6 
 
 310 Royal Academy— The Exhibition, or a Second Antici- 
 pation, being Remarks on the principal Works to be 
 Exhibited next Month at the Royal Academy by Roger 
 Shanhagan ; also The Exhibition, or There is none 
 Greater than I. no not One, by Timothy Tar-Barrel, plates^ 
 2 vols, in one, 8vo, calf, 6s 6d, scarce 1793- 
 
472 ROYAL ACADEMY.— Shanhagan (Roger Gent \ tifi 
 ExmWtion or a Second Anttcipation : being^ernarks -on thte 
 
 l^onaon, |n.d., «W. 1780.] 8vo, wgfee/fe 0K ^ ^ ys ^ 
 
 An^encl r 1^ 1 ffl i a riSed c ; are T R f ert D and J ames Adam ' Cipriani, 
 Angelica Kauffman, Sir Joshua Reynolds, West, Sir William 
 Chambers Copley Gainsborough, Bacon, be Loutherbourgh 
 Wyltt Cozens 7 ' ^V**' ^ PetefS ' T Sandb ^ ?Wfl2^ 
 
 r ts? At 
 
THE 
 
 EXHIBIT ION, 
 
 OR A SECOND 
 
 ANTICIPATION: 
 
 BEING 
 
 Remarks on the principal Works to be Exhibited 
 next Month, at the 
 
 ROYAL ACADEMY; 
 By ROGERlSH ANHAGAN, Gent. 
 
 I 
 
 O" Aj^afsar^- ei.«gysTO{ TreQvKut* 
 
 Antcnin, Lik §* 
 
 LONDON, 
 
 Printed for Richardson and Ur^mait, 
 under the Royal Exchange. 
 
 Price zs-6d. 
 
THE 
 
 EXHIBITION: 
 
 OR, A 
 
 SECOND ANTICIPATION. 
 
 THOUGH I now appear under a name to 
 which the Literary World is a ftranger, 
 every reader of tafte will recognife an au- 
 thor who has frequently attempted to inflruft hiin 
 before. I have fpent a long life in the fervice of the 
 public, and have written on every fubjeft that en- 
 gages the imagination or underftanding of man. 
 Many EfTays on the Art of Reading, many Elements 
 of Criticifm, many Strictures on the Moral Senfe 
 have I publiflied ; but partly through modefty, and 
 partly to avoid envy, I have fuffered the profit and 
 praife to be reaped by others. For me the pleafure 
 of reflefting that I had done well was fufficient re- 
 ward. True virtue, I faid with inward pride, is 
 never oftentatious ; (he knows no earthly good equal 
 to her own fecret applaufe. 
 
 A But 
 
t as ] 
 
 But my critical and metaphyfical labours are what 
 I reflect on with the greateft delight. I cannot help 
 exulting, when my intellectual eye reviews the in- 
 numerable pages of eminent poets which my com- 
 mentaries have illuminated, and when I call to re- 
 membrance the many new fyftems and new fenfes 
 which I have invented to determine the criterion of 
 tafte, my heart f wells, and I feem a being of a higher 
 order fent down for the peculiar benefit of man. To 
 di&ate in Criticifm and Metaphyfics I claim as my 
 birth-right. I am at once the grandfon and nephew 
 of the great Martinus Scriblerus. While I was yet a 
 child, my illuftrious progenitor declared that I fhould 
 not difgrace him. The venerable old man would 
 often prefs me to his bofom with tranfport. Well 
 do I remember the day when he held me in his arms, 
 and kifled me, and bedewed my head with his tears. 
 c< My deareft boy," faid he, " cultivate Criticifm, 
 <c and ftudy Metaphyfics with afliduity. Endeavour 
 " to unite the two fciences, and employ them to im- 
 " prove the fine Arts. The fine Arts arife from, or 
 " are the fources of all that is amiable. Amid that 
 " multiplicity of ftudies in which I forefee thy ac- 
 " tive mind will be engaged, make thofe thy peculiar 
 " care. The attention thou beftoweft upon them will 
 " make thy name honourable, and men will blefs thee 
 
 " when 
 
r 3 j 
 
 ** when thy head is low in the grave. The ftudy of 
 " abftrufe fciences is indeed grateful to the foul ever 
 " thirfting after knowledge ; but the ftudy of the 
 " Arts is ufeful to all mankind." The good man 
 died foon after, overcome by the ill ufageof the world, 
 which he ftill regarded with affe6Uon, like a father 
 that weeps over the fon that infults him. But his 
 words funk deep into my heart, and even now I per- 1 
 ceive them vibrate on my ear. 
 
 Thus defcended, and thus tutored, I confidered 
 myfelf as the guardian and protestor of the Arts. At 
 the inftitution of the Royal Academy, how I rejoiced 
 in the profpe£t of their improving under the fmiles of 
 Royalty. But there is no good without its conco- 
 mitant evil. I beheld, at the fame time, a number 
 of hirelings affiime my rights, and difperfe their mea- 
 gre unprincipled Criticifms from every prefs during 
 the annual Exhibition. I was then engaged in works 
 of great moment, and had not leifure to reprefs them ; 
 but as authors are remarkable for being bufy out of 
 their fphere, I had hope that fome one would for once 
 make perverfenefs a virtue, and deliver the world 
 from thefe monfters. Alas! I hoped in vain. Year 
 after year I beheld their irtcreafing numbers diffufing 
 their venom through the nation, almoft to the total 
 A 2 deftruclion 
 
[ 4 3 
 
 deftruclion of Genius and Tafte, and no one daring tq 
 oppofe them ; and now, when I have leifure, I am 
 waxen old and weak. Oh ! that I was what hereto- 
 fore I have been. When I met the doughty War- 
 burton in the lifts of Criticifm, my body was not 
 bowed, nor my head filvered by age. Yet, old an4 
 feeble as I am, my zeal for the Arts and my Coun- 
 try impells me once again to the field. Perhaps the 
 deftru&ion of thefe pefts is deftined to be the laft of 
 my labours. 
 
 After invoking the powers that prefide over Lite- 
 rature, according to my wonted cuftom, at the be- 
 ginning of every undertaking, I fat down to confider 
 by what means I fhould accomplifh my defign. The 
 number of my antagonifts ftartled me ; to attack them 
 fingly, was to purfue and impale, with a needle, each 
 individual gnat of the fwarms that in fummer torment 
 the traveller ; to engage them all together, was dan- 
 gerous. In fuch a combat I might be compared to 
 Hercules fighting with a nation of Pigmies. Though 
 a fingle ftroke of his club depopulated whole pro- 
 vinces, the accumulated venom of innumerable darts 
 might bring even the fon of Jove to the ground. 
 " I will conquer by ftratagem, faid I ; I will an- 
 " ticipate them : this will caufe Thoufajids to perifli 
 
 " in 
 
[ 5 ] 
 
 * c in filence, and the reft will become an eafy prey 
 * c to my refentment." I began to triumph in imagi- 
 nation, and to compute my fame. " The Ladies and 
 M Connoifieurs, I continued, will adore me ; their 
 * 6 attention to the pictures will no more be diftra&ed 
 " by the neceffity of forming opinions : They will 
 ? 4 no more be obliged to news papers and magazines, 
 " for thefe they do not chufe to form for themfelves. 
 <c In my Criticifms they (hall find opinions ready made 
 " for this and all future Exhibitions: They (hall know, 
 < c without feeing it, the merit of every picture, and 
 M pronounce on the ability of an Artift without ex- 
 amining his works. They cannot fail to be grate- 
 
 ^ ful — my brows will be bound with^tt laurel 
 
 <c my ftatue will be ere&ed my fame will be im- 
 
 ^ mortal." 
 
 Elevated by thefe hopes, I fallied forth to commu- 
 nicate my defign to the Artifts, not doubting of their 
 hearty affiftance in fuch a laudable fcheme. Three 
 whole days I wandered without feeing one pi£lure, or 
 making one obfervation. In vain I exerted my elo-r 
 quence. I found the antipathy to Critics more power- 
 ful than fimile or metaphor. It boots not to tell the 
 reader in what manner each Artift received me. The 
 beft and wifeft applauded my defign, but doubted my 
 
 ability. 
 
[ 6 ] 
 
 ability. It was now that I refolved to appear from 
 henceforth under my proper fignature ; for had my 
 name been known, my ability had not been doubted. 
 Among the inferior Artifts, one heard me to the end 
 with much gravity; and, putting his finger into a rent 
 in my garment, told me to take a pencil and touch up 
 my drapery. Another, more remarkable for propha- 
 nity than genius, in the mid ft of my harangue, vo- 
 ciferated D ye, old Boy ! you have got a fine 
 
 head — there's half a crown for you — let me paint 
 your pi&ure — I'll make an Ugolino of you, by — 
 
 Thus flighted, thus jeered and infulted, I returned 
 home fatigued and difpirited. My fortitude had never 
 received fuch a fhock. My fpirits fled from me, and 
 I funk down on my bed. How long I laid I know 
 not, but I was roufed by a loud knocking at the door 
 of my chamber. — I opened my eyes, and all was 
 dark — Who's there ? I demanded — .trembling. — A 
 low hollow voice replied, cc Open the door" — I arofe 
 — I {tumbled — with difficulty I lighted my candle — I 
 hefitated — a thoufand apprehenfions of ghofts and 
 catchpoles darkened my imagination. — The door was 
 thrown open — a tall black man fixed his eyes upon 
 me, and advanced with folemn fiep into my cham- 
 ber. His head was grey like my own ; his afpeel 
 
 was 
 
[ 7 ] 
 
 was grave and commanding ; his hat was of uncom-^ 
 rnon fliape, and a fable gown, edged with furr of 
 the fame colour, flowed to his feet : In his left hand 
 he held a large volume, infcribed Arcana Cahalijlica ; 
 his right he raifed with a gefture that commanded my 
 attention : " Roger, faid he, the powers which prefide 
 " over Criticifm and the Arts, have beheld thy fa- 
 " tigue and difappointment with pity. I am com- 
 
 " miflioned to gratify thy wifties. Sit down the 
 
 <c Pictures, Statues, and Drawings ftiall appear be- 
 
 " fore thee obferve and write, but fpeak not— - 
 
 " at thy nod they " vanifh." I fat down with ala- 
 crity, not unmixed with terror, and, lifting up my 
 eyes, beheld, under the names of 
 
 Robert and James Adam, Efquires, 
 
 A Defign for theTemple of Northern Patriotifm, 
 A Defign for the Temple of Virtue, and a 
 Section of a Lady's Drefiing-Room. 
 
 We have long confidered the remains of ancient 
 magnificence, as the fources from whence every Ar- 
 chite£t muft derive his ideas of excellence, and the 
 rules drawn from them, as laws pofitive and perma- 
 nent, from which no deviation could be permitted ; 
 
 but 
 
[ 8 ] 
 
 but the works of thefe Artifts convince, that the opi- 
 nion is erroneous, and teach that no art can be faid 
 to have attained perfe&ion, becaufe its former pro- 
 ductions have not been excelled. There is no fix- 
 ing bounds to the ability of man. His wit and in- 
 vention is continually making fotne difcovery that 
 exalts the prefent above preceding ages. Philofophers 
 had long fought for that fugitive beauty, and, be- 
 caufe they could not find it, pronounced that it did 
 not exift; but Alexander Cozens fcratched the fhadow 
 of his wife's profile on the wall, and lo ! it was 
 there! The world believed it impoffible to attain 
 Magnificence in building, without order, fymmetry, 
 and proportion ; but the Adams erected the Adelphi, 
 and convinced the world of its miftake. 
 
 To men of inferior abilities the rules of Archi- 
 tecture are neceflary, and in fuch men an implicit 
 obedience to thefe rules is merit. But true genius 
 brooks no controul, and needs no inftru£tion. It 
 a£ts on principles natural and inftin£tive, and not by 
 precepts which reafon deduces from a feries of com- 
 parative obfervations. Genius is a happy madnefs 
 that decides and determines without thought, reflec- 
 tion, or forefight. Such is the genius of the Adams, 
 irregular, elevated, and magnificent. Like Michael 
 
 Angelo, 
 
r 9 3 
 
 Angelo, they look down with contempt on all the in- 
 ferior excellencies, and, like him, aftonifli by a gran- 
 deur of ftyle that never can be imitated. If in happy 
 moments to fnatch a grace beyond the reach of art 
 has been fufficient to gain admiration and to efta- 
 blifli fame, how much more rnuft we admire, and 
 how tranfcendant muft be the reputation of thofe 
 whofe moments are all happy, and whofe works 
 are all graces which art cannot reach ? From the 
 poems of Homer rules were deduced, by which 
 fucceeding poets have been dire£led. But the Adams 
 are greater than he. Their w r orks are not only 
 ere&ed without Rules, but from them no Rules can 
 be drawn. The man who would criticife them as 
 he ought, or would imitate them, muft poffefs a por- 
 tion of the fame fire which animates the Artifts. 
 
 In the Drawings before me, thefe Architects have 
 excelled themfelves in Greatnefs and Novelty. The 
 Temples are to give additional variety to the Gar- 
 dens at Kew. The firft is intended to decorate the 
 back- wall of the ftables, which at prefent appears 
 •unfeemly from fome of the principal walks, and the 
 Temple of Virtue is merely a correfpondent orna- 
 mental objeft. I (hall not trouble my reader with a 
 technical defcription of thefe Defigns for the detail 
 
 B of 
 
[ xo ] 
 
 of Archite&ure is dry and unpleafing. To the Mail 
 of Tafte, it will be fufficient to obferve, that the 
 firft is very like the building oppofite to the Admiral- 
 ty, and the other almoft a copy of Lord Stormont's 
 houfe in Portland Place, and when I have faid this, 
 he will have no difficulty in conceiving the Drefling- 
 Room. The Adams have peculiar felicity in adapt- 
 ing the fame noble ftyle to interior and exterior de- 
 coration. Their Defigns are like the Letter of Lai 
 Fleur. " It was but changing the Corporal for the 
 Count, and faying nothing about mounting guard oft 
 Wednefday," and the Letter would fuit Madam de 
 L*** as well as the Corporal's wife. So if we 
 change the titles, and remove the Attic or Pediment, 
 the Fronts of Temples are the Sides of either Dref- 
 fing or Drawing- Rooms. 
 
 Though I have praifed thefe Gentletfien for that 
 innate genius which is derived immediately from hea- 
 ven, their acquired qualifications are more than equal 
 to the extravagant demand of Vitruvius*. We have 
 had no reafon to doubt their /kill in Phyfic, and the 
 numerous trophies and crefcents which decorate their 
 buildings, prove their knowledge in Mufic, Aftrono- 
 my, and War. Their Medallions and Baflb Relievos 
 
 evince 
 
 * Vitruvius, chap. i. book I. 
 
[ II ] 
 
 evince their deep reading in Hiftory. As they are 
 placed high, and my eyes are dim, I cannot fee them j 
 but, doubtlefs, men of perfect fight will find them 
 more inftru&ive than many volumes. In Law how 
 frequently have they been engaged, and always victo- 
 rious ! If this does not prove their knowledge of the 
 profeffion, it teftifies that their Advocates were pru- 
 dently chofen, and the Judge well inclin'd to their caufe. 
 
 But nothing fo much difplays the wonderful ex- 
 tent of their abilities as the Preface to their Works, 
 with its Notes. We are aflonifhed that <c amidft 
 the multiplied occupations of an active profeffion" 
 thefe Great Men could acquire fuch a comprehen- 
 five and elegant ftyle. Some have indeed infinuated 
 that this Preface was not their performance ; but of 
 thofe I would afk, who but the oftenfible Authors 
 could be fo fenfible of the Merits of the Artifts ? Who 
 could fo well aflert their originality and the compara- 
 tive excellence of their manner ? Thefe men like- 
 wife affect to doubt their proficiency in Philofophy, 
 becaufe Vitruvius has faid that Philofophy will free 
 the Architect from arrogance, and no writers, they 
 remark, were ever fo arrogant as the Adams, if the 
 Adams are the authors of that preface. But thefe 
 are fuperficial obfervers. What they call Arrogance 
 B 2 is 
 
[ 12 ] 
 
 is only a decent Boldnefs ; the confcioufnefs of fu- 
 perior talents, improved by Philofophy into a noble 
 pride, which difdains to ftoop to the affectation of dif- 
 fidence or humility. When they tell us " that they 
 have not trod in the paths of others, or derived aid 
 from their labours y * that Architecture and Great- 
 Britain are indebted to them for banifhing the Bar- 
 barifms of their anceflors, and introducing a flyle of 
 building equally honourable to the Art and the Na- 
 tion. When they tell us this, they are elevated far 
 above the ufual elevation of men. Philofophy ha$ 
 advanced them to heaven. They are wrapt in clouds 
 through which fliame cannot penetrate, nor yet the 
 hiffes of derifion and envy. The confcioufnefs of 
 excellence covers them like a coat of mail. " Throw 
 with all your ftrength, ye Witlings and Critics of 
 the day, we have celeftial armour, we have been 
 dipped in Styx, and cannot feel a wound." 
 
 If thefe Detractors have read the descriptions 
 which follow the Preface, let me a Ik them, what 
 minds but thofe made courteous by Philofophy, 
 could pay fuch attention to their inferiors in Tafte ? 
 How kindly do thefe Artifts inflxuct where wo 
 ought to be pleafed with, and to praife their perfor- 
 mances ! Ignorance is blind and Prejudice is head- 
 
 ftrong. 
 
[ 13 3 
 
 0rong. We poflibly might not fee their beauties, or- 
 might miftake them for faults ; but the polar ftar of 
 their own applaufe, is our conftant and unerring 
 guide to the point of admiration. — Surely this can- 
 not be arrogance ; and if it is not, who will infer 
 that they are deficient in Philofophy ? I truft, my 
 Reader, that I need not tell thee of their Patriotifm 
 and univerfal Benevolence, when thou obferveft their 
 folicitude, left Pofterity and Foreigners fhould be ig- 
 norant of the perfection to which they have brought 
 the national Tafte ; nor is it neceffary tQ remark 
 their condefcention to inferior Brethern, in warning 
 them of the danger and difgrace which attend inju- 
 dicious imitation. 
 
 If my defire to deliver my friends from calumny, 
 has led me farther than the intelligent reader thinks 
 neceffary, my good intention muft be my excufe. 
 It is melancholy to obferve what Envy and Male- 
 volence is in the world. With what malicious 
 avidity do mankind labour to deftroy all fuperior ex- 
 cellence ? It is natural to believe that, when an ele- 
 vated Genius appears, all men would regard him 
 with reverence. But, alas ! he meets with nothing 
 but detraction and treachery. His cradle is befet 
 With ferpents ; his youth and vigour is wafted in un- 
 availing 
 
[ 14 ] 
 
 availing toils, warring againft monfters that ijicreafe 
 in tenfold proportion to the number he deftrbys y and 
 if he efcapes their poifon, and lives to be old, his 
 latter days are comfortlefs, and he flies to the grave 
 for (helter from an ungrateful world, rejoicing over 
 his weaknefs. Such was the fate of my illuftrious 
 Grandfather, and, if I may judge the future by the 
 paft, fuch will be my fate ? and the fate of thefe pa- 
 ragons in Archite&ure, 
 
 But we have this confolation, my friends, that 
 Pofterity will do us that juftice which our Cotem- 
 poraries deny us. When we are no longer alive to 
 provoke envy, your Buildings will be gazed on by 
 all with admiration, and my Criticifms read with 
 rapture. Our names fhall henceforth be united, 
 and Shanhagan and Adam go hand in hand to eterni- 
 ty. And let us not droop on reflecting that your 
 buildings muft fall, and my writings be eaten by 
 worms. Even Britain herfelf muft fall, or ten thou- 
 fand prophecies be unfulfilled. Nay 
 
 6i The Stars muft fade away, the Sun bimfelf 
 
 " Grow dim with Age, and Nature fink in Years." 
 
 But 
 
[ 15 3 
 
 But long before this cataftrophe we fhall behold 
 from our clouds the Youth of other lands fearching 
 for the fragments of our works, and wondering at 
 the mighty genius of paft ages. How will your 
 fpirits rejoice when they fee them eagerly climb the 
 mutilated Entablature, tracing every inflection of 
 moulding, every winding of the flowing Rainceau^ 
 and converting every accidental ftroke of the chifel 
 into beauty ? Perhaps alfo you will laugh, if laugh- 
 ter is not overcome by pity, when you hear the 
 Sages forming new fyftems of Orders, new doc- 
 trines of harmonic Proportion, and proving from in- 
 numerable contradictory circumftances, that the Ar- 
 chitects of Great-Britain did nothing but by fixed 
 and immutable laws *. 
 
 A fmall work having lately made its appearance 
 under the title of " Thoughts upon the Origin and 
 Conduct of the Arts," wherein the Author, without 
 either Tafte or Judgment, attacks thofe great charac- 
 ters, who are moft diflinguifhed by, and confe- 
 quently moft deferving of the public favour. But as 
 
 he 
 
 * It is impoffible to praife thefe Gentlemen here fo amply as they 
 merit, but my omiflion is abundantly made up in the preface to their 
 wqrks, to which I muft refer the admiring Reader, 
 
[ tfi 3 
 
 he more particularly aims at the reputatioh of Mr, 
 Cipriani, whofe pi&ures I projiofe next to furvejrj 
 it is my indifpenfible duty, in order to prevent the 
 fatal effe£ts necefTarily flowing from erroneous prin- 
 ciples, to avow, in this public mannef, my intire 
 difapprobatibn of fuch opinions. But as this may* 
 perhaps, be inefficient, I will prefent my reader 
 with a ftibrt quotation from that part which touches 
 upon Hiftorical Compofition; and, after a refle&ioil 
 or two upon it, {hall proceed to an examination of 
 the pi&ures with which Mr. Cipriani has this fea- 
 fon favoured the Exhibition. 
 
 cc In the Arts that addrefs the imagination* 
 though their province be that of delighting us w T ith 
 Beauties which reft folely on the Fancy ; yet their 
 efFe£t is imperfeft, or at leaft unimportant, when 
 our paflions are not affe&ed by the reprefentations of 
 fcenes, or anions, that intereft us as men. In the 
 works of Fancy fo much found judgment and tafte, 
 and fo much ingenuity is required, that we cannot 
 wonder, though we muft lament, when we fee the 
 Arts negle£l the power they have over the heart, 
 and aiming only to pleafe by the inferior excellencies 
 of (kill, in form, hues, and arrangements. But 
 when thefe beauties are employed in adding force to 
 
 fubje&s 
 
[ *7 3 
 
 fubje&s that awaken the paffions, that raife in us 
 the fire of emulation, or deprefs us with pity for the 
 good and great ; then does Genius in the Arts be- 
 come truly admirable, and its productions not only 
 amufe us with ingenuity, but infpire us with dignity 
 of mind. 
 
 " Agreeable to this idea, in the fimple ages of an- 
 tiquity, the only fubjects which found employment 
 for the imitative powers, w r ere the fplendid achieve- 
 ments of the Brave, or the exemplary virtues of the 
 Good. Their works being founded upon facts, be- 
 came interefting from their truth ; and they kept 
 alive in the fpeclator the virtues they reprefented ; 
 Age was rekindled at the recollection of fcenes in 
 which, perhaps, they had borne apart ; and Youth felt 
 the animating force of example, and w r ere fpurred on 
 by a worthy ambition to fignalize themfelves. Even 
 in their works of fiction, fuch refpe£t was paid to 
 this general principle, that in every little allegorical 
 tale, was conveyed fome important truth, fome in- 
 ftruftive lefibn, by which the heart or the under- 
 standing were benefited. 
 
 cc How admirable is this example, and how worthy 
 to be imitated in our native country, this land of 
 C Liberty f 
 
i x8 J 
 
 Liberty ! A foil congenial to Patriots and Heroes. 
 Where at the names of the great men ftie has pro- 
 duced, each bofom is on fire, and glows with a flame 
 no lefs pure, than that which warmed the ancient 
 worthies of Rome and Lacedaemon.* 
 
 " It is a melancholy fight to look back upon the 
 great painters, who fucceeded the revival of the Arts^ 
 and fee them almoft continually bufied upon fubje£ts 3 
 the moft trivial and contemptible. Some we behold 
 exhaufting a fine imagination on the lafcivious in- 
 trigues of a Venus ; others on the labours of a Hercu- 
 les, or the imaginary adventures of a Saint. In our 
 own time, we have the mortification to fee, among 
 many others, an Artift formed for the moft fublime 
 exertions greedily feizing at each opportunity upon 
 fome little unimportant fubje£t, fuch as a Fortune- 
 teller, a Bafket-girl, or a Pick-pocket. 
 
 4C Thus, by an unfortunate depravity of tafte 3 
 many men of genius, who might have improved 
 mankind, feldom employ their talents but in the 
 trifles of Art, which are difplayed equally in repre- 
 fenting a Dog or an Horfe as a noble a£tion> and fill 
 up their lives in the frivolous imitation of Still- 
 life," 
 
 I 
 
I 19 ] 
 
 I will not trouble my reader with any more of this 
 idle work. There is no doubt but the abfurdity of 
 his doctrine is fufficiently obvious to every attentive 
 obferver. Yet, to filence at once this declaimer,— 
 let him furvey the works of M. Angelo, and then 
 declare that his heart or his underftanding is benefit- 
 ed. Let him but view the performances of Mr. 
 Cipriani, Mrs. Kauffman, and others in their line, 
 and feel their divide force. Then let him go and 
 tell the world of other mighty advantages, that 
 might have been derived from the hiftorical labours 
 of a Reynolds, a Wright, a Dance, a Mortimer, or 
 even a Samuel Wale, had they followed in their 
 works the example he propofes* 
 
 It is unneceflary to produce ftronger evidence to 
 prove, that fuch power exifts only in the diftempered 
 fancy of this Critic. To admit his opinions would 
 not only be the caufe of fending into eternal oblivion 
 an endlefs crowd of Saints and Madonas, but would 
 at once ftrip from their brows the laurels fo juftly 
 decreed, fo fairly won, by the Great Cipriani, and 
 many other immortal Artifts. 
 
 While the pleafurable fenfations from Grace are 
 under its influence, the Art cannot be called limited, 
 C 3 an* 
 
C 20 3 
 
 and that it hath power to pleafe, to charm, to ra~ 
 vifh, every unviciated tafte may be convinced of in 
 the following pictures by 
 
 Mr. G. B. Cipriani, 
 
 Apollo and the Mufes, 
 Flora and Zephirus, 
 An Otahetian funeral, 
 Cupid an Pfyflie, 
 The war of the giants, 
 Acis an Galatea, and 
 
 Apollo and the Mufes. 
 
 No Painter fince the days of Terah the ftatuary^ 
 father of Abraham, excepting St. Luke, ever treated 
 Metaphyseal and Theological fubjects with more 
 angelic fweetnefs, more divinity of expreffion, or 
 juflnefs of thought, than Sig. Cipriani. In the in- 
 ftance before me he hath been happy beyond his ufual 
 happinefs. 
 
 But, in order to judge with corre&nefs upon this 
 elevated fubjecl:, it is proper the fpeftator fliould 
 fubmit his ideas to an effectual purgation of every 
 grofs terreftrial taint i he fliould be warmed with the 
 
 flaming 
 
[ « ] 
 
 flaming ftafF of Prometheus, until his mind is raifed 
 far above vulgar conception : then will the Pierian 
 choir burftupon his imagination in all their lovelinefs, 
 and then only can he relifh the beauties of this ex- 
 quifite performance. 
 
 An age lefs barbarous than the prefent, would 
 not have fcrupled to affirm, that fome kind Mufe, 
 whofe works he had embellifhed, or perfon flat- 
 tered, had fnatched him up into the regions of 
 light, where, high on ParnafTus fixing his Eafel, he 
 caught his radient ideas from the immortal Nymphs 
 as they lightly tripped along, meafuring the graceful 
 minuet or fprightly cottillion. 
 
 In vain were it to endeavour at a defcription of 
 the various excellencies of this piece, the aerial un- 
 dulating attitude of Thalia, the graceful flow of 
 Caliope ; that ferpentine fwell which is obfervable in 
 Clio, or the fweetly winding form of Urania. In 
 fhort, like the waving furface of the waters, each 
 figure as they flow, communicates to each her own 
 harmonious movement. Melpomene alone, with 
 characleriftical propriety, is difcovered as infenfible 
 to the feftivity of her family, and is beautifully medi- 
 tating deftrudticn by bowl or dagger. Apollo is 
 
 feated 
 
[ 22 ] 
 
 feated in the midft with his harp. His whole figure 
 is inconceivably fine, the air of his head is truly 
 poetical, and expreffing all the tendernefs that fuch 
 a company would naturally infpire, and he is known 
 to feel. 
 
 I will forbear an anticipation of that delight 3 
 which muft doubtlefs arife from a fight of this pic- 
 ture, difmifling it with thi§ general remark, — That 
 if it pofleffes any thing like a defect:,— it is fomewhat 
 too grave. — I offer, however, my opinion with dif- 
 fidence, as Mr. Cipriani is certainly lefs faulty in 
 this particular than any other Artift,— But perfection 
 is not the lot of man. 
 
 There appears the fame beautiful uniformity in 
 the defign, colouring, and execution of the remain- 
 ing five Pictures, and are fo like the former, that it 
 would be fuperfluous to add any thing to what hath 
 been faid ; as in each particular piece is to be feen 
 all that is admirable in the one already defcribed^ 
 of courfe a further detail would be unneceflary. 
 
 Mr. Cipriani hath alfo obliged the public with a 
 great quantity of Drawings, intended for Compart- 
 ments in Ceilings, &c. the greateft part of which 
 are fmall hiftorical Iketches, fo ingenioufly contrived 
 
 as 
 
[ n 1 
 
 as to be adapted to any fubjecT:. The reft confift 
 chiefly of Venus's and Cupid's, Apollo's, Daphne's, 
 Diana's, Nymphs, Fawns, Satyrs, River Gods, 
 Cardinal Virtues, Seafons, and Elements ; all of 
 them (hewing the Artift's ftrifl attention to the 
 waving Line j but their beauties being fo well 
 known, and as there does not appear any novelty 
 about them, I fhall therefore, though with reluc- 
 tance, take my leave of Mr. Cipriani, 
 
 Angelica Kauffman* 
 
 Cupid finding Venus afleep, filleth aft 
 urn with warm water, and gently dip- 
 peth her hand therein* 
 
 Nothing can ftronger mark the fweetnefs of Mrs. 
 Kauffman's mind than the choice of her fubje&s. 
 Thus we find Venus and Cupid, Cupid and Venus, 
 combined in every poffible variation ; Nymphs tick- 
 ling Cupid, and Cupid tickling Nymphs, In her 
 hiftories — the enamoured tbis^ and inflamed tbat^ oc- 
 cur fo frequently, that we feel ourfelves involun- 
 tarily warmed in her favour, and are the mod: con- 
 vincing arguments of the gentlenefs of her heart.— 
 To begin with the picture. Venus is extended upon 
 a rock ; her head is inclining forward, and her legs 
 
 very 
 
[ 24 ] 
 
 very gracefully interfect each other. She is decently 
 covered all over with thin white drapery, fave her 
 breads, and from her middle downwards. The 
 young rogue is eagerly purfuing his joke, while a 
 Satyr near, by the diftortions of his countenance, 
 feems greatly affected with the fcene. 
 
 There is a lingular delicacy in the principal 
 figure ; arid the profile of her face at once mark the 
 Grecian original, and the hand of the Artift. This 
 peculiarity of Mrs. Angelica is undoubtedly a ftriking 
 example of her good tafte, as it not only heightens 
 the feminine character, but difcovers that her xm± 
 tours are not taken from vulgar nature ; a particu- 
 lar which file is fcrupuloufly careful to avoid. Her 
 drapery is difpofed with all that tranfparent modefly 
 tor which this Artift is fo defervedly admired ; and 
 however dappled it might be with plaits and folds, 
 it curioufly preferves the exact form of the part be- 
 neath. 
 
 In the libidinous expreffionof the Satyr, (he hath 
 been uncommonly fortunate, inafmuch that I cannot 
 avoid expreffing my aftonifhment at fuch extraordi- 
 nary correctnefs flowing from the pencil of a Lady. 
 Ruf: as her (kill in anatomy hath been a matter of 
 
 equal 
 
[ 2 5 ] 
 
 e^ual furprize, I fliall therefore account for it in the 
 fame manner : That they are, with her, innate ac- 
 complifhments ; confident that the ufual modes ne- 
 ceffary to acquire a competent knowledge in that art, 
 are utterly incompatible with the chaftity of a female; 
 particularly Mrs. Kauffman, a brilliant inftance of 
 whofe extreme tendernefs in thefe points, is her de- 
 licate difguife of the infignia virilis of the Dii termini 
 In the poffeffion of his Grace the Duke of Northum- 
 berland, 
 
 From the whole of this picture, (and I do not 
 draw my conclufions from this alone) Mrs. Kauff- 
 man hath difcovered herfelf to be capable of difplay- 
 ing fuch ftrength of imagination, fuch brilliancy, 
 and force of colouring, accompanied with fuch a cor- 
 rect: and determined pencil, that I (hall not hefitate 
 to rank her next in merit to Mr. Cipriani — his equal, 
 I acknowledge, (he is not from her aiming at times 
 to affe£t the tender paffions ; but this muft be afcrib'd 
 to the natural foftnefs of her fex, which I (hall leave 
 for time and refiedion to efface. 
 
 In order to fet off thefe my favourite Painters, I 
 {hall introduce fome others who have their admirers. 
 As they are foils that add a luftre to the great Men I 
 
 D have 
 
[ 46 ] 
 
 have already praifed, I will review them for the di~ 
 verfion of the Public ; and will attempt to do it ac- 
 cording to the ideas, and in the language of 
 thofe antiquated Critics, who never change their 
 principles of Tafte for thofe of the reigning fafhiori, 
 and who fpeak of nothing but the Simplicity of the 
 Antique, and grandeur of Thought. 
 
 Thofe difcerning men, who think juftly as myfelf 
 Concerning the unfpeakable gentlenefs of our inge- 
 nious foreigners, cannot fail of being diverted by the 
 contraft. The good fenfe (as fuch Critics affeft to 
 call it) of thefe Paintings, makes but a forry figure, 
 when compared with the airs and graces of thofe 
 others. 
 
 Portraits by Sir Joshua Reynolds. 
 
 It would be to no purpofe (they would fay) ta 
 give a particular Criticifm upon each of thefe Pictures, 
 riot only becaufe the genius and management dis- 
 played in one portrait, is generally feen in all ; but 
 chiefly, becaufe this Gentleman's eminence does not 
 arife from the mechanical part of Painting, nor con- 
 fift in fingle excellencies. 
 
 It! 
 
r *7 1 
 
 It is too obvious to every one for us to point out 
 and praife the exquifite delicacy of his colouring ; 
 his knowledge of Light and Shadow ; the variety of 
 ideas with which he enriches the barren fubject of 
 Portrait Painting; or to remark that he communi- 
 cates a fort of grandeur even to the ufe of his pencil, 
 which, by its boldnefs, and, where it is required, 
 by its ruggednefs, not only gives to a picture the 
 fire of a ftetch, but thews us that it proceeds from a 
 mind carelefs of the drefs of its ideas, and folicitous 
 only to convey them as they are conceived into the 
 heart of the fpedtator, without hanging on the organ 
 pf fight, or diverting us by an attention to trifling 
 beauties 
 
 That which conftitutes the true merit of Painters 
 is originality ; but it is not the originality of any 
 fingle circumftance or accident in a Picture : It is 
 originality in the conduct: and ufe of all the branches, 
 and the particular beauties which enter into a com- 
 pofition ; the making them all fubordinate to a cer- 
 tain idea, and tend to produce one general effe£t. 
 
 Particular beauties may be imitated by men of 
 yery indifferent parts. Such excellencies do not 
 give, but receive their value from the work of a 
 D 2 matter's 
 
[ *8 ] 
 
 matter's hand. When they are produced by chance 
 or mechanical Hull, we hold them in little eftima- 
 tion ; but when they are employed by Genius with 
 propriety and judgment, the fmalleft trifle that is 
 admitted into the work, is no longer infignificant, 
 but receives a dignity by its flowing from the fource 
 of intelligence 
 
 When Artifls, like this Gentleman, carry with 
 them to their ftudies a folidity of mind not to be 
 diverted into a wrong fearch, nor turned afide by 
 fuperficial beauties, but which enables them clearly to 
 difcern the point they ought to aim at, the acutenefs 
 with which they obferve the great works of former 
 Matters, and the found principles they draw from 
 them, obliges us not only to admire their moft re- 
 puted productions, but to fufpeft that thofe whicK 
 appear unworthy of their name, have equal merit 
 with the other, only lefs obvious. 
 
 This great Artitt has collected beauties from all 
 the different fchools, and formed to himfelf an uni- 
 form ftile, in which they are fo blended, that they 
 are wholly his own. By a fuitablenefs to his fubje£l, 
 and by a prevailing character there is in every thing 
 he touches, none of his predeceffors can lay claim 
 
 to 
 
1 29 3 
 
 to any of the materials which they may have afforded 
 him. If former Painters could fee their thoughts 
 madeufe of by this Artift, they are generally fo well 
 appropriated, and fomuch improved, that they woul^l 
 have as little title to challenge them for their own, a$ 
 the Ship-builder would have to the difcoveries of 
 Columbus. 
 
 In his Pictures we fee the richnefs of colouring 
 and the luxuriance of Rubens, without the excefs of 
 his manner, and without the tumult that fo often 
 fills his works. He imitates the brilliant hues, the 
 truth and decifive manner of Rembrant, but never 
 admits any thing mean or difgufling, and he fre- 
 quently unites the elegance of the French ftile with 
 );he chaftity of the Roman. 
 
 He has, among the fmall Critics and little Folks of 
 the pencil, the character of an intolerable Plagiarift. 
 A Mr. Hone once attempted to fatyrize him in a 
 picture which I think he called the Magician ; but 
 he has fufficiently atoned for the fault by putting 
 his pieces year after year into the Exhibition. 
 
 When an Artifl poflefles fuch eminence as this 
 Gentleman, Critics muft not attempt to reftrift him 
 
 by 
 
L 3° J 
 
 by every petty obfervation which they may hav$ 
 drawn from attention to other Paintings ; but muft 
 form new opinions and other laws from the worlds 
 which he produces. 
 
 Mr. West. 
 
 General Carleton foliciting the Indians of 
 Canada to take up arms againft the 
 Americans, and 
 
 The Death of Phocion, with 
 
 Several Portraits. 
 
 We cannot but remark it as fomewhat fingular, 
 that this ingenious Artift, fo much favoured by his 
 Majefty, fhould chufe a fubjeft which leads to 
 thoughts his Majefty would wife to have totally 
 baniflied from his own and his people's minds, and 
 which muft furely give him pain to fee expofed be- 
 fore them in every poffible mode of opprobrium and 
 difapprobation. 
 
 Cpnfidering it only as a Painting, we fhall obferve 
 upon the ideas which the Pidture conveys to us. We 
 fee, or think we fee, a contraft between the twq 
 groups of Englishmen and Americans, very unfa- 
 vourable 
 
[ 5* 3 
 
 Vourable to the former. Imagination aflifts us fo 
 much in decyphering countenances and geftures, 
 that, if thofe in this work were not exceedingly clear 
 and determinate, we fhould imagine that it was ra- 
 ther our fancy than the Artift's intention to difhonour 
 a group of Britons, becaufe of their obedience to the 
 will of his Royal Patron. 
 
 On the Indians being foliated to break their alli- 
 ance with their friends, they evade the requeft by 
 faying, that the Tomohawk was buried in the earth. 
 The Governor urges them to dig it up. " The 
 handle is rotten, fay they, and we cannot hold it." 
 This is the point of time in the Picture. 
 
 We are forry to fee the old fellow- foldier of 
 Wolfe in a fituation fo little refpe&able as every one 
 in this group appears to be. The oppofition of the 
 favage to the civilized ftate of mankind, is in this 
 Pidture very much in favour of Roufleau's opinions. 
 
 Thefe on the one hand of the Picture feem to be 
 men of gaiety, fpirit, and of polifhed manners, but 
 unprincipled, hunting after difhonourable preferment, 
 under the name and colour of honour ; refembling 
 the little wheels of a machine, they perform their 
 
 operations 
 
f 32 ] 
 
 operations without exerting any judgment of their 
 own. 
 
 The Indians, on the other hand, are rude, ignorant^ 
 and of unfightly appearance and addrefs. The ha- 
 bits of their lives ate fimple, and their minds con- 
 fined within very narrow limits. From their igno- 
 rance they are liable to be duped by men of infinitely 
 meaner minds than their own : But they are con- 
 ftantly actuated by thofe paffions which have the 
 deepeft root in Our nature, and which have rendered 
 the admired heroes of Antiquity illuftrious. In cul- 
 tivated fociety the neceffary fubordiriations check 
 the enthufiafm of the individual, and Regulation fup- 
 plies the place of Pafiion : Among the inhabitants of 
 the woods, every one comprehends the whole circle 
 of their attainments and their knowledge, and each 
 man is in himfelf an Hero, and in what does the 
 fire of his Ambition differ from that of Alexander 
 the Great, or that of an Engliflv Officer of the 
 Guards? „ 
 
 The Painter has given to this piece the fame ex- 
 cellencies that he has fliewn in other Pictures of 
 fimilar fubjefb. He has a fortunate manner of 
 taking from modern dreffes the meannefs which fa- 
 miliarity 
 
f 33 ] 
 
 miliarlty gives, and in this piece they pleafe by the 
 contraft to the more fanciful habits of the Indians. 
 
 The Death of Phocion. 
 
 It muft give pleafure to every man of fenfe to fee 
 Painting in the hands of an Artift who makes it in- 
 terefting to us from the choice of his fubje&s. It 
 is not a little mortifying to fee the treafures of the 
 Art lavifhly fquandered upon troops of Madona's 
 and children, Venus's and Cupid's, and Holy Fami- 
 lies. 
 
 Both this and the former Picture has a folemnity, 
 which this gentleman has fo often given by the 
 breadth of his Light and Shadow. 
 
 As this excellence Mr. Weft has fhewn in many 
 large fubje&s, to which it isbeft adapted; and as we 
 pay a .compliment to his underftanding by faying, 
 that his beft Pictures are thofe where* fome great 
 fcene is reprefented, like that of Regulus or the 
 Death of Wolfe, we may be permitted to obferve, 
 that he fucceeds beft in compofitions of many figures. 
 We are forry to fee fo many Portraits under his name 
 b this Exhibition, as the unpleafantnefs of his pen- 
 
 E cil 
 
[ 34 I 
 
 cil does not agree with Portrait-paintings the chief 
 merit of which is elegance, and it requires all the 
 lefler beauties of the art to raife it into notice. 
 
 In this manner would fome Critics go on in 2 
 ftrain of old-fafliioned principles ; but it is fufficient 
 to render them of no effe<5t to obferve, that fuch 
 Griticifm is entirely inconfiftent with the Italian and 
 French Graces, which at this time are held in uni- 
 verfal efteem by people of tafte. This fpecimen 
 will ferve to divert the admirers of thofe great Artifts, 
 who have ravifhed our old Men, Matrons, and Mai- 
 dens with graceful attitudes, and melted their hearts 
 by their languiftiing airs ; and who have ftamped 
 upon the general brain of England the Dorian nofe, 
 (the only line that never waves with them) the 
 fpeechlefs eye, and upturned flanting head, that 
 never tell the fecrets of the foul, with all the name- 
 left, gentleft, prettieft forms of things. 
 
35 3 
 
 Sir William Chambers. 
 
 An Elevation of the new Offices in the 
 Strand. 
 
 An Elevation of the Front towards the 
 Court, of ]the fame. 
 
 Sir William Chambers is an Architect of inferior 
 merit, when compared with the Adams. His Ge- 
 nius is not original. Like them, he aims at great- 
 nefs of ftyle, but by different means, and is confe- 
 quently lefs fuccefsful. They are nobly negligent 
 of the conftituent parts, and truft for the effedl to 
 the Movement * and Magnitude of the whole. They 
 defpife the Grandeur which is derived from Columns, 
 and difdain the (hackles of Proportion. But Sir 
 William treads the beaten path of the old Italian 
 Mafters. In regular Archite&ure he feldom devi- 
 ates far from the Canons which he has fo well il- 
 E 2 luftrated, 
 
 * For the meaning of the term Movement, the reader is defired 
 to confult, not the works, but the preface of MeflT. Adams work, 
 in which place it holds a firft rank among their numerous excel- 
 lencies. 
 
C 36 j 
 
 luftrated, and it is but candour to try him only by 
 the laws he profefies to follow *. 
 
 Architecture, generally fpeaking, has only two 
 expreffions, Magnificence and Beauty. Its Beauty 
 is the refult of an artful combination of many parts 
 which are themfelves efieemed Beautiful, becaufe 
 experience has proved that they are properly formed 
 to anfwer the end required ; and of Ornaments, 
 which, by contrafting with PJainnefs, give alternate 
 action and repofe to the eye. Beauty is perfect, when 
 parts, well formed and proportioned in themfelves, 
 are fo combined and proportioned to each other 
 and to the fize of the Building, that thofe parts 
 which are apparently mod neceflary (hall firft at- 
 tract notice; and the reft, preferring a proper fub- 
 ordination, all together form an harmonious Whole. 
 Magnificence is perfect, when to fuperior Magnitude 
 (without which it does not exift) the ornament of 
 Beauty is added. It then not only difplays the power 
 and wealth of the owner, but alfo his tafle, and the 
 Architect's Genius. Though Magnificence is Beauty 
 on a larger Scale, Beauty is not always Magnificence 
 
 on 
 
 • Mr. Shanhagan is now fuppofed to conform himfelf to the com- . 
 Don prejudices 3 and to fpeak the ufual language of writers on Archi- 
 tecture. 
 
C 37 ] 
 
 on a (mailer. In large Buildings, when the majeffiq 
 chara&er, infeparable from the former, is unfuitable 
 to the deftination, that relative proportion of parts 
 to the whole, which, in fmall ones is neceflfary to 
 produce Beauty, and in large ones perfect Magnifi- 
 cence ; that relative Proportion is difpenfed with, 
 and another adopted to gain a character of more gaiety. 
 This has ufually been called Beauty, but properly it 
 is neither Beauty nor Magnificence, and it has more 
 of the latter than the former. It is true that, by di- 
 minifhing the frze, and increafing the number of 
 parts, folemnity of character is ccnfiderably dimi- 
 nifhed ; but if the Building be deprived cf adven- 
 titious incitives to gaiety, the effect of the whole will 
 be moft powerful, and Magnificence the prevailing 
 Expreffion f. 
 
 In the foregoing obfervations the word parts in- 
 cludes the folid parts which compofe a building, and 
 alfo the Apertures, The Columns, Pilafters, and 
 Entablatures ; the Entrances and Windows ;;iliouId 
 all increafe their dimenfions with the Building. In 
 a large Front, a low and contracted Entrance is 
 
 mean, 
 
 * Thefe Hints are intended to be applied only to exterior Archi- 
 tecture, and the inndes of large Buildings, as churches and places of 
 public entertainment. 
 
[ 38 ] 
 
 mean. If the Windows are many and fmall, we are 
 offended with the littlcnefs of the Apartments when 
 compared with the height and extent of the Front. 
 The expectations raifed by the promife of the Ex- 
 terior are difappointed. We look for ^ Palace and 
 find only a magnificent Granary, 
 
 The folid parts are well proportioned, when they 
 are neither too ftrong nor too weak, neither too 
 heavy nor too light. Without paying much atten- 
 tion to the different character iftics of the Orders 
 which have no foundation in reafon, and which rea- 
 fon can furnifh no arguments to fupport, we may 
 fay that Columns are well proportioned, when they 
 do not appear too (lender to fuftain the incumbent 
 weight, nor yet ftronger than is apparently neceflary. 
 Entablatures, Baluftrades, and Attics are well pro- 
 portioned, when they neither feem to overload 
 the Columns, nor to be of lefs weight than the Co- 
 lumns are able to bear. The weight of thefe parts 
 may be wicreafed to the extreme, and Grandeur will 
 be proportionally increafed. The dignity of Co- 
 lumns is proportioned to their apparent confequence. 
 When they are raifed only to fupport a flimfy Enta- 
 blature, as we fee in the works of forne Architects of 
 great celebrity, their Dignity is diminifhed in our 
 
 eyes. 
 
[ 39 ] 
 
 eyes, and they offend us with the abfurdity of power 
 mifapplied. 
 
 Againft the principles which thefe remarks would 
 infiriuate, I fee many tranfgreffions in the Drawings 
 before me. As a national work, the proper chara&er 
 of the Building they reprefent is Magnificence, but 
 as it is intended for Bufinefs, that Magnificence fhould 
 not be oftentatious. The Front fhould have all the 
 Grandeur which is gained by a combination of large 
 parts, without the Decorations we expeft in a Pa- 
 lace. When we look on the Front to the Strand, 
 we are apt to believe this was the Archite&'s original 
 idea, and that he afterwards altered it in conformity 
 to fome opinions not his own. He feems to have 
 hefitated between Plainnefs and Splendour; between 
 a bold and unadorned ftyle and one that was crouded 
 with Embellifliments. But this notion is contra- 
 dieted the moment we behold the Front towards the 
 Court, where the Ornaments are lavilhed with fuch 
 profufion that the eye is kept in perpetual uneafy 
 motion. 
 
 The moft ftriking defers of the Front towards 
 the Strand is the extravagant height of the Bafement. 
 A Bafement is no more than the Pedeftal of the 
 
 Building, 
 
C 40 ] 
 
 Building, and mould therefore be kept as incoriil- 
 derable as poffible. This Artift, by making it fo 
 high, has given it a confequence which does not 
 belong to it, and it engroffes too much of the Atten- 
 tion which ought to be directed to the Order, as the 
 principal part of the Structure. Of this impropriety 
 we are made more fenfible by being obliged to view 
 the Building from a fituation fo confined. Sir Wil- 
 liam, in his Treatife on Civil Architecture, has given 
 inftances from Paladio to authorife Bafements of every 
 dimenfiori ; but notwithftanding fuch authority, we 
 may venture to pronounce them defects, whenever 
 the neceffity of employing them is not evident, and 
 whenever their height places them in the fmalleii de- 
 gree of competition with the Order above. 
 
 But if he is blameable for diminifhirig the Gran- 
 deur refulting from the Magnitude of the Columns, 
 he is ftill more blameable for depriving them of that 
 which arifes from apparent ufefulnefs, by raifing 
 them only to fupport the Decorations of a fanciful 
 Attic. If the Grandeur of a fingle Column is pro- 
 portioned to the weight it appears to fuftain, the 
 Grandeur of a number is proportioned to the weight 
 they appear to fuftain in conjunction. There are no 
 inftances where Grandeur is fo perfect, as when the 
 
 Columns 
 
I 41 J 
 
 Columns rifing fingly from a low Bafement, mutual- 
 ly exert their ftrength in fupporting a Pediment. A 
 Pediment is the boldeft feature of Archite&ure. It 
 is a great and uniform figure, and adds to Greatnefs 
 the Dignity of Ufefulnefs, by appearing as the Roof 
 of the Building. Wherever it is employed with 
 propriety, it gives fuch Grandeur, as no Ornaments, 
 however excellent and numerous, can produce. An 
 Attic is compofed of many parts which never unite 
 into a whole. The Columns which fupport it feem 
 not to require or need the affiftance of each other. 
 Each fupports its part, and We can fuppofe that part 
 •and the fupporting Column may be taken away 
 Without apprehending the ruin of the Fabric. Thefe 
 are the defe&s of all Attics, and here they are in- 
 creafed by ornaments equally oftentatious, uncharac- 
 teriftic, and ufelefs. 
 
 This Attic, and its Embellifhrnents, no doubt 
 were intended to mark the Centre, which, in all ex- 
 tenfive fronts, fliould be ftrongly diflinguifhed ; but 
 it is inefficient for this purpofe, while the Lines of 
 the Entablature and Bafement continue unbroken, 
 and the Arches and Windows preferve the fame te- 
 dious uniformity of decoration. We regret that the 
 Architect lhould give fo little attention to fuch a 
 F Beauty 
 
t 4* 3 
 
 Beauty in a Public Building. Half the expence 
 which is thrown away on the Attic would have 
 brought forward the Bafement, difengaged the cen- 
 tral Columns from the wall, and crowned them with 
 a fimple and magnificent Pediment. 
 
 The other faults of this Front I fhall not enlarge 
 upon. It will be fufficient only to mention the tal- 
 nefs of the Arches, the heavy inelegant decorations of 
 the Windows, both in the Bafement and principal 
 Stories, and the abfurdity of decorating them all in the 
 fame manner. The little agreement between the 
 firmnefs of the ruftic Bafement and the Corinthian 
 Order, between the gaudy Corinthian Capitals and 
 the plain bold Roman Entablature, and between that 
 Entablature and the Flutter of the Attic. 
 
 The Front towards the Court. 
 
 This Elevation forms three fides of a Quadrangle, 
 and is drawn in perfpeclive, that the returning fides 
 may be feen. The height of the Bafement is the 
 fame as in the other Front, but in this (a floor 
 being inferted between the ground floor and the prin- 
 cipal) there are two ranges of windows which de- 
 stroys the Magnificence produced by an apparent re- 
 lation 
 
f 43 J 
 
 lation between the fize of the Apartments and the 
 Exterior. I mean not to blame this facrifice of 
 Magnificence to Utility, but the impropriety of mak- 
 ing an unavoidable defeft more confpicuous than ne- 
 ceffity obliged. By injudicioufly putting Dreffings 
 about the lower Windows, the upper ones are fo 
 crouded, and the apartments they light made to ap- 
 pear fo fmall, that no eye can look on them without 
 difpleafure. Two ranges of plain Windows would 
 have been but little noticed, and pafled over without, 
 cenfure. 
 
 Above the Bafement, the long fide of the Qua- 
 drangle is the moft beautiful part of the Building, 
 though the Order confifts only of Pilafters. The 
 Centre is better diftinguiflxed, the decorations of the 
 windows more elegant than in the front towards the 
 Strand, and there is a plainnefs and repofe about it 
 that gives more pleafure than the riches and buftle 
 which we find every where elfe. A repetition of the 
 fame form, in things of the fame kind, is generally 
 pleafing ; but if carried to the extreme, it becomes in- 
 fipid and tedious. In exterior Architecture this beau- 
 ty is never fo ftriking, as when it is judicioufly inter- 
 rupted by variety in the Centre. The eye has then 
 Something to reft on as principal, and, when it ob- 
 F 2 ferves 
 
0 44 J 
 
 ferves an uniformity of decoration on each fide, re- 
 ceives confiderable pleafure from the appearance of 
 Defign and Contrivance. This part of the Qua- 
 drangle is the only one where the eye can reft for a 
 moment. In every other place it is fatigued and 
 diffracted by multiplicity of Ornament. This un- 
 doubtedly is the effect of Defign in- the Artift; but 
 it is extraordinary that he fhould diftinguifli the 
 place, to which the eye is unavoidably direfted, 
 by a Simplicity which, when compared with the 
 riches of the reft, may juftly be called Poverty. 
 
 It is painful to be thus long ferioufty enumerating 
 faults in the Work of an Artift, who, for pra&ica! 
 judgment and boldnefs of manner, may claim per- 
 haps more praife than the moft celebrated Italian 
 Mafters and their Imitators. We cannot but regret 
 that he did not ftudy the Ancients more, and the mo- 
 dern Italians lefs. A greater attention to the fimplicity 
 of the former would have taught him to defpife that 
 profufion of Ufelefs Ornament, which the latter ei- 
 ther invented or adopted. The intention of Orna- 
 ment is only to relieve the plainnefs of Walls, and 
 the dull uniformity of Archite£k>nic forms by the 
 addition riches and variety, and therefore fhould 
 never be principal. In the works of the Italians 
 
 in 
 
[ 45 ] 
 
 in general, Ornament does not relieve and entertain 
 the eye, but entirely engrofles its attention. In this 
 exaggerated and oftentatious ftyle Sir William Cham- 
 bers has been too clofely their imitator. This ftyle, 
 however, by its boldnefs and firmnefs, makes the 
 puerile affedtation of delicacy in moft of the Moderns 
 contemptible. Though this building may be feldom 
 mentioned as an example of the good Tafte of the 
 Age, it will long remain a monument of the opulence 
 of the Britifh nation. 
 
 Mr. Copley, 
 
 Portraits of a Family. j* 
 
 It is pleafant to obferve how Nature fports to the 
 eye of Painters, as if Ihe was defirous of diverfifying 
 their labours. She varies to the fight like the colours 
 of the Peacock, which reflects different hues to every 
 eye that beholds it. She fliews herfelf in fummer 
 lovelinefs to a Reynolds ; and in mellow tints, and, 
 like decaying ripenefs, fhe difplays her charms to a 
 Peters. Sometimes, like an airy phantom, (he fhews 
 her imperfe£t features to a Gainfborough, while (he 
 flares with boldnefs to a Copley, glooms to a Barry, 
 and fmiles and wantons to a Kauffman. Thus the 
 frifky Dame coquets with all her fuiters. 
 
1 46 J 
 
 It is curious to fee Artifts of equal imitative pow- 
 ers producing, from the fame original, copies fo re- 
 markably unlike each other, fuch as we fee in the 
 Pictures ^of Copley and Gainfborough. In the one, 
 every thing is fo diftincl: that the Painting may de- 
 ceive us ; in the other, fcarce formed, yet elegant, 
 ideas amufe the Fancy. 
 
 Mr. Copley has been called, and not improperly, 
 a Hercules in Painting, alluding to his contempt of 
 the evafive practices of other Artifts, who, to cover 
 their deficiencies and errors, make ufe of an endlefs 
 number of artifices, with their gums and varnifhes 5 
 tinder the fanction of that modern invention Chiaro 
 Ofcura. 
 
 On the fight of this bold, diftincT:, and finely-co- 
 loured piece of Painting, how flat and infipid do the 
 Pictures of the Prefident appear. There is no fcum- 
 bling of varnifti and wax ; no mark of the afphaltum 
 brufh, or plafter-trowel ; no dead coloured draperies, 
 110 half-finiflied extremities ; but each object fepa- 
 rately compleat, and capable of itfelf of forming a 
 perfect picture. To ftoop to fuch difingenuous tricks 
 
 would 
 
[ 47 ] 
 
 Would be injurious to his work, and concealing his 
 abilities. 
 
 Sir Jofhua Reynolds is faid to have united more 
 excellencies in his Portraits than any other Painter of 
 thatclafs; but this, I will affirm, can only be under- 
 flood of the Artifts who have precedeed him, for Mr* 
 Copley has, even in an eminent degree, the feveral me- 
 rits of the Face, the Drapery, the Marble, and Still- 
 life Painters. He difcovers a profound knowledge of 
 the different mechanical profeflions, fuch as the Cabi- 
 net-maker, the Mafon, Upholfterer, Silver-fmith, and 
 Shoe-maker : He is alfo acquainted with the bufinefs 
 of Toy-makers and Milliners, for who but them 
 could have invented and decorated that ufeful and 
 ornamental play-thing, with which the child upon 
 the floor feems to divert itfelf? Who but a Ma- 
 fon could fo nicely difcriminate the various forts 
 of marble which diverfify this Picture. Pinchbeck 
 and brafs, green-baize and Manchefter-cotton, bur- 
 gundy and table-beer, have each their proper charac- 
 ter. In a word, Mr. Copley (hews that the qualifi- 
 cations of a Painter Ihould be as numerous as thofe 
 Which Vitruvius declares necefTary to an Architect. 
 
 As 
 
[ 48 ] 
 
 As it is my intention to point out worthy obje£b 
 of imitation, I hope, from the example of this Cy- 
 clopedia of Painting, to fee a fpirit of induftry fpring 
 up among our young men, and that they will extend 
 their views beyond the infipid reprefentation of a 
 fingle Portrait. Why fliould a Painter be more li- 
 mited in his endowments than an Architect ? Divi- 
 nity, for inftance, would inform him of the different 
 habits of its Profefibrs ; a knowledge of the Law 
 would not only make him acquainted with the ab- 
 ftrufe fcience of Wigs, but it would teach him the 
 legal obje£t of imitation, that he might avoid foreign 
 and ^prohibited manufa&ure, and thereby his per- 
 formances would be rendered fecure againft the Cuf- 
 tom-houfe Officers : Phyfic would teach him when 
 his body was in a proper habit for his bufinefs : Mufic 
 would make known to him the harmony of colours, 
 and Poetry fupply the place of an imagination : But 
 what is yet more neceflary, is a moft intimate ac- 
 quaintance with the Mathematics, without the affift- 
 ance of which, the public would not at this day 
 have had the pleafure of feeing Thalia at the fide of 
 Covent-Garden Theatre, which is evidently con- 
 ftru&ed upon geometrical principles, from her fup- 
 porting herfelf fo long upon a fingle toe, 
 
 Thi* 
 
C 49 ] 
 
 This knowledge, properly digefted, will, I doubt 
 not, add more real luftre to Portrait-painting than 
 the works of fifty Prefidents and Profeflbrs. 
 
 Before I go on with the examination of another, it 
 is necefiary to obferve that, in titling the laft Picture, 
 it will be more proper to term it & Gentleman's Fami- 
 ly and Furniture* 
 
 Mr. Gainsborough. 
 
 Portrait of the Duchcfs of < y 
 
 Portrait of Lady 
 
 Portrait of Mrs. . 
 
 This Gentleman, in all his works, pleafes by his 
 vivacity, genteelnefs, and ingenuity. He totally 
 neglects all the mechanical arts of Painting, and ne- 
 ver attempts, by nicety and fmoothnefs, to make 
 his works be miftaken for the identical perfonages 
 they reprefent. His pieces are mafterly and well- 
 chofen imitations of Nature ; but we never miftake 
 his Paintings for real flefli and blood, and never find 
 more upon his canvas than ideas. 
 
 G 
 
 A* 
 
C 50 ] 
 
 As uniformity of ftyle, and a fuitablenefs of man- 
 ner to matter, are the real marks of Genius, this 
 agreeable Artift will hold a very confiderable rank, 
 as he merits no fmall degree of praife on both thefc 
 accounts. 
 
 I have heard a country Critic obferve, that he ne- 
 ver faw any painting of Angels which properly re- 
 prefented thofe Beings, nor equalled what himfelf 
 had imagined of them j even thofe of the great Ma- 
 ilers had, to him, too much of the grofs, earthy, and 
 human about therm Had this Critic feen the Di- 
 vinities of St. James, as painted by Mr. Gainfbo- 
 rough, there is no doubt but he would have thought 
 them fufficiently ethereal ; for each particular in this 
 Gentleman's work tends uniformly to imprefs the 
 character of Ideal and Unfubftantial. 
 
 Every thing ftrongly marked, and, as the Painters 
 term it, accurately made out, whether it be by pre- 
 cifely diftinguifhing the tones of Shadow and Light, 
 which caufe the parts of a Picture to jut abruptly be- 
 fore each other ; or by imitating the peculiarities of 
 an objedt, which give an identity or perfonality, 
 without adding to the general air ; or whether it be by 
 
 a bold and determined outline, every thing, in jfhort, 
 
 that 
 
[ Si ] 
 
 that chains the eye to the canvas, and prevents the 
 imagination from ranging and deceiving itfelf by 
 what it adds of its own ; however thefe excellencies 
 might be accounted elfewhere, they are incompatible 
 with the prevailing character of Mr. Gainfborough's 
 painting, and it is with propriety he has rejected 
 them. 
 
 In his works the Light and Shadow is agreeably ma- 
 naged, and each part has a proper relief j but an un- 
 practifed eye cannot difcern how it is produced. It 
 perceives parts decline into Shadow, and others rife 
 into Light ; but it is difficult for any but an Artift to 
 difcern the gradation of the tones. All is foft, yet 
 forcible. There is no diftincl, continued flatnefs on 
 which the eye is compelled to reft; but it is kept in 
 conftant motion. 
 
 Neither is there a too minute imitation in his 
 works, nor any heavy marking of the features, nor 
 yet a firmnefs and precifion in the outlines. Every 
 thing is general ; our imagination is amufed, and re- 
 ceives nothing but the ideas of the Painter. 
 
 Even his Colouring, which at firft view may feem 
 to contradict the general charadler, by his indulging 
 G 2 jn 
 
[ 52 ] 
 
 in the moll attracting hues, add, notwithftanding, to 
 the uniformity of the whole, when we obferve that 
 they are too crude and unmixed to make us imagine 
 that we fee real obje&s. His Ultramarine and Lake 
 are fcumbled every where fo obvioufly, that it is evi- 
 dent the Artift intends only to give an idea of Na- 
 ture in his colouring; the ftrong oppofition of tints is 
 $iot calculated for deception, but without which 
 Painting could but coldly imitate that richnefs and 
 tranfparency which Nature has given to the female 
 face. 
 
 But this gaiety of colouring has a further ufe. It 
 is intended to chara&erife the fweet fubjeds of Mr. 
 Gainfborough*s pencil. 
 
 The fele&ion of modifh ideas, which this Artift 
 fliews in his works, muft be admitted as no fmall 
 proof of his genius, for they are admirably fuited to 
 thofe lovely creatures of fafhion that alike adorn the 
 court and the canvas. They have fo little about them 
 that looks like common Nature, that furely they are 
 another race of Beings. Their form, their colour is 
 not human $ their air, their drefs 3 their language, their 
 ideas certainly are never derived from this grofs earth ; 
 and did we not know that they eat, fleep, and would 
 
 couch 
 
I S3 3 
 
 couch with men in the fair face of heaven, we could 
 never think them mortal. Nature makes them on an 
 April morn, and fends them to the world in all its 
 fplendor, fmiling and promifing blifs; but Ihe makes 
 them for a Mahometan world, without foul, and a 
 Chriftian world is cheated with their beauty. Hea- 
 ven ordains them to outlaft a few Birth-nights in 
 which little fpace they become Duchefs or Lady, in- 
 trigue, are divorced, wed again, or live at large, and/ 
 like the air, become M charter'd Libertines," and af- 
 terwards remain in the world theGhoftsof themfelves, 
 and are only known by what they once were. 
 
 Thefe are the fubjefts of Mr. Gainfbprough's art, 
 and fo well has he chara&erifcd them, that there are 
 not two purpofes which they can ferve better in life 
 than on his canvas. Like then?, his Pictures are the 
 beauties of a day ; and, as fuch, they muft fall as 
 pew graces of fafhipn and new modes of beauty 
 £rife. This the Painter has forefeen, and thence has 
 formed his unlaborious, ideal ftile. Pity it is that fo 
 much ingenuity ihould ever lofe its value ! but fo 
 pafl'es the glory of the world ! 
 
 Sir 
 
E 54 1 
 
 Sir William Chambers. 
 
 The Temple of Arethufa, 
 
 The Temple of Hercules, 
 
 The Temple of Bellona, 
 
 The Temple of Ariadne, 
 
 The Temple of Jupiter and Europa, 
 
 I was too powerfully attra&ed by the Works of 
 Copley and Gainfborough to notice thefe Drawings 
 before; but, after recreating my imagination with 
 the variety of the firft, and holding dalliance awhile 
 with the angelic creatures pourtrayed by the other, 
 I feel myfelf difpofed to faunter in Gardens, and 
 peep into the habitations of Nymphs, Heroes, and 
 Gods. 
 
 The titles of thefe Buildings declare that they 
 are intended to ernbelliih fome Garden ; for thefe are 
 the principal ornaments which Architecture has been 
 accuftomed to add to the fcenery of Nature. To pile 
 a few ftones according to the rules of his Art, and to 
 name them a Temple, is the boldeft flight of an 
 Architect's imagination. He confults neither the 
 Genius of the Scene, nor the Divinity he would feem 
 
 te 
 
[ 55 3 
 
 to honour. It is Sufficient that he gives you a Portic6 
 with a Pediment, or a Dome, your own imaginations 
 muft connect it with the furrounding obje£t ; and 
 happy are you if your elegant enjoyment of Nature 
 is not injured by the groffeft incongruity. 
 
 In this colle&ion of Temples^ I fee not one dedi- 
 cated to an ideal Being, with which any fcene in 
 Britain can be conne£led by the moft extravagant 
 Fancy. Was it in a Britifh Valley that the chafte 
 Arethufa mingled her waters with thofe of Alpheus ? 
 Was it hither that Jupiter brought the aflonifhed and 
 terrified Europa ? Or was it here that Bacchus left 
 the difconfolate Ariadne ? How were Britifh groves 
 benefited by the labours of Hercules ? Or can the 
 Silence and Serenity of rural retirement be a proper 
 place for the dwelling of Bellona ? Yet thefe have 
 as much relation to our gardens as to the buildings 
 they are compelled to inhabit. The form and or- 
 naments of every Stru£ture is fo much like the reft, 
 that if Hercules and Arethufa were to ramble in the 
 dark, they might change habitations, and remain for 
 ages ignorant of their miftake. 
 
 Admiration of the Ancients, and gratitude for the 
 benefits received from them, have been carried to fuch 
 
 a 
 
t 56 j 
 
 a length, that, In every thing ornamental, they take 
 place of Nature and Propriety. Allufions to their 
 Hiftory, Cuftoms, and Religion are blended with every 
 thing dohe in modern times^ and Artifts have fb 
 clofely connected excellence in Arts with the objefts 
 which taught them to conceive that excellence, that 
 they more frequently work with the Ideas, thail the 
 Spirit of Antiquity, in which they are not remarkable 
 for diftinguifliing the Valuable from the Worthlefs. 
 The private Apartments of the Great are as much 
 crouded with reprefentations of ridiculous and lafci- 
 vious ftories, which nothing but the beauty of the 
 Greek and Latin languages could recommend to no- 
 tice, as their Gardens with Statues and Temples t© 
 Heathen Divinities* 
 
 This prevalence of prejudices in favour of every 
 thing that has relation to the cuftoms and manners 
 of Greece and Rome, would make thefe allufions in 
 our Gardens as beautiful as they are meant to be, if 
 they did not contradict the impreffions which they 
 ought to ftrengthen. But, unluckily, if they do not 
 offend by manifeft incongruity, as in the Temples 
 here exhibited, the characters of the Deities moft pro- 
 per, are fo much confufed by various attributes and 
 ftories, that either no diftindt ideas are raifed by al- 
 luding 
 
r 57 3 
 
 fading to them, or fuch as it fhould not be the in - 
 tention of Ornament to raife. The Temple of Ve- 
 nus feems not to be improper in a Garden, for fhe 
 is the Goddefs of Love, and rural fcenes are moft 
 agreeable to the tendernefs of that paffion. The 
 Fane of Bacchus may be allowed to be judicioufly 
 placed in the midft of the Vines he is fuppofed to 
 protect : But it fhould be remembered that Venus 
 is the Goddefs of the moll licentious Love, as well 
 as that which is delicate and tender; and that if 
 Bacchus be the Protector of the Vine, he is alfo the 
 God of Drunkennefs. Mankind are moft affected 
 by what touches their flrongelt paffions. The li- 
 centious part of thefe characters are by much the 
 mo ft ftrongly impreffed on the minds of moft men, 
 and their ideas much fooner recalled than any other. 
 This deftroys the propriety of their Temples ; for it 
 cannot be the intention of Ornament to recommend 
 Vice, in places of elegant recreation, where Virtue 
 and Happinefs are fuppofed to inhabit. It is time, 
 therefore, that Tafte fhould ftrip thefe Shrines of 
 their Ornaments, and banifh their inhabitants to 
 the plains from whence they came. After fo long 
 holding the reafon of mankind in chains, are they to 
 fetter our Tafte for ever ? Or if it be your defign, 
 ye Artifts, to punifli them for their former Ufurpa- 
 H tions, 
 
C 58 ] 
 
 tions, have mercy upon them now for your own 
 fakes, and faffer them to repofe. Be no longer en- 
 flaved by your prejudices in favour of the Ancients, 
 Confider that the works which you copy were original 
 in them, and that they had not only the merit of in- 
 vention, but of doing honour to their Great Men, and 
 their Religion. Admire their excellencies, and imi- 
 tate them $ but feek out fubje£ts for yourfelves. Your 
 own country can furnifli you with Heroes great as 
 theirs, and your own imaginations with Divinities 
 more acceptable to your climate, and more beloved 
 by your native Shades. To thefe, ye Architects, 
 ere£t your Temples, and make thefe, ye Wealthy^ 
 the ideal protestors of your elegant pleafures. 
 
 It ought to be the aim of every Architect to make 
 his Ornamental Buildings identify the prevailing Ex- 
 preffion of the Scene ; or to lead the Mind into a 
 train of Ideas congenial to the Senfations raifed by 
 the furrounding objects; but the materials he works 
 with having no relation to our Affections and Paf- 
 fions, all the Talle which he can difplay in forming 
 and combining them, will only pleafe by the contraft 
 of Art to Nature, if he gives them no name or cha- 
 racter borrowed from Prejudice or imaginary Rela^ 
 tion. His Temples muft be dedicated to fome Being, 
 
 whom 
 
[ 59 ] 
 
 whom Fancy can eafily fuppofe to inhabit the places 
 where he builds them, or to fuch Virtues and elegant 
 Paffions as are cultivated and indulged in Retirement, 
 He need not confine himfelf to any ftyle of Archi- 
 tecture, but let him imitate thofe only that are, or 
 have been, prevalent in his own country. The Tafte 
 which direCts his choice of character, muft guide him 
 in thofe buildings which are in no regular manner; 
 but, in others, he fliould conform to the general pre- 
 cepts of his Art, ftill varying the forms and orna- 
 ments of the Stru£lure, and adapting it, as far as may 
 be, to the character he has chofen. That the Build- 
 ing appear the proper habitation of the ideal Being, 
 is as neceflary to be ftudied, as that the ideal Being 
 is the proper inhabitant of the Country, 
 
 This department of Architecture requires more 
 imagination than any other. The Architect muft 
 now quit the plain mechanical path, where Utility 
 was his objeCt, to make excurfions into the world of 
 Ideas, and aim to delight the Fancy. He is not now 
 to difplay his Tafte in decorating an ufeful Build- 
 ing, but to form one that (hall pleafe from its ideal 
 ufefulnefs or propriety. He muft commune with the 
 fpirit of the Hill. He muft liften to the complaint of 
 the Naiad, and the whifpers of the patroneffes of 
 H 2 Plains 
 
I 60 j 
 
 Plains and Woods. He muft attend to the legendary 
 Tales of the Country, and catch the fuperflitions 
 floating round him. If to thefe his Structures are 
 happily adapted, they will aflimilate with the Scene 3 
 and Tafte will approve thern for ever. 
 
 The Exprefllons of Nature are very various, but 
 not always diftincT:. In fome places the Genius of 
 the Scene will plainly call for the proper embellifh- 
 ment; in others, his temper muft be ftudied, and he 
 muft even be courted to accept your Ornament. 
 Wherever the Features are ftrongly marked, proprie- 
 ty is eafily difcovered, and incongruity moft fenfibly 
 felt. On a gentle Eminence, covered with venerable 
 Oak, whofe ftiadow darkens a filent Stream, an al- 
 iufion to any heathen Divinity would difturb theftili 
 folemnity of Nature ; while the Fane of Solitude, or 
 a Gothic Chapel, or the ruins of a Monaftery, would 
 increafe it by harmonizing our Ideas with the fur- 
 rounding Gloom. Where the Expreffion is lefs di- 
 ftincT:, and more the effect of cmbellifhment, let- 
 Temples be railed to Concord, Friendfhip, and 
 rural Happinefs. On the Banks of the Rivulet, the 
 Naiad fhould be honoured, and in the thickeft (hade 
 let a Building be inferibed 
 9, 
 
 "To 
 
C 61 ] 
 
 " To the Power 
 ^ Of this fair wood, affigned by fovereign Jove? 
 €C To nurfe the fapiins tall, and curl the grove 
 " With ringlets quaint."- 
 
 And if there be any place which ruflic Superflition 
 believes the abode of fome Fairy, or of which Tradi- 
 tion tells a Tale of Spectres, let a fit dwelling receive 
 the wandering Spirits, for they are natives of the 
 foil. If within the limits of thy Garden Hiitory fixes 
 the fcene of fome remarkable Event, feize the oppor- 
 tunity of paying refpeft to the worthy Men of thy 
 Country. If there be one fpot that breathes a purer 
 melancholy, there place the memorials of the Fiiends 
 whofe lofs you regret, and mark it with the tender- 
 siefs of recollected love. 
 
 But ftill the Effect will difappoint the Architect's 
 expectation, if the Beholder is obliged to hefitate a 
 moment before he can difcover his meaning. Few 
 emblematical Ornaments are fufficiently expreffive to 
 be inftantly known, or even not to be miftaken ; and 
 every delay or mi (lake diforders the ideas already re- 
 ceived from the fcene. The title of the ftructurc 
 ihould always be confpicuous on the front, with fuch 
 an infeription as may beft inform and influence the 
 
 imagination. 
 
{ 62 ] 
 
 imagination. The ufefulnefs of thefe is remarkably 
 evident in the Prints from the Landfkips of Mr. Wil- 
 fon. To pleafe as Landfkips, the prints \yant no fuch 
 afliftance ; but how much is their value increafed, 
 when we read the title of Cicero at his villa, and are 
 informed of the converfation of his friends. The 
 beauty of every fingle object and of the whole is ap- 
 propriated, and receives dignity from their charae*- 
 ters ; while we are carried into Claffic times, and 
 participate the friendftiips and elegant recreations of a 
 man univerfally admired. Such like advantages might 
 Ornamental Architecture receive from Infcriptions 
 felected from the beft Englifh Poets. The foul of 
 Poetry would give Expreffion to her uninformed fea- 
 tures, and teach her to affect the imagination, when all 
 other means are ineffectual. This is too obvious not 
 to be known ; but by the partiality to the Greek and 
 Roman languages, the pleafure is denied to all but a 
 few. I have heard of no inftance where the effect: of 
 an Englifli inscription is fo happy as on a fmall Build- 
 ing to the memory of Mr. Gray. The little fabric 
 has all the fimplicity which can be required from 
 Art, and on a tablet is preferved that beautiful ftanza, 
 which the Poet thought proper to omit in his Elfgy. 
 
 Here, 
 
t 63 ] 
 
 Here, Scattered oft the earlieft of the year 
 By Hands unfeen, are mowers of Woodbine found. 
 The Redbreaft loves to build and warble here, 
 And little footfteps lightly print the Ground, 
 
 Mr. Bacon, 
 
 The Statue of Mercury, and 
 A reclining Water-Nymph. 
 
 This Artift merits the reputation he poffefles ; but 
 as it is more neceffary to prevent falfe Beauties from 
 being admired, than to praife him for thofe real ones 
 that every one allows him, we fhall juft hint where 
 he fometimes deviates from true Excellence. 
 
 It is required that the Sculptor more particularly 
 than the Painter mould follow the antique beauty. 
 The veneration we pay to Antiquity, without the 
 confideration of intrinfic excellence, is fufficient to 
 prefcribe to us in fo undefineable a matter as mere 
 form, where the beauty is not derived from obvious 
 utility or character. Painting has leveral means of 
 claiming our attention, but when Sculpture neglects 
 that choice of Nature and chaftity of outlines, which 
 are feen in the ancient Statues, it muft have a very high 
 degree of intellectual grandeur to make it at all va-> 
 
 luable. 
 
[ H j 
 
 luable. This is a fault we fometimes find in ML 
 Bacon's work. He negle£ts in his forms the ideal 
 beauty of the Antique, and puts up with Nature as 
 he finds it in any common mcdel. 
 
 But he has yet a greater fault. We fee in hh 
 pieces an animation often urged too far. Spirit and 
 Energy, when not judicioufiy directed, are dangerous., 
 and degenerate into Bombaft. Neither does he fuf- 
 ficiently avoid the modern affe&ation. 
 
 Mr. De Loutherbourgh. 
 A Landfcape and Figures, 
 
 Mr. Loutherbourgh, in this Picture, appears in al! 
 his wonted luxuriance, various, animated, and for- 
 cible; we are charmed with his fancy, which is preg- 
 nant with fmart conceits, fo active in his Pencil, fo 
 abrupt in Colouring, and fo contrafted in his Out- 
 lines, that he never affords a place of reft to our ima- 
 ginations, fatigued with purfuing him through the 
 mazes of his Invention. 
 
 This Landfcape is executed with that gaiety, for 
 which this Artift is fo much admired. The Com- 
 
 pofition 
 
r 6 5 ] 
 
 pofition is fomewhat diffufe, but the Drawing is in- 
 formed, the Colouring tender and concordant. The 
 Characler of each obje£t is marked withboldnefs and 
 precifion, and whatever rules might have been given 
 by Critics for aerial Perfpe&ive and the harmony of 
 Colours, Mr. Loutherbourgh efcapes their fetters, 
 by a profufion of blue in the firft, and, in the latter, 
 the fame ufeful tint proves an infallible peace-maker 
 between the moft difcordant colours. 
 
 I muft not omit to mention the wonderful dex- 
 terity of his Pencil, which, with fuch certainty, ex- 
 ecutes the various fubje£ts it is employed upon. 
 Artifts of lefs (kill would, perhaps, only difcover the 
 nimblenefs of the Pencil upon thofe prominencies 
 which fhould moft obtrude themfelves upon the 
 eye. — Mr. Loutherbourgh is always a&ive, and al- 
 ways ftriking, and will finifh a Dunghill with themi- 
 nutenefs of Sacharifia's robe. 
 
 As a Theatrical Painter, this vivacity is admira- 
 bly well fuited to tranfient Exhibitions; the under- 
 ftanding in thefe performances has not time to re- 
 cover the dominion ufurped by the Fancy upon their 
 firft appearance. It muft be acknowledged that the 
 ftage tricks were never played off with fuch fuccefs, 
 
 I before 
 
[ 66 j 
 
 before Mr. Loutherbourgh prefided in that depart- 
 ment. Under his direction we have feen fiery cha- 
 riots, clouds, and burning gulphs, which have made 
 the hairs of the fpe£tator ftand on end ; and every 
 other deception has been pra&ifed with equal good 
 fortune. By mentioning thefe particulars, I do not 
 mean to refleft either on the Artift or Managers; the 
 firft acts only in obedience to the latter, and the lat- 
 ter are not the leaders but the followers of a corrupted 
 Tafte, and who were never known to facrifice good 
 fenfe to any interefted views. Mr. Loutherbourgh is 
 doubtlefs worthy of the place of Firft Painter to the 
 
 Theatre, and we are not at prefent poffefied of one 
 
 who could fill it with equal credit *. 
 
 Befides his merit as a Landscape Painter, he is de- 
 ferving of great praife as an H umourift, as is con- 
 ftantly feen in the many little figures with which he 
 enriches his Piftures. The fcene of the one before 
 me, by the ftage coach feems to be on fome public 
 road near town. On the right fide of the Picture, 
 near to a cock-fighting, is a field preacher with his 
 congregation ; a very entertaining group, which the 
 Artift has devoutly ftrained every nerve to render pro- 
 perly ridiculous. To the left of the ftage coach, he 
 
 has 
 
 * Notwithftandingthe prefumption of his envious and petulant Artling?* 
 
I 67 ] 
 
 has introduced a Bull-baiting and a Quack Docter; 
 in thefe, and the party at Nine-pins, he has difco- 
 vered a vein of humour ludicrous beyond conception. 
 The figures are numerous, and well diverfified ; 
 though, as the fcene is in England, he might be fup- 
 pofed in fome of his groups, by their leannefs and 
 rags, to have degraded the decent fons of beef and 
 liberty, and given them more the appearance of 
 Frenchmen than Britons.— But thefe are liberties ne- 
 ceiTary to ftrengthen expreffion, and are effential to 
 his line of humour. And he does not confine it to 
 the human fpecies alone, — the Brutes partake of it 
 [ equally, — nothing can be more agreeable than Foot's 
 idea of the two intriguing cats in a gutter, which he 
 has placed in the Fore-ground. Thefe, together 
 with the robbery of a Hen-roofl: in the corner, make 
 up the principal part of the embellifhments to this 
 Landfcape. The interftices of thefe groups are filled 
 up with lean Beaus, fat Belles, Goats, Pigs, and 
 Afies, 
 
 As the principles which guide his Pencil in thofe 
 whimfical compofitions, have been frequently fol- 
 lowed of late, I mall, upon this fubje£t, add a re- 
 fieftion or two which Mr. Loutherbourgh's Pi£lure$ 
 have fuggefled to me. 
 
 I 2 This 
 
[ 68 ] 
 
 This Artift has fhewn that the external deformity 
 of the body, and the extravagance of its drefs, are 
 the true fources of Ridicule, and thefe as they ap- 
 proach to, or recede from, Proportion or Beauty, 
 are lefs or more ridiculous. 
 
 Upon this principle has Mr. Loutherbourgh raifed 
 his excellent fyftem. But as the fpirit of Ridicule is 
 a vice of the mo ft malignant nature, when improper- 
 ly directed, we find him laudably employed in faty- 
 rifing the vicioufnefs of the mode, or that unpardon- 
 able contempt of Proportion which we daily fee ex- 
 hibited in our ftreets by the wealthy citizen or the 
 hungry author ; the latter from want, the former 
 from the contrary vice. 
 
 In his fatyres we fee all the extravagance of the 
 Garacatura, and he indulges a licentioufnefs of fea- 
 ture which nature, even in his own country, never 
 difplayed. Heads too large for their Bodies, Bodies 
 blown up to an immenfe bulk, placed upon legs un- 
 able to fupport them ; abfolute fkeletons performing 
 all the evolutions of life. Thefe are again coupled 
 and contrafted with every poffible exaggeration, co- 
 vered with rags, or trimmed up in all the fooleries of 
 drefs. Corpulency is made to fliudder at its own 
 
 enormity. 
 
[ 69 ] 
 
 enormity, and Decripitude at its own misfortunes. lx\ 
 fhort, his wit as an Humourift is fomewhat like that 
 of the great Bunbury, which prefers Grimace to Sen- 
 timent, and Extravagance to Nature. 
 
 Some have compared him to Hogarth ; but tYit 
 Artift fet out with a different aim. Vice and F^Ily 
 were his object ; though the defects of the mind, it 
 being of celeftial decent, it is impious to cenfur^ He 
 neglected Caracature ; and as the greateft/ai Portions 
 of the human form and countenance are yAeceflary 
 the purpofe qf Ridicule, his works v^e/v infipid^nd 
 unentertaining. Therefore, never venturing- 0 P u *h 
 his ideas beyond nature, his fatire w/s inef^^ual, and 
 his name mortal. But Mr. P. J/tie Loitherbourgh, 
 who fo boldly drives into the /egioi* of Exaggera- 
 tion, fhall fit upon his cloud, M te?1 his tale to futur ? 
 ages. 
 
 My Stewart. 
 
 Jhe principal from of a Koufe oppofite 
 to the Nor/h-Weft corner of Portman- 
 Square. / 
 
 From fome faults in the Front of this Houfe we 
 fcarce can believe it the work of a man who fpent 
 
 many 
 
[ 70 J 
 
 many years in ftudying the beft remains of Antiquity* 
 and to whofe labours this country owes moft of the 
 improvements in Architecture, which other Artifts 
 have been fo defirous of appropriating to themfelves. 
 if Mr. Stewart had not given fo many proofs of his 
 Abilities, we might be juftified in afferting that, like 
 many more ingenious men, his ftudies have more im- 
 proved the Tafte of others than his own. We know 
 not hew to account for this falling off, but from his 
 y converfiot to Epicurianifm. Since he refolved to 
 \ioy the fleafures of the palling moment, he feems 
 to Hve neghSted Fame as a Phantom unworthy of 
 being gaced it competition with more certain and 
 fubflantikQooci 
 
 \ Nr. Penny, 
 Profeffor of PaVitinj to the Royal Academy. 
 
 Queen Eleanor cVmpUling Rofamond to 
 drink poifon, ancl^urii^hing her becaiife 
 Nature had made her too beautiful not to 
 be beloved, and too Vender to refift the 
 folicitation of a youthful Monarch, 
 
 V 
 
 There is always fo much found judgment, and fo 
 much praftical knowledge in this Gentleman's works, 
 
 \ that 
 
[ 7* ] 
 
 that we cannot but regret his not exhibiting more of 
 his Pictures \ and we mull think they would add con- 
 fiderably to the Exhibition, though they are lefs fhowy 
 than numbers that are crouded there, and attract the 
 attention of the fpe&ators by fuperficial beauties. By 
 the agreeable choice of fubje&s, from (lories and in- 
 cidents well known to every Englilhman, and by the 
 familiar manner by which he conveys inftrutiion with 
 his works, he fhews himfelf to be the fame fenfible 
 and good man that we perceive him in his le&ures. 
 
 Mr. Nollekins. 
 
 A Venus and Cupid, and 
 The Buft of a Nobleman. 
 
 This excellent Artifl, more than any other, copies 
 the beauties of the Antique, and transfers them into 
 his own works. In purity and correclnefs of form, it 
 muft be a very experienced eye that can difcover fome 
 of his ftatues to be much inferior to the works of the, 
 Ancients, and he is deferving a very high rank as a 
 Difciple of that fchool. 
 
 Mr. 
 
t n i 
 
 Mr. Paine. 
 
 Front of Bangledown Manor, Weftmore- 
 land; Front of Garble Hall^ Northum- 
 berland i Principal Front of Turleigh 
 Place, Leicefterihire ^ North Front of 
 Cowhall, Yorkihire- 
 
 Thc appearance of Buildings is the obje£t of my 
 Criticifms, and not their Strength or Utility. In the 
 executive part of his profeffion this Gentleman, per- 
 haps, may be inferior to none ; but for Tafte he mud 
 only rank with Meflrs. Taylor, Holland, Johnfon, 
 Coufe, and Gray. 
 
 It is difficult to guefs from what fource Mr. Paine 
 derived his ideas of Archite&onic Beauty, fince they 
 differ from all that have paffed current for ages. An- 
 cient Architects called thefe obje&s beautiful which 
 were ufeful, and the moderns, looking on thetn, were 
 pleafed, and called them beautiful alfo. But the 
 Beauties in thefe Buildings neither arife from Utility 
 nor Prejudice. What they do arife from let thofe 
 declare who can difcover. 
 
 One 
 
[ 73 1 
 
 One Caufe fee ins to be that knowledge in Arith- 
 metic which he boafts of. Divifion and Multiplication 
 have made wonderful w T crk of thefe Buildings. We 
 may fuppofe that he thus communed with himfelf 
 when he meditated Bangledown-Manor, — 44 A fingle 
 44 Pediment is efteemed a beautiful Architectonic 
 44 Figure, — I will have three Pediments, and I fhall 
 44 triple my beauty." " A fingle Cornice is cer- 
 
 4C tainly beautiful, 1 will cut my Cornice into 
 
 44 fifty Pieces, and my Beauty will be increafed fifty 
 44 fold," — 44 For what, he continues, do they admire 
 44 the remains of Old Rome but for their mutilated 
 44 Members ? I will do by Art to my Structures 
 4C what Time has done for thofe, and turn the ad- 
 44 miration of Connoifieurs on myftlf." On thefe 
 principles he has been amazingly fuccefsful. Bangle- 
 down- Manor is a Magazine of Fragments, which Ar- 
 chitects may ftudy without the trouble of travelling. 
 
 In Cowhall and Turleigh Place, the fame princi- 
 ples prevail. The Fronts are in fo many pieces, that 
 we fancy the parts are already made, and the defign 
 contrived to employ them. There is like wife good 
 reafon to believe that Mr. Paine has found the trea- 
 fure which the Dauphine fent to Harry the Fifth. 
 
 K 
 
 There 
 
C 74 ] 
 
 There are almoft as many balls in thefe two Fronts 
 as would fupply all the Tennis Courts in Europe. 
 
 In Garblehall he has added another Idea to the 
 former. « Half the fkill of an Artift, he fays, is to 
 " hide judicioufly. A beauty half feen fets Curio- 
 " fity to work to difcover the remainder : If we fee 
 " half the leg of a Lady, we earneftly defire to fee the 
 <c reft, and if that defire cannot be gratified, — how 
 " beautiful it is !" — Now he defigns and raifes you 
 a Front, which he covers with Niches, and Pedi- 
 ments, and pieces of Cornices, and afterwards thrufts 
 out & Bulk here, a Bow Window there, and a couple 
 of Hogfties at each end, to conceal what he has been 
 doing, and give employment to your curiofity. — If 
 you can difcover it — 'tis well—you have fo much 
 for your labour. If you cannot — why, it is better, 
 
 I fhould be blameable if I neglefted to obferve that 
 Mr. Paine has alfo been the author of a preface, which 
 poffefTes fome, though not many, of the excellencies 
 obferved in that of MefT. Adams. In Modefty he 
 feems almoft equal to them. In the beginning he 
 pretends to give an account of himfelf ; but I won- 
 der, notwithstanding, that the literary Juftices did not 
 commit him, for he certainly gives no good account 
 
 of 
 
I 75 ] 
 
 of himfelf. At times he endeavours to be witty, 
 and would ridicule the architectonic Abilities of Mr, 
 Brown, becaufe he has prefumed to build without 
 ferving an Apprenticeftiip. But his Arrows are un- 
 wieldy, and pointed with lead. If they chance to 
 -reach their mark, they only give a dub againft the 
 celeftial corflet of his Antagonift, and fall blunted. 
 It perhaps may be impoflible to receive from our mo- 
 thers the knowledge neceffary for a practical Ar- 
 chitect ; but Mr. Paine himfelf is the beft example 
 that can be produced to prove, that, without natural 
 Abilities, architectonic Breeding is of little avail, 
 
 O vanity ! vanity ! why wilt thou thus play tricks 
 with poor mortals, and invert the intention of Na- 
 ture to their fhame ? Thou madeft this man big 
 with a very big Book, which, when brought forth, 
 muft, as long as it lives, declare the impotency of its 
 parent's Tafte. But I muft not chide thee too raftily, 
 for all things work together for the good of the world. 
 Thou certainly didft intend this Book for a Beacon to 
 his fraternity, and it is a pity that the blaze fhould 
 be fo dazzling to his own eyes, as to deprive him of 
 the advantage. 
 
 K 2 
 
 Mr. 
 
[ 76 ] 
 
 Mr. Peters. 
 
 Portrait of a Lady in the character of Leda 3 
 A Lancafhire Witch at incantation, 
 
 Portrait of Mifs in a reverie, and 
 
 A Country Girl. 
 
 The Colouring of thefe Pictures, and the foftnefs 
 of die Lights, make them extremely rich and plea- 
 fing, and thefe are beauties very fuitable to many of 
 this Painter's fubjecb. The Pictures of very few 
 Artifts are more agreeable to the eye, or better fitted 
 for gaining a general reputation than thofe of this 
 Painter. But both the eiFecl of Light and Shadow, 
 and the Colouring of his pieces, border too nearly 
 upon Affectation, and fometimes there is a meagre- 
 nefs and a want of breadth in his Pencilling. 
 
 The gauze which this Artift ufes for the purpofes 
 of concealment, it is very likely may be fufficient to 
 prevent himfelf from bluihing, but is no apology to 
 the modefty of the fpe&ator. 
 
 This ingenious Painter has power to pleafe us in 
 better fubje&s than thofe he often pitches upon. 
 
 He 
 
L 77 3 
 
 He Ls not contented with ftriking us only by the 
 Beauties of the Art, but aims alfo at afFecline the 
 Pailions, though indeed it is not by a dignity of 
 thought or fentiment; he has never yet afforded an 
 opportunity by which we may praife,or hope to praife, 
 him for excellence of that kind. He endeavours to 
 lay hold of men where they are moil frail, and has 
 openly violated thefe prejudices that are refpectable 
 in the mo ft amiable minds, and has ventured to ex- 
 po fe what cuftom has rendered facred. 
 
 We cannot tell whether this Gentleman plays the 
 Pander of loofe ideas to his cuftomers and the public, 
 becaufe he imagines that it will be a means of bring;- 
 
 o o 
 
 ing him more money ; or becaufe Nature has fome 
 how or other given him fo wanton a turn, that he can- 
 not withhold from the world how tender a foul he is. 
 I fuppofe he would be willing that the latter motive 
 fhould be attributed to him rather than the former, 
 for we are better pleafed with having it thought that 
 we followed our own foibles, than flattered thofe of 
 other people. But it is moft probable that he is in- 
 fluenced by both of thefe reafons. 
 
 If the fole intention of the Arts be to pleafe, and 
 it be permitted them to negledt or oppofe every thing, 
 
 though 
 
 I 
 
[ 78 ] 
 
 though of the higheft nature, then this Artift is not 
 blameablc, and the line he has chofen will certainly 
 be very fuccefsful in advancing him. This kind of 
 Painting will, doubtlefs, affect us and attain its end 
 fooner, and will pleafe more generally and more ef- 
 fectually than any other. Not many have judgment 
 enough to pleafe with works of reaj genius, and 
 ftill fewer can produce any thing that will merit the 
 approbation of a correct and experienced Tafte ; but 
 every one has an appetite to be touched, and few 
 have made a covenant with their eyes not to behold 
 indelicacy, and the moft wretched performances are 
 grateful to the obfcene palate. It has a Tafte grofs 
 enough to relifh any thing the moft difgufting. 
 
 When men of Wit permit themfclves to run into 
 indelicacv and licentioufnefs, the brilliance and in- 
 genuity of their ideas fecures them from contempt; 
 indecency is the Wit of heavy and grofs minds : 
 Such men perceive it is the quality of Wit to throw 
 us into merriment, which they not being able to ef- 
 fect by any affemblage of ftrange and fantaftic ima- 
 ges, think themfelves intitled to the character of 
 Witty Men, if they can but raife a laugh, though it 
 be with abominable conceits, never perceiving that 
 
 we 
 
f 79 1 
 
 we can be affected "with laughter by other ideas than 
 fuch as are comical. 
 
 There are men fo impenetrable, that the keeneft 
 fallies of imagination cannot pierce through the mail 
 that covers them ; but prefent to them an indecent 
 thought, and their goatifh beards will begin to wag 5 
 their eyes to fwim, and they will be almoft convul- 
 five with the humour of it. With fuch men as thefe 
 Mr. Peters aims to eftablifh a reputation, and without 
 doubt he a£ts in fo doing very wifely, for many fuch 
 men have money to give away for Wanton Pictures, 
 who have not judgment fufficient to be pleafed with 
 good Paintings on any other fubject. 
 
 But Mr. Peters muft obferve, if he does aim 
 at a character of this kind, that all Wit lofes its 
 beauty when its Angularity is worn off j but that there 
 is this difference between Wit in Converfation and in 
 Picture, that we lofe fight of the one before it has 
 ceafed to amufe, while, in the other, after the fpirit 
 is fled, the form remains to fhew the meannefs and 
 mortality of the Painter's Genius, 
 
 Mr. 
 
C 80 ] 
 
 Mr. Thomas Sandby, 
 Profeflbr of Archite&ure in the Royal 
 Academy, 
 
 Two Windows in love, 
 Four Columns in diftrefs,- 
 A Pediment in a pet. 
 Being attempts to demonftrate that Archi- 
 tecture is capable of PaffionateExpreffion. 
 
 Without forne of this Gentleman's Enthufiafai, it 
 is impoflible to make the Reader fenfible how fuc- 
 cefsfully thefe beautiful Drawings prove the truth of 
 this fingular opinion. I fhall only obferve, that the 
 Windows look as tenderly on each other as Windows 
 can poflibly look ; that the Columns exprefs as much 
 feeling as Columns can poflibly exprefs; and that the 
 Pediment is juft as pettifh as a Pediment can pofli- 
 bly be. 
 
 However, as the public Inftru&or of our young 
 Architeds, Mr. Sandby is certainly to blame for thus 
 indulging his warmth of imagination in fubjects fo 
 unufeful, and particularly as he permits thefe fanci- 
 ful opinions to have a place in his Lectures. 
 
 He 
 
[ 8i ] 
 
 He is likewife blanieable for wafting his time on the 
 tales of Vitruvius, and a dry detail of the Orders and 
 their Proportions. The latter is as unnecelTary as 
 unentertaining, for every Student is fuppofed to have 
 committed them to memory before he is admitted in- 
 to the Academy, and the former have been too often 
 repeated to ferve as Embellifhments. The character 
 of Vitruvius has always been miftaken. It is plain 
 that he was a man of wit, and wrote his conjectures, 
 fyftems, and doctrines of Proportion to puzzle the 
 hard-handed men of his time, and divert the more 
 intelligent reader, and, no doubt, his wit was laugh- 
 able enough in his day ; but a jeft is no longer a jeft 
 when it has been a thoufand times told. It is indeed 
 laughable enough to fee grave men take his humour 
 ferioufly, and fancy they really behold the curls of a 
 lady's hair in the Ionic Capital, the folds of her 
 mantle in the flutes of the lhaft, and the laces of her 
 bulkins in the mouldings of the Bafe, and afterwards 
 warmly difputing whether a Column without a Bafe, 
 is moll like a man without feet or without fhoes. 
 
 L 
 
 Mr, 
 
[ 84 ] 
 
 Mr. R. Wilson. 
 
 A View on the Tyber, 
 Ditto on the Alps. 
 
 It will naturally be expe&ed from the Artifts I 
 have already praifed, that Mr. Wilfon will not meet 
 with my approbation ; but fince this gentleman is 
 grown old in the fervice of the Art, and has been 
 ever folicitous to wafh away care, I am naturally of 
 too tender a difpofition to bring down his grey hairs 
 with forrow to the grave ; and will, on that account^ 
 give praife to other befides Italian Beauties. 
 
 The view on the Alps is chofeft from that kind of 
 nature which Mr. Wilfon has often imitated, and in 
 the compofitiori he admits only general and great 
 ideas, never {looping to the minutiae of objects. 
 
 The view is taken from an elevated fituation, from 
 whence we look down into an immenfe bafon, fur* 
 rounded on every fide by mountains riling up into 
 the clouds, or hanging, in dreadful grandeur, over 
 the lake. From the fummit of one falls a great body 
 of water* which forms the brighteft part of the Picture ; 
 and, as it rtifties down from rock to rock, fpreads a 
 
 whitening 
 
r 8 3 3 
 
 whitening foam, that diffufes the Light and brings 
 up the Fore-ground, without injuring his work with 
 forced Shadows and contrafted colours. 
 
 The Obje£ts are fimple, bold, and majefiic. Its 
 colouring is grave and harmonious; all fudden tran- 
 fitions, either in Light and Shadow, or in Colour- 
 ing, are judicioufly avoided^ as unfuitable to the dig- 
 nity of the fubje&. In this, as in every other Pic- 
 ture, he has rejected, with a noble contempt, all the 
 little beauties which deck the cpmpofitions of meaner 
 Artifts. . The negle£t of an agreeable Pencil, one 
 Would be apt to think, is carried almoft too far in 
 his fmaller Pi&ures, which being to be viewed near, 
 would certainly require delicacy of execution, that, 
 in larger w r orks, would be injurious, and contrary to 
 his principles. 
 
 There i$ a terrible magnificence in the fcene, that 
 is perfectly agreeable to the idea annexed to it by his 
 figures, which are but flight and fpirited dafhes of 
 his Pencil, reprefenting the paffage of Hannibal into 
 Italy, as defcribed by Livy. 
 
 How exceedingly does the introducing a little fiery 
 enrich a Landfcape, which may not o#ly be jntereft- 
 
[ 84 ] 
 
 ing in itfelf, but by a proper choice may imprefs the 
 mind more ftrongly with the genius of the fcene. 
 The power that Landfcape- painting over the 
 imagination, by leading it among the beauties that 
 Nature has fcattered over the face of the earth, is 
 greatly enhanced, when it meets with a profpecl; 
 that bears fomeallufion and analogy to particular fen- 
 fations. The folemnity of the Groves, the rude 
 force of Cataracts, and the gaiety of a Champairi 
 country, are not merely entertaining to the eye, but 
 are fuitable to certain difpofitions of the mind, and,, 
 at certain feafons, are capable of affording us greater 
 pleafure than the view of Trees or Fields that bear 
 no chara&eriftic ExpreiTion, 
 
 It is the bufinefs of the Landfcape-Painter to fe- 
 lecl: the leading marks that are here and there to be 
 found in Nature, and produce them in his feveral 
 Pictures ; and accordingly as they are impreffed with 
 character, they difpiay the Genius of the Artift. 
 But there are but few traits of the mind that can be 
 {hewn in Landfcapes, and mo ft that are within its 
 power are very general and undeterminate. The 
 inferting of figures is the beft means of giving to the 
 piece a decifive character, and the ufe which Mr. 
 Wilfon has made of this cannot be too much praifed, 
 
 and 
 
[ 85 1 
 
 and deferves to be imitated by all who wifh to lead 
 the Imagination and entertain the Underftanding. 
 
 In a (term he has introducced the ftory of Niobe ; 
 and v/e may imagine that every part of the fcene has 
 its fpirit and agitation from the angry Deities ; and 
 even fome parts of it feem character i fed by the ruin 
 and diftrefs of the unhappy family. In another he 
 has given from Thomfon the beautiful ftory of Ce- 
 ladon and Amelia 5 and we are apt to forget the 
 Painter, and afk, with Celadon, Wherefore has Hea- 
 ven permitted this tumult in Nature? In a third, 
 where the fcene fcarcely needed to be character i fed, 
 he has carried us into the grounds of Cicero, where 
 he and his friends are converfing. Every touch of 
 his Pencil wears an air of Claffic grandeur, and the 
 prefence of that refpectable and well-known group, 
 fanctifies the whole piece, and brings to the mind 
 thofe fublime difcourfes which which were held on 
 this fpot, and which lend their character to the Pic- 
 ture. 
 
 I ftiall add little upon his View on the Tyler. 
 Though grand, its beauties are of a milder kind than 
 the former, but executed with equal ability, and 
 prove to us that this Artift is as capable of reprefent- 
 ing the Elegant as the Great fcenes of Nature. 
 
 Mr. 
 
t 86 ] 
 
 Mr. Wyatt. 
 
 A View of the principal Front of Wynnftay, 
 
 the Seat of Sir W, W. Wynn, Bart. 
 North-Eaft View of Stoke, in Wiltlhire, the 
 
 Seat of Peter Delme, Efq; 
 Plan of the principal Floor of a Houfe de- 
 
 figned for the Right Hon. Lord Ducie 
 
 Morton, 
 South- Weft View of the fame, 
 Several Sections and Ceilings of private 
 
 Apartments. 
 
 There is a ftriking difference between the Archi- 
 tecture of ancient Rome, as djfeovered in the Re- 
 mains of her Public Buildings, and that of the Ma- 
 tters who revived the Art in Italy. The Magnifi- 
 cence of the Roman is fimple and unaffected, and 
 confifts almoft entirely in the regular difpofition of 
 Columns equally grand by their relative magnitude 
 and ufefulnefs. The Magnificence of the Italians is 
 all oftentation, and difplays itfelf in a profufion of 
 fplendid, but heavy and unnecefTary Ornament. From 
 the Works of the latter our Architecture is derived ; 
 for our Architects feldom directly imitate the Ro- 
 mans 
 
r 87 ] 
 
 mans except in their Ornamental Buildings. In all 
 thofe defigned for ufeful purpofes, whether public or 
 private, the Italians have been their Models. The 
 works of the Italians hold the place of Antiquity to 
 them, as the Statues and Poems of Antiquity fill 
 that of Nature to our Sculptors and Poets ; and what- 
 ever benefit the laft-mentioned Artifts may receive 
 from their Subftitutes, the Architects have certainly 
 mifplaced their attention, and wandered from excel- 
 lence, by imitating the wrong Objects. 
 
 During his refidence in Italy, Mr. Wyatt ftudied 
 the Roman Ruins and Modern Buildings with equal 
 afnduity ; but his good Tafte reje£ted the parade of 
 the Italians, and made the fimplicity of the Ro- 
 mans the Models of his pra&ice. The firft of his 
 works difcovered which had been the Objects of his 
 own admiration, and (hewed that he had viewed 
 them, not with a prejudiced, but a difcriminating 
 eye. In the Pantheon we have the excellencies of 
 the moft approved works of the Romans, without 
 any of their blemifhes, and thefe united to an elegance 
 which, if the Romans ever attained, we have never 
 had opportunity of remarking it. England never be- 
 fore poffeffed a Building where the Genius of Archi- 
 tecture was fo confpicuous ; where the Beauties of 
 
 relative 
 
[ 88 i 
 
 relative and particular Proportion, of Uniformity and 
 Variety, of Ornament and Colour, were fo happily 
 blended into one Expreffion, and that correfponding 
 fo will with the Defiinaticn. 
 
 The Drawings here exhibited will not diminiffi 
 the reputation this 5 Artift. dt?ftrvedly gained by the 
 Pantheon. The Fronts of Wynnftay and Stoke are 
 noble examples of unaffected Magnificence, the re- 
 fult of Sirnplipity of Form, of large Parts beautifully 
 proportioned, and of Ornament fparingly and-judi- 
 tioufly trfed; f The two Potticos, like "that of St. 
 Martin's in the Fields, and A ftaBafettf the. ancient 
 Temples, convince us that Architedture wants no 
 detoration tvhen her Columns ^re dignified by Ufe- 
 fulhefs'. Theiioufe defigned for Lord Ducie poffefles 
 more variety than thefe, and /the pxineipaj Front is as 
 original as it. is beautiful., The Portico in the centre 
 
 'is a Circle, half of which projects and half f#iks ; into 
 the wall. It is crowned with a Dome, and is itfelf a 
 
 : Temple which equals in elegance that of Yefta at 
 Rome. The variety of this Front is finely controlled, 
 and its Grandeur increafed by the long regular line 
 of bold projecting Pilafters in the Flank. — — -Archi- 
 
 •te&ure, perhaps, never presented to. the eye, on fo 
 (mail a lode* an obj e£t more beautiful and magnificent. 
 
 Mr. 
 
f % a 
 
 Mr.'Wyatt fecms to be the only, Architect who 
 knows the full value of Columns, which the An- 
 cients thought almoft fufficient for the purpofe of 
 Magnificence. When he is not confined by circunv- 
 ftances, we feidom fee thern in his Buildings elevated 
 upon high Bafements, or ranged Order upon Order ; 
 and never do they lofe their ei7c& m a croud of Em- 
 bellifhments. They are always the foil obje£b which 
 catch our attention, and always appear to be ufefully 
 employed. In all thefe defigns there is not a Columa 
 that can be taken away, and the eyenot attended with 
 aii apparent want of fupport. 
 
 We muft likewife praife him for his management 
 of Windows. Windows give the greatefl trouble to 
 the Artift who would, in Private Buildings, rival the 
 Public Magnificence of Rome. They conftrain him 
 to attach his Columns to the Wall, and, where there 
 are more than two ranges, to raife them on Bafe- 
 .ments, or to employ two Orders. The dii£culty cf 
 managing thefe Apertures is but too vifibje in ths 
 works of every Architect ; but Mr. Wyatt has here 
 overcome the difficulty, and, by turning fome of them 
 to the Flanks, and hiding others behind the Baluf- 
 trade, reconciled Utility with Magnificence. The 
 Columns ard all infulated, and all rife from the 
 M Steps 
 
C 90 3 
 
 Steps to the Roof without darkening the Rooms $ 
 while a few large Windows give the Spectator Ideas 
 of Apartments fuitable to the Grandeur of the Ex- 
 ternal Appearance. 
 
 Thefe, and other excellencies which I remark in 
 fhefe Drawings, might juftify me if I placed this Ar- 
 tift the firft of his Profeffion ; but he alfo claims our 
 praifes for his Contrivance, and for his Tafte in de- 
 corating private Apartments. There are few Plans 
 that difplay a fuit of Rooms fo conveniently fituated 
 with refpedt to each other, fo regular in the difpoix- 
 tion of the Apertures, and of Forms fo beautifully 
 varied, as this which is here exhibited, and few Draw- 
 ings that can equal in Tafte and Fancy thefe Defigns 
 for interior Embellifliment. 
 
 It has been the general fault of Architects to make 
 no diftin&ion between interior and exterior Decora- 
 tion, and to ufe the fame forms and proportions 
 wherever things of the fame name were required, in 
 blind obedience to Laws which were only intended 
 to bind theTaftelefs and Ignorant, and facilitate, not 
 fetter, the operations of Genius. From Inigo Jones 
 
 to 
 
r 91 ] 
 
 to Sir William Chambers % the fame weighty Pro- 
 portions that gave Grandeur to the outfide were car- 
 ried into Drefling- Rooms and Bed-Chambers. Mr, 
 Adam was taught by Mr. Stewart to fee this Abfur- 
 dity ; but he fell into the contrary extreme, and while 
 he aimed at elegance within ? covered the outfide of 
 
 H % his 
 
 * I am forry to mention fo frequently, with difapprobation, 
 the name of a Gentleman to whom the Art is indebted for 
 one of the bed practical Books, and whofe judgment and good 
 fenfe more than compenfate for his defective Tafte. The va- 
 nity and jealoufy of Meflrs. Adams would juftify a feverer 
 cenfure, but the candour obfervable in the writings of Sir W. 
 Chambers, and that modefty which never even infinuates a 
 confeioufnefs of merit, joined to an opinion which the Author 
 from a fingle circumltance has entertained of his character as 
 a man, makes him blame with the greateft reluctance. Thefe 
 qualities are infinitely more valuable than Genius or Talte, 
 Truth, however, requires it to be obferved, that nothing can 
 be more oppofite than the general practice of Sir William and 
 many of his precepts. With the latter we are generally 
 fatisfied. This is not the only inftance of difference be- 
 tween precepts and their application, which appear to fpeak 
 ftrongly againtt the opinion that Judgment and Tafte are the 
 fame. 
 
[ 9* ] 
 
 his Buildings with frippery* Architefture might 
 have thanked him for endeavouring to deliver her 
 from fervile Reftraints, and the enormous Weight 
 of her ornamental Attire, if he had not made her 
 contemptible by decking her with the flutter of a 
 Courtezan. Under fuch reftraints and in her antique 
 Garb, though formal, (he was ftately and refpe£l- 
 able, like a Lady of Elizabeth's reign, and was able 
 to produce Palaces which brave and hardy Nobles 
 might take pride in ; but moft of the white walls, 
 with which Mr. Adam has fpeckled this City, are 
 no better than Models for the Twelfth-Night Deco- 
 rations of a Paftry-Coak, 
 
 In 
 
 * " That the beautiful Spirit of Antiquity which Meffrs. 
 Adams feized, as they fay, and difFufed through all their nu- 
 merous works," was firft extracted by others, is no more to 
 be difputed than that they have fuftered the beff. of it to eva- 
 porate. I have feen defigns With the name of Robert Adam, 
 which had no excellence but what they received from " the 
 maffive Entablature and the Tabernacle frame," and were cer- 
 tainly made before he became enamoured of the " fanciful 
 figures and winding foliage of the flowing Rainceau." If the 
 Reader recollects what was formerly faid of thefe Artifts, he 
 may perhaps think Mr. Shanhagan has changed his opinions, 
 but it is only the fame object viewed in another light. — The 
 Reader's own judgment will readily diftinguifli the proper. 
 
r 93 1 
 
 In all the works of Mr. Wyatt the flyle of the- In- 
 terior is totally different from the Exterior. On the 
 outfide he is fimple, plain, and bold ; within, light, 
 fanciful, and elegant. In the one he does not neg- 
 lect the eftablifhed proportions which long experience 
 has found to be moft beautiful, yet they are fubordi- 
 Jiate to his Tafle, not the Leaders of it. He 
 feems alfo to diftinguifh between the Proportions of 
 Public and Private Buildings. The Grandeur of the 
 firft ought to be fevere, while, in the other, it fhould 
 appear in good humour, and united with elegance. 
 Agreeable to this d i ft i notion, in private Buildings he 
 generally employs a taller Column and a lighter 
 Entablature than is prefcribed by the Architecto- 
 nic Canons, yet he feldom goes beyond what the 
 Temple of Vefta will authorife : But in the Deco- 
 ration of private Apartments, he gives full Liberty to 
 his elegant Fancy, and amufes the Eye with every 
 variety of Form, Proportion, and Colour that by 
 Harmony and Contraft can give it pleafure ; and here 
 the fame correct Tafte prefides as on the outfide. 
 His Ornaments are never of inelegant fhapes, nor 
 lavifhed with vulgar prodigality, nor too minute to 
 be feen, nor fo predominant as to engrofs our at- 
 tention. We are never pained by lines violently con- 
 trafted, nor perplexed by a harfh oppofition of glaring 
 
 and 
 
[ 94 3 
 
 and difcordant Colours, but a timely repetition of 
 the fame form preferves Variety from Confufion, 
 and one mild prevailing Colour foftens every brigh- 
 ter Tint into its own fweetnefs, 
 
 Mr. Cozens, 
 
 Twelve Outlines of Hands and Feet, fix of 
 which are male, and fix female ; being an 
 attempt to fliew and demonftrafe the very 
 fornis in which real, intrinfie, politive 
 Beauty confifts, and how, by the mere 
 changing of the outline, Paflion is in* 
 fufed. 
 
 This wonderful man, in a former worl^, has de- 
 tected the fecret hiding-place of Beauty in the hu- 
 man vifage, and has delineated the Forms, and the 
 only Forms, which ought to give us pleafure. He 
 has proved, from the dropping of different colours 
 into fair fpring water, that, folely by the variation of 
 Lines, any circumfcribed Area becomes polTefTed of 
 the characters of Mind, 
 
 Beauty, which before refided equally in the thick 
 Lips of the Moor, or in the Englifli or the Grecian 
 
 Nofe, 
 
t 95 3 
 
 Nofe, is now laid under proper reftraint. It is no 
 more differed, as it was wont, to range through every 
 poflible Form that was attended by ufeful or defirable 
 qualities. This Gentleman, through patriotic prin- 
 ciples, has bound the changeable phantom to inva- 
 riable Figures, and conjured the Spirit, thin though 
 it be, into Lines of Mathematical Exadlnefs. 
 
 This he has atchieved by hard ftudy and lupines, 
 for the benefit of the thoufands of his honeft and 
 worthy Countrymen, who defire to know what is 
 Beauty, but are in fear of being milled and of be- 
 ing pleafed at a wrong place, and who would be 
 glad to judge upon more fecure grounds ; but they 
 not having materials wherewith to form a Tafte for 
 themfelves, it requiring fome exertion of thought 
 and ftrength of intelleit, Mr. Cozens has generoufly 
 undertaken to aflift them, and here he prefents to 
 them the fruit of his labours. 
 
 The firfl: Hand and Foot of the fix male ones may 
 be fuppofed belonging to a Mars, or any man of fpi- 
 rit. It is intended to {hew the identical Idea of 
 Beauty which Nature had when fhe firft imagined 
 the Forms of things, and which we have great reafon 
 to believe a£ua!ly exifted during the whole period of 
 
 the 
 
[ 96 ] 
 
 the Golden Age, until Pandora, or the bufinefs of the 
 Apple, made the fine Lines of our Faces, our Hands, 
 and our Feet liable to be altered and deformed by th« 
 differences of climates, hard labour, long walks, 
 gravel, thorns, and accidents. 
 
 The fecond pair fhew themfelves to be inftinfl: 
 with Spirit. The opening Palm and Heel, a little 
 raifed, mark the commencement of Paffion and the 
 feeling of Affront, which the ingenious Gentleman 
 has courfed through the other four, even up to the 
 excefs of Rage, which is vifible from the clenching 
 of the fift, and the clafping of the toes. 
 
 The fecond fet are the Female Hands and Feet, 
 which may be imagined to belong to a Venus, as our 
 paragon of every thing handfome. And here the 
 Artift defies Nature herfelf to have made Beauty con- 
 fift in any other Lines than thofe that are here de- 
 fcribed. 
 
 The firft pair of extremities are Simple Beauty, 
 where the Artift has not endeavoured to fet it off by 
 any delicacy of Lines or Touches, but fuffers his 
 principles to ftand alone, unaided by any adventitious 
 ornament. In the other examples, the fair water of 
 
 Simple 
 
[ 97 3 
 
 Simple Beauty is tinged by Affe&ion and Paffion. 
 At firft you fee Civility barely removing the infipi- 
 dity of the Lines, and then proceeding onwards to 
 Kindnefs, — to Tendernefs,— -to Fondnefs, till, gra- 
 cious Powers ! you fee them friflcing in all the vio- 
 lence of fympathetic Ecftacy. 
 
 It is a matter of wonder that the Statuaries of the 
 age do not improve the hint given them by this Gen- 
 tleman in his former work, in which he has fet forth 
 to them, in his Heads, the examples of perfect Con- 
 tours of Features ; and has now added thereto the 
 outlines of perfedl Extremities, both Male and Fe- 
 male. 
 
 Nothing could more conduce to the improvement 
 of the Arts of Defign, than that fome Sculptor, or 
 Society of Sculptors, (hould fet up a fecond Dory- 
 phorus, that might be referred to by all modern Ar- 
 tifts, as the model of perfect Beauty, and be handed 
 down to pofterity as the rule of their works, and their 
 immediate guide to Excellence. 
 
 I think it incumbent upon me, from my love to 
 the Beautiful and to my Countrymen, to ftop a little 
 here, and difplay fome of the advantages that accru- 
 
 N ed 
 
[ 9« ] 
 
 cd to the Ancients, from the perfeCt model which they 
 had in the little foldier of Policletus, and of the great 
 ufe it would be in our age to have fuch a rule of per- 
 fection to recur to on every occafion, and to form in 
 the minds of our young men true and precife ideas of 
 Beauty. 
 
 The wife Grecians faw how flowly the Arts ad- 
 vanced in their infancy, when compared to the rapi- 
 dity of their progrefs after their feveral branches were 
 brought to perfection by the feparate labours of many 
 Artifts, wifely gathering therefrom, that it is much 
 eafier for the ftudent to gain excellencies by the rea- 
 dy mode of imitation, than by the tedious and often 
 unfuccefsful one of fearching for them in Nature by 
 his own tafte and judgment. 
 
 In every thing we are converfant with, there is a 
 point of perfe£lion ; at which, when they are arrived, 
 they decline gradually until they fink into the coft- 
 trary ftate. As our countryman, Sir Richard Black- 
 more, determined to a fmall matter the identical year 
 in which a man can beft write an Epic Poem, fo Po- 
 licletus confidered the age in which he lived to be 
 the climadteric of the Arts in his Country, and from 
 thence caft about to transfer the Umpirage of Beauty 
 
 from 
 
[ 99 3 
 
 from Tafte to Reafon, that it might be no longer 
 fubjeft to trifling or fuperannuated Fancy. It was to 
 this end he produced his perfect Statue, or, as it was 
 called, the Rule. 
 
 By means of this the Grecians had no longer any 
 life for Tafte or Genius. Every thing beautiful be- 
 came fubje<ft to Arithmetic. The fire of Invention, 
 or the enthufiafm that was wont to catch and realize 
 the formerly unfpeakable graces, were no longer ne- 
 ceflary ; whatever they were accuilomed to fupply, 
 was already marked upon the meafuring rod of every 
 mafon,, 
 
 The pra&icability of fuch a fcheme is not only 
 feen in an undoubted, example in ancient times, but 
 it is fnewn in our day by the learned Prefident of the 
 Academy, in his difcourfes delivered there, that ma- 
 thematical truth is not more clear than the truth of 
 Beauty is to the eye of an Artift. But, alas ! he has 
 acSted according to the Scotch adage. " He has given 
 hotter kail than he can fup himfelf." Even in his 
 difcourfes he deferts this worthy intention, and, not- 
 withftanding all he has faid to the contrary, he has 
 given free fcope to Imagination and Genius : In 
 his works he-has entirely loft his firft principles, it 
 N 2 is 
 
[ ioo ] 
 
 is not Reafon that difcovers the truth of what he re- 
 prefents in his Paintings, with the coldnefs with 
 which it difcerns Geometrical or Arithmetical Truth ; 
 but we are delighted by fenfations of Pleafure, which 
 Reafon, in the bare detection of Truth, never oc- 
 cafions. 
 
 Policletus carried thefe principles into action, and 
 fuch was the advantage that arofe to Greece, and 
 fuch would be the benefit that England would receive 
 from an imitation of his example, that it merits the 
 confideration of Parliament, in order to the making 
 of an a£t that it may be put into execution. 
 
 Then it will be with us, when this is compleated, 
 as it was, in a certain meafure, in Greece ; Men of 
 Fortune, and Country Gentlemen who do not like 
 the fatigue, or have not opportunities of attaining to 
 Virtuofofhip, may purchafe Tafte for half a guinea in 
 any mathematical inftrument- maker's mop. There 
 will be no more the diftincStion of Genius and Stupi- 
 dity, that is fo mortifying to Gentlemen who are 
 able to buy almoft all the Ingenious Heads in Bri- 
 tain, could they but know to what ufe to put what 
 they contained. 
 
 Every 
 
i tor ] 
 
 Every one in Greece who could count to twenty, 
 though only by the afliftance of their fingers and toes ; 
 eyery one who could employ God-like Reafon in dif- 
 covering that a circle is no triangle, or rejoice in the 
 delightful truth that two is equal to the half of four; 
 they, even the duft-men and brewers feryants, the 
 fifh-women and the apple-girls that trundled their 
 barrows along the ftreets of Athens, or roafted pip- 
 pins for the puffers by, and even the turtle- fed Alder- 
 man himfelf was as learned in Vertii as the great. 
 Phidias, 
 
 And fuch I truft will be the cafe with us alfo, O 
 my Countrymen ! Every thing (hall be alike beauti- 
 ful, and every man (hall know it. We fhal! no 
 longer perceive any thing with unfeemly pleafure, 
 but with cool reafon and indifference. No man's 
 work fliall excel another's, nor no man's judgment 
 excel his fellow's; and John of the Academy fhall 
 calculate beauty as learnedly as the Prefident. 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 Page Line 
 
 5 14 for bound without laurel, read bound with 
 laurel. 
 
 20 6 for Zephirus, read Zephyrus. 
 8 for Pfyftie, read Pfyche. 
 10 for Acis an Galatea, read Acis and Ga- 
 latea. 
 
 25 8 for infignia Virilis, infignia Virilia. 
 
 30 12 /ir favoured, read favoured. 
 
 44 24 yir addition riches and variety, read addi- 
 tion of riches and variety. 
 
 78 7 for enough to pleafe, read enough to be 
 pleafed. 
 
THE 
 
 EXHIBITION, 
 Sc. &c.