
One of Chesterton's favorite topics seems to be pessimism. This is discussed in the essay about Byron. The related topics about 'satire' and about 'comedies' have Pope and Rostand as focal points.
The essay about Francis of Assisi discusses ascetism; I am curious to read the book Chesterton wrote later in life about Francis. King Charles II is discussed in the context of Puritanism versus Restoration. The essay about Stevenson is actually about Stevenson, and about the misunderstandings around this writer. According to Chesterton Stevenson had not only 'the first qualification of a great man: that of being misunderstood by his opponents', but also 'the other essential qualification, that of being misunderstood by his admirers'. Because of the variety in his writings, no-one has really valued the complete and complex works of this author.

GKC

Except the American Chesterton Society and some related sites, I have not found too much activity about Chesterton on the web. That is: until, a few days ago, I stumbled on this weblog, which discusses various non-fiction books by Chesterton. The detail and depth of these discussions amazes me; I clearly have a lot to learn.
Furthermore, I found a Chesterton discussion forum, on which there are several recent discussions. I may not be out here all alone :).

Nineteenth century culture

Looking at the table of contents of 'Twelve types', I immediately notice several names that I do not recognize at all. Just as I never heard about G.F. Watts, I seem to be ignorant of these people that Chesterton takes the trouble to write about.
For me, it is a moment of realization of the cultural divide that separates me from Chesterton. The interesting thing, though, is that these pieces about unknown people can still have some interest to me. This includes, but is not limited to, his discussion about the (lack of) aesthetics of every-day objects, such as the English pillar box (which I personally find quite characteristic, if not beautiful):

In all created nature there is not, perhaps, anything so completely ugly as a pillar-box. Its shape is the most unmeaning of shapes, its height and thickness just neutralizing each other; its colour is the most repulsive of colours - a fat and soulless red, a red without a touch of blood or fire, like the scarlet of dead men's sins. Yet there is no reason whatever why such hideousness should possess an object full of civic dignity, the treasure-house of a thousand secrets, the fortress of a thousand souls. If the old Greeks had had such an institution, we may be sure that it would have been surmounted by the severe, but graceful, figure of the god of letter-writing. If the mediaeval Christians had possessed it, it would have had a niche filled with the golden aureole of St Rowland of the Postage Stamps. As it is, there it stands at all our street-corners, disguising one of the most beautiful of ideas under one of the most preposterous of forms. 

Biography

While reading Chesterton's discussion about the painter G.F. Watts, I noticed that he barely gives any biographical information. In his discussion of Charlotte Bronte, in 'Twelve types', I found out why: Chesterton considers precise points such as 'his exact class in society, the circumstances of his ancestry, the place of his present location' all unimportant, even irrelevant.
He illustrates with the case of Charlotte Bronte's 'Jane Eyre'. This novel, he says, is 'not true to manners, which are constantly false, or to facts, which are almost always false; it is true to the only existing thing which is true, emotion, the irreducible minimum, the indestructible germ'. The quality of the book stems not from Charlotte Bronte's experiences as a governess or a teacher, but from something deeper, more essential.
I myself am currently reading a biography about Chesterton. One wonders what he would have thought about that. And one thing is certain: up to now, I have not found too much relation between Chesterton's life and his writings (but then, I only just reached 1898).

G.F. Watts

In 1904, Chesterton wrote a book about the painter Watts, who died in that year. The book is not really a biography; there is only the bare minimum of details about Watts' life, it is more a discussion of Watts's art.
The book I borrowed from the local university library counts 76 pages, with (officially) 31 photographs (some were missing). On the web, one can easily find full color pictures of Watts' paintings.
Chesterton starts by discussing how the nineteenth century is, by the time of his writing, already started to be 'unintelligible'. Watts, however, is 'so deeply committed to, and so unalterably steeped in, this early Victorian seriousness and air of dealing with great matters', that it is necessary to discuss three essential points which define Watts as a nineteenth century painter: 'first, the sceptical idealism, the belief that abstract verities remained the chief affairs of men when theology left them; second, the didactic simplicity, the claim to teach other men and to assume one's own value and rectitude (see my posting of Jan 30); third, the cosmic utilitarianism, the consideration of any such thing as art or philosophy perpetually with reference to a general good.'. This century has passed, whether for good or for evil.
Watts' education and relation to the pre-Raphaelites are then discussed, followed by other influences and friendships. His two main types of pictures: portraits and allegories (see my posting of Feb 1) are discussed in detail in the last part of the book.
Though Chesterton does not pretend that Watts' is in all aspects a perfect painter, he does excite an interest in these paintings which is way beyond I ever had for any Victorian painter.

Pointers to Chesterton

If one googles on G.K. Chesterton, one of the hits on the first page says 'Who is this guy and why haven't I heard of him?'. It will refer you to a short piece on www.chesterton.org by Dale Ahlquist, the president of the American Chesterton Society. You will read a short introduction, which ends with a discussion why so few people actually heard of Chesterton.
As a recent Chesterton enthusiast, I started thinking about the various ways I could have heard about Chesterton. I did notice a 'Father Brown' series on television some years ago, but I never got around to actually watching it. I did buy a book with 'Father Brown' stories one day, but never got around to reading it. I heard that C.S. Lewis was influenced by several books, but never took the trouble of checking them out. I even heard the famous quote 'Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried'. But somehow I never connected all these pointers together. I wonder how many people do the same and just miss out on Chesterton's writings...
In the end, it was the books recommended by ccel that pointed me to 'Orthodoxy'; it was mentioned together with some classics as Augustine's 'Confessions', Bunyan's 'The pilgrim's progress', and Thomas a Kempis' 'The imitation of Christ'. After reading 'Orthodoxy', I started 'The everlasting man'. And when I found out that Chesterton did not only write apologetics, but also detective stories and essays about various topics, I was inspired to make a study of his writings, and to find out what they have to say to me today.

Allegory

A few days ago, I mentioned that I could appreciate Watts' portraits, but that I had difficulties with his other paintings. Today, it was as if Chesterton specifically addressed this topic: he discussed the function of allegory in paintings. He points out that the meaning of allegory in a painting should not be to say something that can be said better in words. It should not be something like a cipher-code, connecting the right symbols together to form a simple message. Watts' allegories are much richer, according to Chesterton.
The two main examples that are discussed are 'Hope' and 'Mammon'. Chesterton points out that even these words are, in fact, allegories for very complex and broad concepts. The paintings are just another way of depicting this ultimate, underlying reality.
Although these paintings are still not 'my style', at least now I understand more of them.