» 
 
/ 
 
LECTURES 
 
 HISTORY AND PRINCIPLES 
 
 PAINTING. 
 
 BY 
 
 THOMAS PHILLIPS, Esg. R.A. F.R.S. & F.S.A. 
 
 LATE PROFESSOR OF PAINTING IN THE ROYAL ACADEMY. 
 
 If to do were as easy as to know what 'twere good to do, chapels had 
 been churches, and poor men's cottages princes' palaces. 
 
 Shakspeare. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR 
 
 LONGMAN, REES, ORME, BROWN, GREEN, & LONGMAN, 
 
 PATERNOSTER-ROW. 
 
 1833. 
 
Digitized by 
 
 the Internet Archive 
 
 
 
 in 2013 
 
 
 http://archiv§.org/details/lecturesonhistorOOphil 
 
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE 
 
 GEORGE O'BRIEN, 
 EARL OF EGREMONT, 
 
 &c. &c. &c. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 I gladly avail myself of Your Lordship's 
 permission to dedicate the following Dis- 
 courses to you. 
 
 To whom indeed could they be dedicated 
 with more propriety ! 
 
 They were written with an earnest desire 
 to assist in promoting the knowledge of the 
 Art of Painting in our country, and no one 
 a 3 
 
vi 
 
 DEDICATION. 
 
 has more zealously sought to effect that 
 object than Your Lordship : no one has 
 patronised British Art more extensively, 
 or more kindly; or encouraged and re- 
 warded Artists more generously. 
 
 Having enjoyed the favour and expe- 
 rienced the liberality of your Lordship 
 through a period of nearly forty years, I 
 feel both pride and pleasure in thus ac- 
 knowledging the obligation you have con- 
 ferred upon me, and in subscribing myself 
 
 Your Lordship's 
 
 Grateful and devoted Servant, 
 
 THOMAS PHILLIPS, 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Some apology may be thought necessary for my 
 publishing Lectures on Painting; for my offering 
 to the world reflections upon a subject which has 
 been so skilfully treated by those intelligent 
 men who have preceded me in the professorship 
 of painting in the Royal Academy, and by Sir 
 Joshua Reynolds, the first great president of that 
 honourable and useful institution. I submit to 
 the propriety of the thought; and say, that I 
 should certainly not have done so, had I not 
 imagined, that, by having taken a novel course 
 in my endeavours to fulfil the duties of the 
 professorship, I had, in some measure, rendered 
 my Discourses a useful appendage to those al- 
 ready before the students and the public. 
 
 Endeavouring to make a just estimate of the 
 circumstances under which I had accepted the 
 office assigned to me, I felt that, if it were not 
 
 a 4 
 
viii 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 given to me to rival the display of learning or of 
 eloquence made by my immediate predecessors, 
 I might, whilst I united with them in upholding 
 the most elevated views of the art, add to their 
 usefulness by adopting a more simple and more 
 didactic style of composition. To this end I 
 have directed my labours, and I flatter myself 
 that I have added something of value to the in- 
 formation they have afforded ; if not in exalted 
 sentiment or in brilliant criticism, at least in ar- 
 rangement and practical utility. 
 
 Here, then, is my apology: — The hope of 
 being useful, the desire to assist in preserving 
 pure and unadulterated the practice and the ap- 
 plication of painting in our school of art: to 
 preserve it in a rational and needful state of 
 control over that wild luxury of taste, that excess 
 of delight in the ornamental rather than in the 
 true and essential beauties of art, which has 
 so repeatedly been fatal to its real interest; 
 and which certainly threatens to overwhelm it 
 here. 
 
 The regulation of the Royal Academy, which 
 directs its professor of painting " to instruct the 
 students in the principles of composition ; to 
 form their taste in design and colouring ; to 
 point out the beauties and imperfections of 
 celebrated works of art, and the particular ex- 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 cellencies and defects of great masters ; and, 
 finally, to lead them into the most efficacious 
 paths of study;" presents, it must be acknow- 
 ledged, no light task to him who undertakes the 
 office. Nor should I have aspired to it when it 
 became vacant by the decease of Mr. Fuseli, 
 had I not previously given much consideration 
 to the history and the principles of the art ; and 
 been accustomed to set down my thoughts in 
 writing, in order to supply Dr. Rees with 
 articles on painting for his voluminous Cyclo- 
 paedia: which I did from the word Effect (in- 
 clusive), to the end of that great work. 
 
 This had been done principally during the 
 time that Italy was closed to us by being in 
 possession of the French ; and I had relied upon 
 the knowledge to be gathered from copies, 
 prints, and drawings, and the admirable lectures 
 of Sir Joshua Reynolds and Mr. Fuseli, for all 
 that I could say concerning the great fresco 
 paintings of Italy. But when I was elected 
 to fill the honourable and important station of 
 professor of painting in the Royal Academy, I 
 felt that I could not rest contented with such 
 information upon the subject. That I ought not, 
 indeed, to rest satisfied with repeating the 
 thoughts of others, however just I might conceive 
 them to be ; but that it would become me to see 
 
X 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 those important productions and judge of their 
 qualities and their value for myself; as they 
 must of necessity form a main portion of the 
 theme I had to discuss. 
 
 I determined, therefore, to know by personal 
 inspection, what it was that had entitled the au- 
 thors of the most renowned among them to the 
 great honour which attaches to their names ; 
 that I might "make assurance double sure;" 
 and be secure in the opinions I might be in- 
 clined to impart, and the argument I might 
 think proper to adopt or employ ; as far at least 
 as my perception of the right would carry me. 
 Accordingly I went to Italy, accompanied by a 
 most intelligent friend and brother artist. 
 
 Actuated by congenial feelings, and unin- 
 cumbered by even the slightest inclination to 
 support exclusively any peculiar system of art, 
 we entered upon the office of examiners guided 
 only by an earnest desire to discover the source 
 of that beauty in art which had so captivated and 
 enchained the world ; and on what principles its 
 charms were founded. We carefully examined 
 and re-examined works of different ages, from the 
 10th to the 17th century ; and found that there 
 were two important points relative to the art of 
 painting of which we had previously attained but 
 very imperfect ideas. First, we were impressed 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 xi 
 
 with pleasure in beholding the propriety, indeed, 
 I may say the perfection of feeling and under- 
 standing that mingled with the imperfections to 
 be found in the works of the early painters; 
 those of the 13th and 14th centuries, the period 
 of the resuscitation of art in Italy . We saw with 
 surprise, that the peculiar beauties of thought 
 exhibited in those imperfect paintings had been 
 far too lightly dwelt upon by writers on the sub- 
 ject ; or had been touched with so little discri- 
 mination as to convey inadequate ideas of their 
 full value : whilst in some there were exaggerated 
 praises of the skill with which they had been 
 wrought.* We found, also, on continued con- 
 secutive enquiry into the progress of the art to- 
 wards perfection, this same feeling, extending 
 itself through the works of all the better masters. 
 We found it to be that, which all subsequent em- 
 bellishments, added progressively to the practice 
 of the art, were adopted to adorn, and sup- 
 port; and being so adorned and supported, 
 forming in fact the foundation of the beauty 
 most to be admired in the works of RafFaelle 
 
 * I must make an exception from these observations, in favour 
 of the work of Mr. Ottley, entitled " The Italian School of 
 Design": only regretting that he did not carry the just remarks 
 he has made, farther. 
 
xii 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 and Mi Angelo : the finished ground- work of our 
 faith in art, in all that relates to form and to 
 expression, To these two points I would prin- 
 cipally direct the attention of the reader, and 
 of the student ; for though the richer embellish- 
 ments of the art of painting form the more 
 commonly alluring portion of its productions, yet 
 they are comparatively of slight value without a 
 judicious application of them; to which form and 
 expression most essentially contribute. Besides, 
 the mere art and its embellishments are of too 
 attractive a nature to be in danger of neglect ; 
 they need only to present themselves to be 
 admired and imitated ; but the wise, the useful, 
 and correctly expressive application of them, can 
 be maintained in estimation only by persevering 
 care and attention. 
 
 This valuable quality to be found in the pro- 
 ductions of long-past times was one new source 
 of information upon the subject I had in view, 
 which promised to be useful if well applied ; and 
 I have endeavoured to avail myself of it. 
 
 The second point to which I have alluded re- 
 lated to the works of M. Angelo. On these we 
 found that the information we had obtained had 
 afforded us but imperfect conclusions. But I 
 must speak for myself. I found that I had mis- 
 understood or misapplied the great encomiums 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 xiii 
 
 which have been bestowed on his works by men 
 the best able to appreciate his merits, Sir Joshua 
 Reynolds and Mr. Fuseli. The consideration 
 of the grand style in which they are wrought 
 had been so repeatedly and so fully impressed 
 upon my mind, that I was not sufficiently pre- 
 pared to find a still greater power exhibited in 
 them, creating and predominating over it. 
 
 But when works of imagination approach to- 
 wards perfection in their individual classes, it is 
 exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, so to 
 define their peculiar excellencies by words, as to 
 convey an adequate impression of them. 
 
 If, on the one hand, the beauty we admire 
 arises from some high quality either of extreme 
 delicacy or of daring boldness, when the former 
 verges on imbecility, or the latter on bombast ; 
 how is the boundary where they stop to be 
 described, or a just sense of it to be imparted ? 
 Those charms which captivate most surely, 
 which retain possession of our minds most strongly 
 and consequently most durably ; which compel 
 us to admire or venerate ; which elevate us above 
 all common impressions, and show us without 
 excess the full influence of pathos, are too subtle 
 for description. They are not, perhaps, and 
 certainly not always, the most captivating at first 
 sight. It is by degrees they win us to them- 
 
xiv 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 selves, and spread their ever-growing influence 
 over us. 
 
 A due impression of ordinary, or of very good 
 works may be communicated ; but when that 
 degree of perfection is attained which carries the 
 good onwards till it merits the title of the best ; 
 which conveys to the utmost the form, the 
 expression, or the sentiment of a figure, or of a 
 composition, it must be seen to be felt, or to be 
 fully understood. 
 
 Hence, doubtless, it arose, that when I beheld 
 the works of the earlier painters, of Giotto more 
 particularly, and saw so much expression of 
 thought and of passion under the rough garb of 
 imperfect imitation ; and in the works of Raf- 
 faelle and M. Angelo beheld the same mental 
 power combined with the beauties of finished 
 execution, as displayed in their paintings in the 
 Vatican, I found that I could then more fully 
 comprehend the force and the propriety of the 
 remarks of others ; and enjoy a strengthened 
 confidence in my own mind, when it became my 
 turn to speak upon the subject. I consequently 
 felt, that in thus obtaining a qualification for 
 myself, I might proceed satisfactorily in direct- 
 ing the studies of others, concerning the value 
 of the principles observable in those great and 
 leading productions of the pencil ; and that I 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 XV 
 
 could speak with certainty, and might hope to 
 do it with authority and usefulness, in a degree 
 which certainly I could never myself attach to the 
 expressions of others who had not seen them. 
 
 The fine and powerful works of Raffaelle and 
 M. Angelo are not recommended to us by the 
 luxury of colouring, or any very striking arrange- 
 ment of effect. Many persons, it is recorded, 
 have passed through the chambers of the Va- 
 tican, and then enquired for the paintings of 
 Raffaelle, expecting, no doubt, to see a brilliant 
 display of the most engaging qualities of the 
 art; a rivalry perhaps with the brilliancy and 
 illusion of Rubens. Nevertheless, to a prac- 
 tised eye they are not wanting in these qua- 
 lities, but their more efficient and more perfect 
 beauties are reserved for the reflective mind. 
 
 To those of M. Angelo, these remarks most 
 specifically apply ; although they are more calcu- 
 lated to make an impression at first sight than 
 RafFaelle's: a power which they owe to their 
 singular diversity from all others which he who 
 has been wandering through Italy in search of 
 beautiful art has been accustomed to see. 
 
 While I have passed whole mornings in the 
 Chapel (on the coving and ceiling of which 
 they are painted), engaged in the admiration and 
 study of them, and ever finding increasing grati- 
 
xvi 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 fication, hundreds have passed through it after 
 giving the pictures half an hour's attention, de- 
 claring, " they were very extraordinary paint- 
 ings, and seemed very fine, but they did not 
 understand them!" The imperfect impression 
 thus conveyed, cannot be said to arise from any 
 fallacy in the art they exhibit ; for though not 
 carried to the perfection of imitation seen in the 
 works of other schools, yet they are very excel- 
 lent imitations of nature to a certain extent, and 
 are delicate and agreeable in their colouring ; so 
 that the mind is not bewildered as if mere ima- 
 ginary objects were presented for its contempla- 
 tion. But, excepting on the ceiling, the scene 
 consists of scattered parts without a readily 
 apparent union ; and that being felt by the com- 
 mon observer who has no clue to guide him to 
 the comprehension of the whole, he turns aside 
 with dissatisfaction. I have repeatedly and with 
 pleasure, noticed the admiration given to single 
 figures among the prophets and sibyls ; to their 
 colouring, the grandeur of their forms, and the 
 power of their expressions : still the parties 
 would repeat the common cry, " I don't under- 
 stand it." No history was depicted, no incident 
 exhibited to which they could attach what they 
 saw ; and they were bewildered in their consider- 
 ation of it ; the beauty and excellence of the 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 xvii 
 
 art exhibited, forming but a lesser point of at- 
 traction to them. 
 
 I have often considered what could be the 
 cause of this so common declaration concerning 
 so wonderful a production of the ingenuity of 
 man ; and in which I, influenced only by a sense 
 of truth, beheld so much to gratify both the eye 
 and the mind ; and have asked myself, if the art 
 or the beholder were in fault? In answer, I 
 could only find a justification of a remark made 
 by Sir J. Reynolds, " that an understanding 
 and a relish of the excellencies of refined art, 
 are attained only by cultivation of taste, and im- 
 provement of mind in whatever relates to it." 
 Men, in an uncultivated state, are most delighted 
 with gaudy and glittering ornament, with bright 
 colours, and strong or fierce display of passion : 
 whilst those who are improved by civilisation, 
 prefer the combination of simplicity with beauty, 
 refined and delicate unions of colours, a polished 
 ornamental display of sense, and deep and clear 
 but moderated tokens of feeling : such likewise is 
 the effect of the display of different classes of art, 
 the higher class coming within the sphere of the 
 latter kind of influence. Certainly, in nothing 
 can the specific distinction of these two con- 
 ditions of men be displayed more fully, than in 
 the effects produced by the labours of art. 
 
 a 
 
xviii 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 The fault then lies in the want of a just di- 
 rection of mind being given to those who go 
 abroad to learn to admire pictures and statues. 
 Going to see those finished productions of ima- 
 gination and of polished taste, they do it without 
 a previous acquirement of the knowledge requi- 
 site to direct their observation beneficially ; with- 
 out that advancement in taste which can alone 
 fit them for the full enjoyment of the pleasure 
 such things are capable of affording, and they 
 " cannot understand them. 5 ' Consequently, such 
 works are regarded merely as matters of curi- 
 osity, and not as objects deserving of the highest 
 respect and consideration, as the rarest produc- 
 tions of taste and intellect. 
 
 There is an operating cause adverse to the 
 just feeling which I wish to see excited, in that 
 the practice of painting is diffused through many 
 channels, practised in diversified manners, ap- 
 plied to low and common-place purposes, by 
 low and vulgar minds ; and too often employed 
 as mere furniture, or in a worse manner, by 
 many, whom few regard, and none can honour. 
 These circumstances, which must ever operate, 
 too commonly, but too naturally also, deprive 
 the art of that respectful consideration generally, 
 which in itself and in its best purposes, it merits ; 
 and men are thus made apt to regard its pro- 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 xix 
 
 ductions as little more than specimens of inge- 
 nious handicraft; of skill, rather than of intellect 
 and of invention. This thought once settled in 
 the mind, without reflection, all classes of paint- 
 ing are more or less brought within its influence ; 
 and the whole being thus loosely and lowly im- 
 pressed on the uninitiated, no preparation is 
 thought necessary for the observation of its best 
 and most perfect application. 
 
 That this should be the case, so widely ex- 
 tended as it is, even among the most learned in 
 this period of learning, is the more extraordinary 
 when it is remembered, that, the productions of 
 the art which have led to these reflections have 
 so long maintained preeminence by the invention 
 and ingenuity displayed in them ; are indeed 
 alone in their peculiar perfections, and are ac- 
 knowledged to be justly so regarded by compe- 
 tent authorities. 
 
 Hence it must appear, that those perfections 
 could only have been the result of greater and 
 purer intellectual power in the minds of the 
 painters, than was given to others who have at- 
 tempted to follow them. 
 
 Notwithstanding this evident demonstration of 
 their extreme value, as well as rarity, and that 
 consequently there must lie under their surface 
 much worthy of investigation, they are very few 
 
 a 2 
 
XX 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 indeed, who pay them more than common re- 
 gard ; or who conceive that a little previous 
 enquiry into the nature of the principles upon 
 which such works are wrought, and the objects 
 they were intended to illustrate, would be re- 
 warded a thousand fold in the increase of plea- 
 sure they might enjoy on beholding them. 
 
 A desire to stimulate to this good end, or 
 rather to aid the exertions of my predecessors, is 
 another portion of the apology I would offer for 
 entering the lists of authorship as a professor of 
 the art of painting. 
 
 I am afraid that there is but small likelihood 
 of the art being ever again applied to any great 
 beneficial purpose, which may require the full ex- 
 ercise of the great principles and power exhi- 
 bited in those wonderful paintings. 
 
 Though there are some in private life, who, 
 generously actuated, are inclined to patronise 
 ingenious artists, following the feelings, and 
 gratifying the peculiar inclinations of their own 
 minds ; yet, if this continue to be the only system 
 of patronage in the country, we may look in vain 
 for any adequate means of creating a national 
 character in art by the production of great and 
 important historical works. Neither can our es- 
 tablishments of a Royal Academy and a National 
 Gallery of Art produce any further effect, than 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 xxi 
 
 that of affording the youthful aspirant for fame the 
 means of acquiring the qualifications necessary 
 for obtaining the desired end ; but, as the case 
 now stands, destined to be employed on less im- 
 portant objects. 
 
 Let it be recollected to what great end the 
 works to which I have alluded were directed, 
 where they were performed, and under whose 
 direction! They were wrought at the instigation 
 of men governing at the head of a great ruling 
 power, actuated by the necessity of maintaining 
 that power by all that could stimulate the public 
 mind to abstraction from worldly considerations, 
 to devotedness to religious feeling, and to that 
 veneration for the mysteries of religion under the 
 influence of which the directors sought to secure 
 submission to superior knowledge, and supposed 
 superior sanctity. 
 
 It cannot be conceived that so many able 
 men as were engaged in promoting this object, 
 would give their attention, or waste the wealth 
 of the church entrusted to their care, being 
 moved only by the empty vanity of having an 
 ornament added to the splendour of the tem- 
 ples they had erected. It was done in the ex- 
 pectation, founded on the susceptibility of the 
 human heart, or rather in the certain benefit to 
 be drawn from it, that an ample return would be 
 
 a 3 
 
xxii 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 made to them, when the natural influence of 
 the scenes represented, exciting the zeal of de- 
 votees, should also extend the influence of their 
 system of religion ; and with it that of the power 
 they held, and were desirous to preserve. So 
 great and so important was the end for which 
 paintings of religious subjects, or subjects in- 
 volving reflections tending to impress religious 
 feelings were wrought ; and such the men and 
 the motives which led onwards the cultivation, 
 and the useful application of the art through suc- 
 cessive centuries ; and stimulated others, en- 
 dowed with the most brilliant genius, to devote 
 their minds and lives to the study of it. It had 
 the intended effect for a while ; but it is past 
 and is gone, at least with us ; disappearing with 
 the establishment of Protestantism. There can 
 however, be no greater proof of the efficacy of 
 painting when judiciously applied, than the ap- 
 prehension, which has been repeatedly evinced, 
 of danger to the purity of religious worship 
 should pictures be permitted to adorn our 
 churches. 
 
 If, then, painting, when properly directed, 
 could stimulate, as it did, to religious feeling, 
 may it not also aid in the admiration and love of 
 justice, of charity, of morality, or of any other 
 powerful and valuable impulse of the human 
 
PREFACE. XXlii 
 
 mind ; and would it not be wise in our rulers to 
 imitate the example which has been set them by 
 the church, and cultivate among the people the 
 exercise of those amiable and serviceable quali- 
 ties by the use of so important an agent ? 
 
 Were our halls of justice to be adorned with 
 pictures illustrative of subjects which exemplify 
 the power and certainty with which crime is 
 accompanied by sorrow and misery, and sooner 
 or later punished ; or how honesty and rectitude 
 of conduct is blessed and rewarded : Were there, 
 in like manner, exhibited in our rooms devoted to 
 public meetings pictures relative to the subjects 
 usually discussed there, to the value of moral prin- 
 ciples, or to illustrate facts whereby mankind had 
 obtained great benefits or suffered great pri- 
 vations : Were our corporations and great com- 
 munities to suspend in their halls, from time to 
 time, paintings representing those circumstances 
 which gave rise to their establishment, or of 
 events illustrative of their object, or of their 
 charitable and useful proceedings : Were the 
 chambers of our palaces to be adorned with scenes 
 commemorative of great and public important 
 events, beneficial and honourable to the nation, 
 such as occupy a large portion of its history, and 
 furnish records for remote periods : were, I say, 
 these conjoined and important influences once 
 
 a 4 
 
xxiv 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 set in motion for the employment of the his- 
 torical painter, it can scarcely be supposed that 
 no benefit would accrue to each and all con- 
 cerned ; or that much important and beneficial 
 instruction and information could not be con- 
 veyed to the minds of the public by such means. 
 By such a mode of proceeding, national points of 
 interest might be created for the employment of 
 the art, which would most effectually tend to ad- 
 vance its cultivation to a state of worthy and 
 honourable rivalry with the best of other coun- 
 tries ; and without which it must of necessity 
 languish, and remain at a comparatively lower 
 degree of importance. 
 
 But setting aside the possible good to be de- 
 rived from such a national employment of paint- 
 ing, which by many is deemed problematical, 
 and is the less required in these days, when the 
 small craft of the press have overspread the wide 
 ocean of literature and open to us new sources 
 of information weekly, daily, and almost hourly; 
 is there nothing worthy of regard in the ele- 
 vation and purity given to the pleasures of so- 
 ciety by the embellishments of taste, or in the 
 honour and the dignity which has always accom- 
 panied the cultivation of the liberal arts ! 
 
 To preserve mementos of the exalted repu- 
 tation thus gained by others, we are now about 
 
PREFACE. XXV 
 
 to erect a temple to their fame, a rich abode 
 for their productions ; and those productions we 
 have purchased at a vast expense : having pro- 
 fessedly done so with the view of promoting the 
 growth of taste, and the knowledge of the sci- 
 ence of art here ; and deeming them worthy of 
 such tokens of esteem. 
 
 Surely, it will be an incongruity in the judg- 
 ment of those concerned in creating such a 
 dwelling-place for art of other times and coun- 
 tries, should they neglect to furnish to our own 
 artists, the means whereby alone full rivalry with 
 it may be effected. Surely, it will involve an 
 absurdity, if, when the governors and legislators 
 of the country are convinced, that the successful 
 efforts of painters, the product of long cultivation 
 of their art under one great public impulse, are 
 worthy of so rich and costly preservation 5 the 
 conviction should be unaccompanied by a wil- 
 lingness to devote some portion of the wealth of 
 the country at their disposal, to secure the result 
 professedly sought for from it : viz. by the pub- 
 lic employment of painting, on national prin- 
 ciples and for national purposes. 
 
 Besides, the good that might ensue from its 
 adoption would most probably not end with the 
 public employment of artists in labours speci- 
 fically directed to important ends. It is reason- 
 
xxvi 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 able to suppose that such honourable and useful 
 patronage would act as a stimulus to private 
 taste and feeling, and extend the influence of 
 the limited zeal and liberality on which it now 
 alone reposes ; — that it would provide more 
 widely, occupation for painters upon miscel- 
 laneous subjects ; and so assist in enlarging the 
 growth, and improving the polish of the arts. 
 And there can be little doubt, that, if such a 
 combined liberal and fertile field of patronage 
 were once fairly opened for the employment of 
 the highest branch of painting, many men of 
 superior talent would be added to those who 
 have already devoted their minds to the culti- 
 vation of it : men, who now, driven by the ne- 
 cessities of life, or very wisely considering its 
 cares and its enjoyments, confine their atten- 
 tion to portraiture, to landscapes, or to subjects 
 of common life. 
 
 This kind of call for the public encourage- 
 ment of painting has been so often ineffectively 
 pressed upon the notice of the government and of 
 the public, that it seems a useless, because almost 
 a hopeless task to repeat it. Yet it so naturally 
 appertains to the subject of the following Lec- 
 tures, that I should have felt like a deserter from 
 my duty had I omitted the expression of my 
 own opinions and feelings concerning it. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 xxvii 
 
 But when economy is so rigidly demanded, 
 and is indeed of such imperious necessity in 
 whatever relates to the proceedings of govern- 
 ment, it is necessary to look to the means of 
 effecting even a national object. And if what 
 has been said may be thought worthy of regard, 
 it is gratifying to know, that the means whereby 
 it may be wrought lie within a very small com- 
 pass, allowing time to form a portion of those 
 means ; and low indeed must be the state of the 
 public finances if it could be at all felt as a bur- 
 den. If the government would devote two or 
 three thousand pounds annually to the purpose, 
 placed under proper control, all that relates to 
 the palaces, the halls of parliament, and public 
 offices, might progressively be obtained : and if 
 our public corporations and great communities 
 would but set apart from five hundred to one 
 hundred pounds per annum, according to their 
 several sources of wealth, as a fund for the pur- 
 pose, every end required of them would in like 
 manner be answered; and they would obtain their 
 share of the honour and the respect due to those 
 who assist in the cultivation of the fine and liberal 
 arts. 
 
 Though this beneficial aid never has been, and 
 perhaps never may be given to the art of paint- 
 ing in our country, yet we enjoy a fair source 
 
xxviii 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 of national pride and satisfaction, in seeing to 
 how great a degree of excellence it has been 
 carried without it. The adventurous spirit and 
 the zeal of artists themselves have done much 
 to promote it, the strength of private patronage 
 has been and is still administered in its behalf, 
 and commercial speculation lends its active and 
 useful assistance. 
 
 The former, must be dependent for its con- 
 tinuance upon the return it meets with from the 
 public ; it cannot go on far if unsupported, more 
 particularly in historical painting : the risk in 
 pursuing it is too great, and the evil in case of 
 failure, too serious. Few of those who have 
 made the venture, impelled by genius or by 
 circumstances, and not having some other means 
 of support, have succeeded in obtaining the 
 common enjoyments of life, and some have been 
 overwhelmed by misery. — The latter, the com- 
 mercial aid, for I cannot dignify it with the title 
 of patronage, may be safely left to take care of 
 itself, to draw from the employment of art all 
 the interest it can ; and it well knows how to do 
 so extensively. But those generous patrons, who 
 find gratification in encouraging the efforts of 
 artists, giving value to their productions and 
 comfort and honour to themselves, merit their 
 respect and gratitude in return ; and it is in- 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 xxix 
 
 cumbent upon all who practise painting pro- 
 fessionally, to endeavour by every means in 
 their power to increase the pleasure derivable 
 from pictures. 
 
 The knowledge of the principles upon which the 
 finest paintings have been produced, and by which 
 criticism may be most securely and beneficially 
 conducted, is one of the means conducive to that 
 end. And since such knowledge can be obtained 
 only by experience or by instruction, I would 
 fain hope, that the publication of the following 
 Discourses, in which I have endeavoured to 
 render those principles clear and familiar, may 
 be kindly received by all who delight in pictures, 
 and are interested in the culture and success of 
 the art of painting. 
 
 Thomas Phillips. 
 
 i 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 Page 52. line 10. for " Gentile do Fabriano " read " Gentile da 
 Fabriano." 
 
 Page 82. line 18. for « Pinturuchio " read " Pinturicchio." 
 
 Page 215. line 4. from bottom, for " Mr, Pine" read ** Mr. Penny." 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 Introduction. — The History of Painting 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 The History of Painting, [continued) 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 The History of Painting, (continued) 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 The History of Painting, (continued) 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 On Invention in Painting 
 
 Appendix to Lecture V. - 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 On Design * 
 
XXX11 CONTENTS. 
 
 LECTURE VIL 
 
 Page 
 
 On Composition in Painting - - 289 
 
 LECTURE VIIL 
 On Colouring 331 
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 On Chiaro-Oscuro - 375 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 On the Application of the Principles of Painting 419 
 
LECTURE I. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. — THE HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 1827. 
 
 15 
 
3 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 introduction. 
 
 Gentlemen Students, 
 
 The lectures which I shall have the honour 
 of delivering to you upon the art of painting, 
 will be given upon the plan laid down and pur- 
 sued by my predecessors ; exhibiting a brief and 
 critical abstract of its history, with an explana- 
 tion of its principal objects and its qualities ; 
 and then, in succession, treating of the principles 
 upon which the practice of it is most effectively 
 conducted, as exemplified in those great works 
 which have stood the test of time and criticism. 
 
 In one respect only shall I differ from those 
 who have preceded me: I shall endeavour to 
 treat the two principal portions of my subject in 
 a manner more distinct and separate than has 
 hitherto been done ; regarding that mode as the 
 one most efficient for conveying to you clearly, 
 the information which I desire to afford you; 
 and as a wish to be useful to you has alone 
 actuated me, I have, without scruple, taken 
 from others whatever I thought most conducive 
 
 b 2 
 
4 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 to that end ; adding such reflections and observ- 
 ations of my own, as study and experience have 
 elicited in my mind. 
 
 It has been repeatedly and justly observed, 
 that " in the practice of the fine arts we never 
 regard the labour bestowed, nor the materials 
 employed : we consider as of value only the de- 
 gree of excellence produced;" and it is the 
 glory of the art of painting, that, by an in- 
 genious application of the mind, materials of 
 little inherent value are rendered available to 
 delightful and important purposes. 
 
 Its productions have a double influence upon 
 observers ; they please the fancy, and they exer- 
 cise the judgment; the imagination, the source 
 of our greatest and our noblest pleasures, is ex- 
 cited by them, and the more serious faculties of 
 the mind employed ; and when it presents to us 
 pleasing combinations of beautiful forms and 
 colours, illustrative of existing objects, it is ca- 
 pable of affording far greater delight than the 
 ordinary appearances of those things impart. 
 
 From the productions of an art possessing 
 such power, an observer may reasonably expect, 
 not only gratification to his fancy, or to his best 
 affections, but also refinement of his taste, and 
 elevation of his mind ; and those paintings which 
 have not the power to produce such effects, in a 
 greater or lesser degree, but minister only to 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 5 
 
 the lower qualities, or to the baser passions of 
 mankind, or but serve to illustrate the purposes 
 of science, must be estimated and classed accord- 
 ingly. 
 
 This beautiful and delightful art, to which 
 such power is given, is the produce of a com- 
 bined exercise of the physical and the mental 
 powers of man ; and it is therefore, divisible 
 into two portions, — the one manual, the other 
 intellectual. 
 
 The manual or imitative power, or the mere 
 art of presenting upon a plane surface the ap- 
 pearance of natural objects, in form, in colour, 
 and projection, is attainable, to a considerable 
 degree, by any one possessed of a well-organised 
 eye, a steady command of hand, and a tolerably 
 fair portion of intellect, if accompanied by a 
 good stock of industry; but the other, which 
 governs and directs the imitative power of the 
 art, in the representation of a fact, in the display 
 of expression, of sentiment, or of beauty, re- 
 quires a far greater expansion of mind in the 
 artist, a more refined sense of discrimination 
 and of taste, and a vivid exercise of the imagin- 
 ation, under the control of the soundest judg- 
 ment. 
 
 Few, if any, of you, will, I trust, be disap- 
 pointed when I state, that it would be an idle 
 and delusive employment of our time, were I 
 
 b S 
 
6 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 here to dwell much at length upon the practice 
 which exemplifies the mere imitative power of 
 painting ; for it cannot be taught by words. To 
 attain proficiency in it, to wield with dexterity 
 the instruments it employs, we must necessarily 
 be long engaged in the use of them ; and to the 
 culture of this power the schools of this Royal 
 Institution are more properly devoted than the 
 lecture room. I shall, therefore, without en- 
 tirely omitting this, principally direct your at- 
 tention to the other, — the intellectual portion of 
 the art. The knowledge of it, is the only sure 
 guide to the artist who aims at excellence ; and 
 it greatly increases the pleasure derivable from 
 fine pictures. 
 
 From this, arose the real interest excited by 
 the art of painting among the most cultivated ; 
 this, has elevated it to the rank of a liberal art, 
 has made it an object of attention to the most 
 tasteful, has given to the artist a new sense, and 
 to the public a pure, unadulterated source of 
 gratification and delight. 
 
 The pleasure we enjoy in regarding the ex- 
 quisite works of the Flemish and Dutch schools, 
 if we except those of Rubens and Rembrandt, 
 is of a class derived principally from the imita- 
 tive power of the art, though not unaided by 
 that which is intellectual. The perfection of 
 the imitation they exhibit, is cognisable by all. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 7 
 
 Its effect is mainly addressed to the visual 
 organ ; and if I were undertaking to explain the 
 process of painting, I should, in a great degree, 
 resort to them for illustration. But you have so 
 many opportunities of enjoying all the pleasure 
 and information they can yield to you, and the 
 source of the gratification they afford is so evi- 
 dent, that it is the less necessary for me to speak 
 of them, whilst that which the best among the 
 great works of the Italian painters produces in 
 our minds, is derived from qualities more abstract 
 in their nature ; and it requires some initiation 
 into the mysteries of Italian art, ere it can be 
 fully understood and enjoyed. 
 
 That class of imitation which is rendered so 
 effectively in the pictures of the Flemish and 
 Dutch schools is, undoubtedly, the object of the 
 art of painting, when the art alone is considered 
 without reference to its application. But when 
 the knowledge of its imitative power was at- 
 tained, and it was applied, as by the Italians, to 
 aid the solemn purposes of the altar, in the 
 display of subjects fraught with deep pathos, 
 and intended to impress the mind with devotion, 
 or to excite religious enthusiasm, it became 
 manifest to the artists that close imitation of 
 nature, rather impeded than promoted their 
 object. They therefore found it necessary to 
 treat imitation in the art of painting as it had 
 b 4 
 
8 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 been treated in the sister art of poetry by the 
 ablest poets ; and they adopted a system of 
 art, which, selecting a portion of an object as 
 illustrative of the whole, gave full impression of 
 it, omitting only minute detail. 
 
 This is the art of which I propose to treat 
 here : this is that application of the art of paint- 
 ing, which, as far as the art is concerned, can 
 alone ever place us equal in rank with Italy or 
 Greece ; this is the manifestation of that refined 
 and exquisite discernment of its best principles 
 which proves, that its gradual progress to ex- 
 cellence was not dependent, as is too often 
 conceived, upon the uncertain and convulsive 
 struggles of taste, but upon sound and long- 
 continued exertions of human intellect. 
 
 If I may but in the slightest degree assist in 
 establishing in your minds a clear perception of 
 its value, and lead to its more complete culti- 
 vation among us, it would afford me the highest 
 gratification ; and though unfortunately it be 
 true, that there is no national point of interest 
 as yet adopted in our country, which calls for 
 peculiar exertions of the art of painting, and 
 directs the efforts of our artists to one great end ; 
 as there was in Italy, when it was carried on- 
 wards through three centuries, by the wants of 
 the state, and the enthusiasm of the priesthood 
 and the people ; yet such is the advancement 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 of general knowledge, and the love of the fine 
 arts, such the influence of good sense, and the 
 power of wealth, that we may reasonably hope 
 for its advancement in the estimation of our 
 countrymen to the greater elevation of our 
 fame ; the more particularly if we, its professors, 
 adopt, to the best of our abilities, that exalted 
 taste of which I have spoken. 
 
 Were this grand style of painting, for by that 
 title it is now known, confined in its principle to 
 those subjects of religious interest whence it ori- 
 ginated, were its beneficial influence confined to 
 that peculiar class of subjects, whilst the art is 
 employed among us only upon far less im- 
 portant matter, it would be scarcely worth our 
 while to enter upon a consideration of it : but 
 it is not. The same principle of selection and 
 design which it requires, has provided for us the 
 grand and beautiful pictures of poetic subjects 
 by various painters, — by RafFaelle, by Giorgione, 
 by Titian, by Julio Romano, and the Caracci ; 
 has produced the landscapes of Claude, of Pous- 
 sin, and of Wilson ; has entered even into the 
 Dutch and Flemish schools, and given us the 
 works of Rubens, of Terberg, and Metzu ; and 
 there are, in fact, no subjects, but those of the 
 lowest kind, the treatment of which may not be 
 benefited by the employment of it. In por- 
 traiture, Sir Joshua Reynolds exemplified it most 
 
10 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 beautifully ; and of this, his exquisite picture of 
 Mrs. Siddons as the " Tragic Muse, 5 ' is one 
 among many admirable examples. 
 
 Though thus important throughout almost the 
 whole region of the art, yet it was in the display 
 of the form, and by that of the mental faculties 
 of man, that this class of art was discovered and 
 principally employed in the schools of Italy. 
 Indeed, the chief object of the painter's art is 
 man — the only intellectual being with whose 
 form he is acquainted. To him, therefore, it 
 is the quintessence of all form ; beautiful in 
 its corporeal perfection, and powerful in the 
 spiritual essence imparted to it by its great 
 Creator : hence the representation of it most 
 powerfully excites the feelings of our minds, 
 from the sympathies we necessarily entertain 
 with our fellow- creatures. 
 
 To this great object of the art, therefore, as 
 in individual interest, and in association, com- 
 bining all others, I shall principally confine my 
 observations. It has constantly engaged the 
 attention of the greatest painters ; and in dis- 
 cussing the mode in which it has been employed 
 by them, in singleness, in combination, and in 
 expression ; in the exercise of its bodily, and the 
 exertion of its mental faculties, we may the more 
 readily attain the knowledge of those rules of 
 art, which their experience has prepared for us. 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 11 
 
 The first important point which claims the 
 attention of the student, in painting is to obtain 
 command over the materials of the art ; the 
 next, is to become informed of its capability 
 and its governing principles ; and the third, to 
 know whereon he may employ it most worthily. 
 For the attainment of the former, I can here, 
 as I have before said, render you little or no 
 assistance ; you can acquire it only with your 
 pencils and your palettes in your hands ; prac- 
 tice, and practice alone, will conduct you to that 
 end. For the rest, I shall endeavour to supply 
 you with the best aid that I can. But before I 
 proceed to discuss the principles of painting, 
 derived in great measure as above stated, I 
 think it right to call to your recollection the 
 main points of its history. 
 
 " The progress of the arts and sciences," Mr. 
 Opie has observed, " is the exact criterion of 
 the degree of cultivation among nations ; " but 
 there is a remarkable difference in their history. 
 
 The progress of science is in its nature so 
 apparent, and its results are generally so capable 
 of immediate application to useful purposes, 
 that we cannot fail to observe every step by 
 which it advances. It is not so with the arts. 
 Their march is in secret ; and it is only when 
 some great result takes place, proving the cer- 
 
12 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 tainty with which their slow yet still advancing 
 steps have been unobservedly conducted, that 
 their improvement and extension are made 
 known, and that their professors obtain the just 
 renown which their patient and well-directed 
 ingenuity deserves. 
 
 Thus, in the history of painting, we find 
 abrupt mention of circumstances which seem to 
 indicate some degree of progress in the practice 
 of the art in the most distant ages ; we are 
 then merged in darkness and ignorance of its 
 condition for a time, till peculiar occurrences 
 again present it to our attention ; a few scat- 
 tered remnants of its productions are preserved 
 to future times, and again its progress is inter- 
 rupted and lost to our view. 
 
 How it first arose, how man was first induced 
 to attempt to imitate upon a plane surface the 
 actual projection of solid bodies, or in what 
 happy country it was first displayed, are points 
 which remain hidden in the mysteries of time 
 past. We must be content to continue ignorant 
 of both, for we know nothing certain of either. 
 The dawn of the art, is as undefined as is the 
 dawn of the morning ; and its first approaches 
 as undeterminate. We are left, therefore, with 
 conjecture for our guide, to correct the fictions 
 of antiquity, and supply the place of record. 
 We might, indeed, be well content to take the 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 13 
 
 beautiful story related by Pliny, of the Corin- 
 thian maid tracing the shade of her sleeping 
 lover as its origin, did not other historical nar- 
 ratives dissolve the agreeable spell that hangs 
 over it, and carry us back to far more remote 
 periods ; and even in them we find reference 
 to others now entirely removed from the recol- 
 lections of man. 
 
 It is probable that its origin may with more 
 certainty be sought, in an attentive consideration 
 of the nature and propensities of our own minds. 
 
 We are children of imitation ; our earliest 
 sports and our earliest endeavours to acquire 
 knowledge have their original direction in our 
 love of it. Thence comes our aptitude to find 
 resemblances between various objects, and 
 thence also the willingness with which, in our 
 youth, we rush to meet every suggestion of our 
 fancy, when very imperfect images are found 
 sufficiently potent to excite very full and power- 
 ful ideas in our minds. 
 
 The first useful application of painting was 
 probably as an intelligent mode of conveying in- 
 formation ; but such an employment of it was 
 by no means calculcated to advance its progress 
 far towards its present elevated condition ; since, 
 for the purposes of language, its emblematic figures, 
 when once formed and accepted, must of neces- 
 sity have become stationary ; at least improve- 
 
14 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 ment must have been confined within very narrow 
 limits. Accordingly, thus we find it was among 
 a people of whose knowledge and cultivation in 
 science we can have no doubt, — the Egyptians. 
 
 We have little or no knowledge of improved 
 or ornamental painting among them ; nor have 
 we any record of the liberal use of it among the 
 Greeks till after the reported invention of arbi- 
 trary signs as letters, more fully applicable among 
 those who speak the same language to the pur- 
 poses of written communication than figures. 
 When emancipated from peculiar system and 
 peculiar application, no longer bound to ac- 
 cepted types from which it could not vary, cul- 
 tivation of it to more perfect imitation of the 
 almost infinitely varied objects of nature, and to 
 purposes more ornamental, was the natural and 
 almost necessary result. 
 
 With this simple and, I believe, well-founded 
 idea of its primitive growth and application, 
 arising from the native feelings of mankind, it 
 would be but of little use should I relate to you 
 the antiquated tales of its early stages, or en- 
 deavour to trace its progress from nation to 
 nation ; it has been frequently attempted, but 
 never satisfactorily effected. 
 
 " The time is passed," as Sir William Drum- 
 mond has said, " when conjecture, appealing to 
 legendary tales, could give the lie to proba- 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 15 
 
 bility, and when fiction, wearing the veil of 
 antiquity, could escape the detection of cri- 
 ticism." One set of people may, from peculiar 
 causes, have cultivated and carried painting 
 farther than others ; and as mutual communica- 
 tion took place, either through the exchange of 
 commodities or in warfare, they may have 
 mutually assisted each other. Emigration also 
 of bodies of men from one country to another, 
 as of the Greeks into Italy, would of necessity 
 cause a transfer of the practice of the arts; 
 aiding their extension through the world, and 
 increasing the chances of their advancement. 
 But it is most likely, and most conformable to 
 all that we know of the product of the arts, 
 from the ifcmnants of ancient Egyptian, Hindoo, 
 Greek, and Mexican culture of them, that the 
 same natural causes operated on all ; acting 
 among each nation upon the principles within, 
 and the materials around them ; though guided 
 by different feelings, accordant to the degree of 
 civilisation and cultivation they had attained ; 
 and, as those feelings and materials acted upon 
 men trained under different circumstances, they 
 would be employed in different manners, though 
 directed to the supply of the same wants, or the 
 fulfilment of the same purposes. 
 
 To illustrate this point, I would call to your 
 recollection the works of sculpture lately brought 
 
16 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 to this country from ancient Mexico, some of 
 which are now in the British Museum. At first 
 sight they appear to have some relation to those 
 of the Hindoos or the Egyptians ; and many 
 have been induced to think, that in style of 
 art, they have one common origin. 
 
 But it appears to me, that common origin 
 must be sought only in the perceptions and 
 feelings of man wherever he may be found. 
 For though there be an apparent resemblance 
 between the earlier works of art of those dif- 
 ferent nations, it will be found upon examination, 
 to reside more in the nature of the materials 
 employed, and in the rudeness and imperfection 
 with which they are wrought, than in the ob- 
 jects chosen for representation (with the excep- 
 tion of man), or the style or mode of their com- 
 bination ; a diversity, sufficiently powerful to 
 point out the perfectly original feeling of the 
 artists in either country, as distinct from each 
 other. 
 
 After the supposed period of the invention of 
 letters to which I have alluded, the Egyptian 
 priesthood continued to employ painting hiero- 
 glyphically, to support the mysteries of their 
 religious system ; and also, as it now appears, in 
 the records of the government of their country. 
 But it is from that ancient colony of the Greeks 
 which established itself in Etruria, (modern 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 17 
 
 Tuscany,) that we derive the earliest existing 
 examples of painting advanced beyond the sys- 
 tem of hieroglyphics ; yet still, in a polished 
 manner, serving the same purposes. The late 
 Mr. Christie, in his ingenious treatise upon their 
 funereal vases, has conjectured, with great proba- 
 bility, that the paintings with which those vases are 
 adorned, are copies or imitations of the mystical 
 scenes employed in the celebration of the Eleu- 
 sinian mysteries. But though the composition 
 and drawing of many of the figures are elegant, 
 and of a polished character in form, it does not 
 appear that the artists who painted them en- 
 deavoured to promote the cultivation of the art 
 specifically ; but having obtained talent enough 
 to convey their ideas intelligibly to the initiated, 
 were contented with repetitions of the same 
 combinations, wrought in the same manner ; or 
 with very little variation or improvement. 
 
 That improvement of the art which took place 
 in after-time, in Greece itself, bore a different 
 stamp ; was engaged in the display of character, 
 and, at length, of effect ; at a late period, how- 
 ever, when compared with the progress of 
 sculpture. 
 
 It is with difficulty, and with doubt, that we can 
 approach towards a satisfactory opinion upon the 
 degree of perfection to which painting was car- 
 ried in that birth-place of taste, ancient Greece. 
 
 c 
 
18 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 The earliest descriptive notice we have of it is 
 given by Pausanias, when he speaks of the pic- 
 tures painted by Pancenus, the brother of Phidias 
 the sculptor, in the Poicile at Athens ; and of those 
 painted soon after by Polygnotus, both there and 
 in the Lesche, or public hall at Delphi. From 
 these pictures we obtain the first fixed and sa- 
 tisfactory ideas of the real character of early 
 Greek painting ; and they appear to have been 
 little more than tables of figures, above, below, 
 and around each other ; each designated by his 
 name, but in no combination as a whole. 
 
 Once engaged, however, in the study of the 
 art, that extraordinary people, the Greeks, soon 
 applied to it the grand principles upon which 
 their sculpture had been wrought through pre- 
 ceding ages. But sculpture had passed its prime 
 in Greece, and polish had usurped the station of 
 truth, ere the sister art had attained that degree 
 of perfection, which has given rise to the strong 
 encomiums of ancient critics, and the devotion 
 of modern commentators. 
 
 Yet, the encomiums of authors who dwelt 
 solely upon the effect produced on their minds 
 by the paintings they contemplated, and not 
 upon the art by which that effect was produced, 
 are very inefficient authorities concerning the 
 excellence or the extent of the principles of 
 the art, or even the execution of it exhibited 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 19 
 
 in the workmanship ! and of the truth of this, 
 the history of modern painting affords us ample 
 testimony. We have but to refer to many very 
 imperfect productions now existing, of which 
 there are on record superlative praises ; proving 
 how far the talent of the artist foreran the 
 knowledge of the connoisseur. But, as Sir J. 
 Reynolds has observed, " in all ages, the best 
 works will have the best words." 
 
 When painting appears to have been first ex- 
 ercised by the Greeks as a liberal art, sculpture, 
 cultivated as it had been for religious purposes 
 through centuries of time, had attained its acme 
 of perfection. This is made evident by the ex- 
 quisite remnants of that art, brought from the 
 Parthenon at Athens, and now preserved in the 
 British Museum ; some of which are, doubtless, 
 by the hands of Phidias, and the whole were 
 designed and wrought under his direction. It 
 would appear, that the exquisite beauty and ex- 
 cellence of the productions of sculpture, affording 
 so much gratification to the mind, both then, 
 and during subsequent periods, controlled the 
 studies of the Greek painters ; and engaged them 
 in endeavours to rival its perfection in form and 
 pathos. 
 
 Accordingly you will find, in perusing the ad- 
 mirable dissertation given on this subject by our 
 late learned professor, Mr. Fuseli, in his first 
 
 c 2 
 
20 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 lecture, that the substance of the information it 
 conveys, relates entirely to the feeling and intel- 
 ligence with which the human form, the loftiest 
 and most interesting subject upon which paint- 
 ing can be employed, was studied by them, and 
 presented to view ; either serene and undis- 
 turbed, or under the influence of the various 
 passions of the mind. 
 
 It had been gratifying to us, if, in addition 
 to the knowledge of this direction of their 
 study, we were possessed of more efficient means 
 for ascertaining the exact extent of the system 
 of painting pursued by the ancient Greeks ; 
 the arbiters even yet of all which is beautiful 
 and graceful in representations of the human 
 figure ; particularly since it has given rise to 
 such exalted encomiums, and to so many bril- 
 liant illustrations of noble and elevated sen- 
 timents. 
 
 We have quite sufficient foundation for be- 
 lieving, that, in support of the power of ex- 
 pression pointed out by Mr. Fuseli, their painters 
 possessed a comprehensive knowledge of the 
 true quality of the imitation required by fine 
 painting; and that in the composition of a group, 
 or of parts in one plane, in grace, in taste, in cha- 
 racter, and design, they rivalled the sculptors 
 of the best period. Neither can we doubt, that 
 they carried colouring of individual objects, and 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 21 
 
 the management of light and shade, to a great 
 degree of perfection. 
 
 But, whether they ever understood and em- 
 ployed composition, as now extensively prac- 
 tised, in what relates to the union and separation 
 of groups in [different planes, effecting the dis- 
 tances of given objects, according to the rules 
 of linear and aerial perspective ; or whether they 
 at all comprehended and practised the science 
 of chiaro-oscuro, as employed by subsequent 
 schools of art, we have no satisfactory means of 
 deciding. This is the more to be regretted, 
 because, as I have before said, we know by 
 experience, that we are not always justified in 
 attaching the praises given to the effects of 
 pictures, to the mode of their execution also ; 
 but rather to their power of exciting vivid ideas 
 in the minds of susceptible observers ; which is 
 frequently done by very indifferent, nay, by very 
 bad painting. Indeed, we never arrive at any 
 precise knowledge of the technical qualities of 
 a picture, through the medium of description, 
 unless a special mention be made of some pecu- 
 liar points in the arrangement and management 
 of its parts, producing the effect it is said to 
 convey. 
 
 Of the only sources from whence real and 
 full information could have been derived, con- 
 cerning the system of painting employed by the 
 
 c 3 
 
22 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 Greeks, time and circumstances have deprived 
 us. The pictures of their greatest masters no 
 longer exist, and we have to deplore the loss of 
 all their writings on the art, which are said to 
 have been numerous. 
 
 Had these, or either of these, been preserved 
 to us, the doubt which now must ever assail us 
 on the subject would not have been felt. But 
 those imperfect guides in whatever relates to the 
 practice of the art, the criticisms of ancient au- 
 thors not artists, their inferences and remarks, do 
 not appear to have proceeded from any portion 
 of technical knowledge, and, of course, convey 
 very little, or rather no information of that 
 nature. 
 
 The whole of the information they afford us 
 would lead us to conclude, that the best pictures 
 by Grecian painters were similar in principle, 
 though superior in composition and in execution, 
 to those found in the ruins of Rome, Hercula- 
 neum, Pompeii, and Stabia ; and now to be seen 
 at Rome and Portici. 
 
 We have no knowledge of other matter con- 
 cerning their practice of painting, than such as 
 might have been displayed upon the principles 
 on which those pictures are conducted. No 
 record, for instance, of artificial arrangements 
 of background, or extraordinary contrasts of 
 light and shade, relied upon for effect ; or even 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 23 
 
 of any systematic arrangement or management 
 of colour, if we except the simple allusion made 
 by Pliny to the system of glazing, or toning as 
 we now term it, employed by Apelles when 
 finishing his pictures. Had such arrangements 
 and effects existed in any striking degree in 
 their paintings, we can scarcely suppose that 
 they would have escaped the observations and 
 remarks of those able writers to whom I have 
 alluded, as they appear to have been perfectly 
 sensible of the full power of relief exhibited in 
 the pictures they contemplated. 
 
 The best among the ancient paintings which 
 remain to us are extremely interesting in many 
 points ; and in none more than in the manifest- 
 ations they convey of thenobler spirit of imitation, 
 conducted with breadth and simplicity; derived, 
 as I conceive, from the pictures of the greatest 
 and most renowned masters. The figures are 
 beautiful in proportion and arrangement, deli- 
 cate in colour, and free, though not correct, in 
 design ; but the whole is deficient in perspective, 
 and exhibits no intimation of the knowledge of 
 ornamental chiaro-oscuro. 
 
 It may not, therefore, be considered unreason- 
 able, if we conclude, from the circumstances 
 which I have pointed out, that the technical sys- 
 tem of painting employed by the Greeks was not 
 
 c 4 
 
24 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 so extensive as ours ; that they never contem- 
 plated the art upon that scale of effect on which 
 many of its restorers in the 15th, 16th, and 17th 
 centuries of our era, employed and transferred it 
 to us. But I cannot doubt that they carried a 
 more simple system very near to perfection ; and 
 I am by no means sure, that ours, though more 
 difficult and ornamental, is more efficient for the 
 principal purposes of historical painting, where 
 sentiment or instruction is to be conveyed; or 
 even for portraiture, where character is the 
 principal object. 
 
 To doubt the excellence of their skill in paint- 
 ing, would be to set aside the acknowledged and 
 accepted evidence of history. The enthusiasm 
 with which the efforts of the art were received, 
 the honours bestowed upon artists, and they were 
 great and numerous, the decree passed by the 
 Sicyonians, or the Athenians, it is doubtful 
 which, prohibiting the practice of painting to 
 those below a certain rank, are all testimonials of 
 the abilities of their painters, and of the value 
 attached to their productions. 
 
 Their extreme excellence was probably owing 
 to their pursuit of one simple principle of effect ; 
 and to that we may attribute their power of ren- 
 dering expression, their beauty of form, their 
 taste and grace, and that intense degree of inte- 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 25 
 
 rest, the highest privilege of the art, which their 
 works appear to have inspired. # 
 
 We have a great example of that simple prin- 
 ciple, in the composition and effect of most of 
 the pictures in the most sublime and impressive 
 of all modern productions of the art ; the ceiling 
 of the Cappella Sistina, by M. Angelo ; particu- 
 larly in the picture of " The Almighty impart- 
 ing life to Adam." There, is no introduction of 
 extraneous matter ; the attention of the observer 
 is undividedly called to the consideration of that 
 only, which is necessary for the elucidation of 
 the subject; and the mind of the great artist 
 being directed to that one point, undisturbed by 
 the consideration of complex chiaro-oscuro, or 
 the difficulties of producing varied and splendid 
 colouring, was the better enabled to bring to full 
 effect, the potent feelings of his sublime imagin- 
 ation. 
 
 As Greece fell a sacrifice to the boundless am- 
 bition of Rome, she lost her energies and her 
 
 * Those who desire more precise information upon this 
 subject, will find a considerable mass in the library; in the 
 works of Pausanias, of Pliny, of Winkelman, L' Abbe du Bos, 
 Franciscus Junius, Montfaucon, and Turnbull; in the de- 
 scription of paintings found at Herculaneum, &c. ; in the 
 " Lives of Ancient Painters, by Carlo Dati and many in- 
 teresting remarks are spread through the works of ancient 
 authors, which are enumerated by Mr. Fuseli in his intro- 
 duction to his Fourth Lecture. 
 
26 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 arts. The productions of her genius and her taste 
 were carried away by the conquerors, who, having 
 too much occupation in securing their conquests 
 and extending their dominion, never cultivated 
 those arts which add splendour to conquest, with 
 any tolerable degree of success ; at least, if ar- 
 chitecture and sculpture attained a degree of 
 eminence among them, while they were upheld 
 by the maintenance of rank and the necessities of 
 the heathen religion, yet painting languished ; till 
 at length all three sunk under the miserable bar- 
 barism of those who, by their vices, disgraced 
 and weakened the empire, and the rude nations 
 who overthrew it ; aided, I regret to add, by the 
 mistaken prejudices and influence of the leaders 
 of the Christian Church. 
 
 Very few citizens of Rome are known to have 
 practised the art of painting. 
 
 That which the Greeks had held honourable, 
 and by public decree forbade to be exercised by 
 any under the rank of freemen ; for which Polyg- 
 notus was declared free of all the cities of the 
 Athenian state, and wherever he went had all 
 things provided for him at the public expense ; 
 for which Apelles received all but the homage 
 of the proud conqueror Alexander ; the Romans, 
 then unprepared by learning and philosophy to 
 comprehend its advantages, deemed discreditable 
 in their fellow citizens, and had recourse to the 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 27 
 
 Greeks for artists to adorn their houses ; so that 
 the mind of Greece maintained predominance, 
 even in Rome, over all that was elegant and 
 ornamental. 
 
 The plunder of that once glorious country, 
 which the Romans despoiled of pictures and 
 statues to an enormous extent, enriched Rome, 
 but did not stimulate her citizens to emulate 
 their authors ; the first great proof that the 
 cultivation and growth of national character in 
 art, are not the necessary result of collections, 
 however honourable and proper it may be for a 
 state to possess them. They depend infinitely 
 more upon the impulse given to the talents of 
 men by employment ; by their being called into 
 action through a series of years ; when their very 
 errors are conducive to their improvement, op- 
 portunity being given for enlarged experience. 
 
 The result of those violent inroads made upon 
 the fair and cultivated provinces of the empire of 
 Rome, from the fourth to the seventh century, 
 and which, aided by its own internal convulsions, 
 completed its overthrow, was an abandonment 
 of learning and of the arts, except in a few scat- 
 tered instances. 
 
 This, strengthened by the growth of supersti- 
 tion in religion, rendered the minds of men 
 barren of taste ; and, obliging them to live by 
 the sword, deprived them of the means of main- 
 
28 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 taining civilisation ; " a proud but disgraceful 
 triumph of barbarism over all that does honour 
 to humanity." 
 
 It is not in times, or under circumstances like 
 these, that the arts find genial nourishment. 
 Painting, though for a time employed in the de- 
 coration of palaces, baths, and houses, was at 
 length preserved only in the seclusion of the 
 cloister or the tomb, or employed in the adorn- 
 ment of missals. 
 
 We cannot contemplate this lamentable de- 
 gradation of man from such a state of cultiva- 
 tion of mind as that of the Greeks, and at a 
 time when it might have enjoyed the advantages 
 derivable from the pure sources of revelation, and 
 the doctrines of the Christian religion, but with 
 sensations of the deepest humility and regret. 
 Centuries elapsed ere the dawning of that de- 
 gree of civilisation, which alone cherishes the 
 fine, the liberal arts, was restored to Italy. 
 
 In the interim, the power of that portion of 
 the Christian Church over which the Bishops of 
 Rome claimed superintendence, extended and 
 strengthened itself. Its rites and ceremonies 
 were multiplied ; splendour and magnificence 
 gradually superseded the simplicity of the primi- 
 tive worship of its Divine Author ; and to this 
 it was owing, that religion became a second time 
 the foster parent of art. Painting does not ap- 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 29 
 
 pear to have been employed for religious pur- 
 poses, except in the little we know of Egyptian 
 hieroglyphics, and of the Eleusinian mysteries, 
 till long after the introduction of Christianity ; 
 and not at all efficiently in after ages, till its 
 restoration among the Italians in the twelfth 
 and thirteenth centuries. Then, the second com- 
 mandment of the Decalogue, which controls 
 the Christian as well as the Jewish Church, acted 
 in its favour, by repressing the use of sculpture, 
 which became almost entirely confined to archi- 
 tectural purposes, and to monumental records of 
 the deceased ; whilst painting, in its turn, was 
 engaged as the subject and the object of religious 
 feeling.* 
 
 Among the heathen, painting was at first the 
 
 * I shall here interrupt for a short time the thread of my 
 discourse, to state to you, that there is at present existing in 
 the island of Ceylon, a peculiar and valuable application of 
 the art of painting ; the time of its introduction there being 
 unknown. 
 
 To encourage good and repress evil, pictures are painted 
 upon the walls of the temples dedicated to Budhoo, repre- 
 senting various incarnations of that divinity, when he is sup- 
 posed to have mixed with mortals for beneficent purposes. 
 Upon these pictures the priests expatiate to the people, and 
 inculcate, by the examples exhibited, the value of a virtuous 
 and religious life, or exhibit the evils attendant upon a wicked 
 one. 
 
 By the politeness and kindness of Sir Alexander Johnston, 
 some time resident at Ceylon in a high judicial capacity, I am 
 enabled to lay before you copies of two of those pictures. 
 
 In the one Budhoo assumes the character of a good rajah, 
 
30 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 mere incentive of pleasure, employed to afford 
 gratification by representations of sports, or of 
 manly exercises. At length, the Greeks em- 
 ployed it in honour of their heroes, in embody- 
 ing the ideas of their poets or historians, the 
 scenes of their idolatrous mysteries, or the off- 
 springs of their own imaginations. 
 
 Its adoption by the Christian Church was for 
 a more solemn and important service. But it 
 must be confessed that there is no dissenting 
 from the verdict given by Mr. Fuseli, when he 
 said, " that the medium of art proffered by the 
 Christian dispensation, was as much inferior to the 
 resources afforded by Paganism, in a physical 
 sense, as incomparably superior in a spiritual one." 
 
 The scenes which the ministration of the 
 Saviour presented, however deep the interest 
 and exalted the views they direct us to enter- 
 tain, supply not, in their accompaniments, the 
 rich materials for the practice of the art, in con- 
 trast or variety, which are to be found in the 
 mysteries of the heathens, their religious rites, 
 or their martial heroism. 
 
 Still, however, the combined resources of the 
 
 or sovereign, performing various acts of charity and religion. 
 In the other, he is reproving a cruel and tyrannical sovereign, 
 and leading him to repentance. 
 
 There are above 500 incarnations of that divinity, re- 
 corded in the pali, or sacred language of the Budhoo sys- 
 tem of religion. 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 31 
 
 Old and New Testaments, though they call not 
 specifically, or generally, for that refinement of 
 form, the quintessence of Grecian art, present 
 sources of great and varied interest, which afford 
 an engaging, an instructive, and important occu- 
 pation for the pencil. 
 
 The Catholic Church, as her wealth increased, 
 and she sought for the adornment of her altars, 
 her churches, and her convents, added to the 
 scenes and subjects derived from the sacred 
 records, others, illustrative of the acts and suf- 
 ferings of her multitudinous saints and martyrs, 
 of a character totally diverse from the former, 
 and which, in process of time, occupied more 
 than a due share of the practice of painting, and 
 greatly extended its sphere of action. 
 
 The first Essays of Painting, on its revival at 
 the beginning of the thirteenth century, were con- 
 fined to representations of subjects drawn from 
 scripture history, principally of the New Testa- 
 ment, with the legendary history of the Madonna. 
 
 There had been preserved a certain quantum 
 of composition in mosaics, which had been em- 
 ployed from the earliest periods of Imperial 
 Rome through the whole of the dark ages ; and 
 many instances of it remain to be seen in Rome, 
 in Florence, in Venice, and others of the cities 
 of Italy ; not, however, always in equal purity ; 
 as it fell in a great degree with painting, from 
 which it drew its exemplars. Many of these 
 
32 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 exemplars must have been preserved from the 
 better times ; for it is a curious circumstance, 
 that the mosaics of the thirteenth century are 
 better representatives of Greek art, as is also the 
 sculpture, than the paintings of the same, or 
 somewhat later time. 
 
 The dome of the Baptisty of Florence, for 
 instance, wrought in mosaic by Mino da Turrita 
 in 1225, infinitely surpasses in every quality wor- 
 thy of regard, that picture by Cimabue*, produced 
 forty years afterwards, which was so triumphantly 
 carried in procession to its destined place in the 
 church of Santa Maria Novella, where it now is. 
 Lanzi, in his Storia Pittorica, notices this pecu- 
 liar condition of painting, when, speaking of the 
 subsequent productions of Cimabue at Assissi, 
 he says, " Painting, in his hands, began to dare 
 that which, before him, had scarcely been done 
 in mosaics. ,, t 
 
 It was not on a sudden that the revival of the 
 art took place. Several Italians had improved 
 upon the weak and mean labours of the Greek 
 painters, who at this time were brought to adorn 
 the cathedrals of Venice, of Pisa, of Sienna, &c. ; 
 and the names of Margaritone of Arezzo, Junta 
 da Pisa, Guido da Sienna, and some others, at- 
 
 * b. mo. 
 
 f He probably alludes also to the colossal size of the figures 
 painted by Cimabue on the ceiling of the tribune of the 
 church of St. Francis. 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 33 
 
 test this fact. But it was reserved for Cimabue 
 to break the bonds of the wretched prevailing 
 system entirely, and commence that career of 
 art, founded upon the principles of nature, which 
 has since produced for us such powerful and 
 beautiful examples. 
 
 The period when it occurred was that of the 
 revival of learning, of poetry, and of science. 
 Their influence, aided by philosophical enquiry, 
 produced that poetic impulse of the mind 
 which seems to have acted powerfully upon 
 Cimabue and his scholar Giotto ; for probably 
 no painters have ever exceeded them in the 
 force of feeling, as exhibited in their latter 
 works. But the art of painting, the ingenious 
 application of its materials in illustration of the 
 conceptions of the mind, cannot be obtained in 
 perfection at once. The extent of the power of 
 those materials, and the most efficient mode of 
 applying them, can only be known by long-con- 
 tinued experience, or excellent instructions ; the 
 result of a multitude of experiments, amending 
 or correcting one another. 
 
 In the commencement then of the regener- 
 ation of painting, however perfect might be the 
 ideas which inspired the artists, however largely 
 they may have possessed the poetic quality of the 
 mind required for the treatment of history in 
 art, they presented images of their ideas, like 
 
 D 
 
34 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 very indifferent, nay, very bad painters. The 
 encomiastic praises and the honours bestowed 
 upon them, but prove the esteem which was 
 thought due to the art, and not the value of 
 the painters ; and that there is no reliance to be 
 placed on contemporary criticism. To us, living 
 in an age wherein knowledge is widely diffused, 
 it would not appear any very extraordinary effort 
 to depart from such rude hieroglyphics of nature, 
 for the Greek painting brought to Italy at the 
 beginning of the thirteenth century was little 
 better ; and have made pictures somewhat more 
 resembling the human beings and things around us. 
 
 Yet, how difficult is the progress of man, the 
 child of habit ! How unwilling is he to part 
 with early impressions ! Even now, with all 
 our knowledge, and all our experience of past 
 mistakes, how unpopular is the appearance of 
 novelty in art, however well founded ! 
 
 It was fortunate, therefore, that a liberal spirit 
 of reflection among men was found, when 
 Cimabue made his bold adventure, and departed 
 from the taste of his Grecian teachers ; at first 
 timidly enough, but at length boldly, and almost 
 entirely. In his great work from scripture his- 
 tory in the Franciscan Church at Assisi, it is 
 very nearly completely done. There, his style 
 is of an enlarged character, the figures solid, and 
 round, and have the air of being studied and 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 35 
 
 drawn from nature ; proportion is well preserved, 
 and the compositions are the offspring of so 
 much true feeling, that, notwithstanding the 
 gothic imperfections which remain, it justly 
 entitles him to the name of the father of modern 
 painting.* 
 
 What he had thus happily begun, was conti- 
 nued, and greatly improved, by his pupil Giotto t ; 
 whom with a father's care and affection he had 
 educated as an artist, finding him possessed of 
 a strong, and almost instinctive inclination for it. 
 
 The art of Giotto, is a medium by which 
 well regulated feeling endeavours to excite a 
 kindred sensation in the mind of an observer; 
 art, not arrived at facility of execution, yet not 
 dull ; not yet able to abandon the influence of 
 truth and propriety for the sake of effect ; but 
 curbed and controlled, by the natural influence 
 which reason possessed over taste, in the early 
 stages of civilisation ; and not yet perceiving the 
 whole truth, towards the attainment of which its 
 labours were directed. 
 
 I am tempted to dwell for a while upon the 
 works of this very extraordinary man, because 
 their qualities mark the intrinsic, the real value 
 of an especial and an important era in the history 
 
 * Prints of some of them, by Mr. Ottley, may be found in 
 the library, 
 f b. 1276. 
 
 D 2 
 
36 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 of painting. It is not my intention to enter into 
 the minutise of that history from the time of 
 which I am now speaking, to its best days, those 
 of Raffaelle and M. Angelo ; but this is a most 
 imposing period of it, and the name of Giotto is 
 fit. accompaniment to theirs, as the beginning to 
 the end. 
 
 Since I have been gratified with seeing the 
 actual and better produce of this period, I am 
 become inclined to think that it has been too 
 slightly regarded, and too contemptuously 
 treated, with opinions far indeed below its de- 
 sert ; for in it were sown the seeds of all that is 
 best in the application of the art, if not in its 
 technical practice. 
 
 Neither the labours of Cimabue, nor of Giotto, 
 have been fairly developed to us here. Except 
 their earliest productions, their painting is not of 
 that meagre, and dry, and insipid style, which 
 we find in works brought home by our Cogno- 
 scenti, and foisted upon them by dishonest 
 dealers in Italy as theirs. The style of the 
 better compositions of both, and more particu- 
 larly of the historical pictures of Giotto, and the 
 taste exhibited in them, appear to me, though 
 weakly executed, to correspond in principle with 
 good Greek art, notwithstanding their imperfec- 
 tions in minor parts. It is the true, the genuine 
 source of historical painting; that which con- 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 37 
 
 trolled the Florentine school to the days of Raf- 
 faelle ; who but completed it, or brought it to per- 
 fection. And if to portray a history with feeling 
 and with clearness, to convey sentiment, and thus 
 attract and engage the mind, employing imita- 
 tion with breadth and simplicity, be the true 
 object of the art ; then the praise which belongs 
 to him who aims at effecting this end is Giotto's ! 
 And as it appears to me that painting, at the 
 present time, is swerving among us from this 
 true point of interest, tending to ornament, to 
 the loss of truth and sentiment, I think I cannot 
 do better than endeavour to restrain the en- 
 croachment of so insidious a foe ; to prevent, if 
 possible, our advance in so erroneous and fatal 
 a course, by showing how strong is the influence 
 of art, where truth and simplicity prevail : and 
 that, where no ornament is to be found ; nay, 
 even where imperfections are numerous ; where 
 drawing is frequently defective, perspective vio- 
 lated, colouring employed without science, and 
 chiaro-oscuro rarely, if ever thought of. 
 
 The natural question then is, what can excite 
 so much interest in pictures where so much is 
 wanting to render them perfect ? 
 
 I answer, that which leads to the forgetful- 
 ness of the want of these interesting and desir- 
 able qualities in the pictures of Giotto, is the 
 excitation caused by their fulness of feeling! 
 
 d 3 
 
38 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 well-directed, ardent, concentrated feeling!* by 
 which his mind was engaged in comprehending 
 the points most worthy of display in the subject 
 he undertook to represent, and led to the clear- 
 ness and intelligence with which he has selected 
 them : add to this, the simplicity and ability with 
 which he has displayed that feeling. 
 
 It directed him in selecting his figures, and 
 combining his groups ; disposing the figures in 
 actions becoming their characters ; giving them 
 expressions and situations, at once appropriate 
 to those characters, and to the scene in which 
 they were engaged ; thus alluring the spectator 
 till he becomes a participator in it, forgetful of 
 the fiction and its defective accompaniments. 
 Just as, in witnessing an impassioned dramatic 
 display, we willingly abandon the recollection of 
 all around us, and associate ourselves with the 
 fictitious scene, and the characters of the piece ; 
 influenced, as they appear to be, and partaking 
 of the sensations by which they appear to be 
 excited. 
 
 This is the first true step in the natural system 
 of the art, or of the application of it ; and this was 
 Giotto's more especially : the rest is useful, as it 
 assists the influence of this, the indispensable. 
 This, to continue the figure taken from the 
 stage, is as Garrick acting Macbeth, or Lear, in 
 a tie-wig, and a general's uniform of his day ; 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 39 
 
 the passion and the character reaching men's 
 hearts, notwithstanding the absurd costume. 
 
 If the art be found thus strong to attract the 
 mind, to excite feeling and thought, and to en- 
 gage the heart, by the mere force of unadorned 
 truth in the important points, and without the 
 aid of the valuable auxiliaries I have above al- 
 luded to, is it not at once manifest, that in its 
 basis it is correct ? and that the utmost force of 
 historical painting is to be sought by continual 
 emendation of this system ? maintaining the 
 spirit of its simplicity, supplying its wants, 
 calling in the aid of these auxiliaries, within rea- 
 sonable bounds ; not permitting them to usurp 
 the throne of taste and attraction, but rather re- 
 quiring them to assist in humbler guise, to main- 
 tain and strengthen the legitimate authority of 
 feeling ! 
 
 This excellent and fruitful quality of the mind 
 of Giotto is made manifest in his series of pic- 
 tures of the Life of St. Francis, in the great 
 church at Assisi, the first important application 
 of painting to the representation of the legends 
 of the Catholic Saints.* It is presented to us 
 infinitely more perfect on the walls of the chapel 
 of the Annunciata, in the amphitheatre at Padua, 
 
 * There are several prints from these pictures, as well as 
 from those of Cimabue in the same church, by Mr. Ottley, 
 and you may see them in the library. 
 
 I) 1 
 
40 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 a subsequent work; and I recommend to all 
 artists who visit Italy, to make that work an ob- 
 ject of particular attention ; to endeavour to cast 
 aside its gothic imperfections, and seek, what 
 may undoubtedly be found in it, the real source 
 of pathos in our art. It is as the poetry of 
 Chaucer or of Donne, with their uncouth phra- 
 seology, full of sense and sentiment. 
 
 The subjects of this series of pictures, which 
 are in fresco, and happily, in good preservation, 
 are from the histories of the Virgin and of the 
 Saviour. The compositions are simple, and go 
 direct to their point. They are of that kind, 
 which aims at explaining its object, and seeks for 
 little or no unnecessary matter. The simplest 
 principles are relied upon with security and 
 effect. Proportion is well maintained, and like 
 that adopted by Raffaelle. The figures are ad- 
 mirably employed, arranged most efficiently, and 
 frequently with beautiful effect, in lines and in 
 contrasts ; the heads sometimes appear to be 
 portraits, but most commonly are ideal, and have 
 just and powerful expressions. The painting is 
 very broad and simple, generally with little or 
 nothing of the meagerness which is seen in the 
 works of others of the time. 
 
 I have already spoken of their imperfections : 
 they belong to the period. Plain blue skies, of 
 one colour from top to bottom ; golden glories, 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 41 
 
 raised partially from the ground, round the heads 
 of Christ and his Apostles, the Virgin, and other 
 holy characters ; imperfect drawing of the hands 
 and feet ; but they are always well disposed, the 
 hands particularly so, and the actions of the 
 fingers, are the offspring, and the tokens of ex- 
 pression. The naked figure is always ill drawn, 
 wherever it appears, and its colour dull and im- 
 perfect. The light and shade is the product of 
 common daylight, without any attempt at the 
 artificial effect of chiaro-oscuro. 
 
 Of draperies he was a perfect master ; and it 
 is an extremely curious thing to observe, that the 
 intricacies of drawing, which, you all know are 
 presented in drapery, were so completely over- 
 come by him, who erred so egregiously in 
 drawing the naked figure. He seems to have 
 been rather too conscious of his power in this 
 respect, as some of the compositions are over- 
 loaded with it ; but it is always appropriate to 
 the persons or characters, conducted in the fold- 
 ings with good sense, and well exhibiting the 
 limbs of the figures. The arrangements of the 
 masses are large in their style, and of a class 
 which Raffaelle appears to have imitated, and 
 not often surpassed. 
 
 With this representation of a great work, 
 which was unequalled in its day, and remained 
 so for a century, I trust it will not be found 
 
42 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 wrong, that I thus far differ from my predeces- 
 sors, in dwelling so long upon this important 
 seed-time of art, this early period of its cultiva- 
 tion ; from whence, it must be confessed, the 
 subsequent growth of the tree of knowledge, in 
 painting derived its greatest perfection ! 
 
 Not that I would direct you to employ the 
 study of the fruit it then produced, as many stu- 
 dents in Italy are now doing. Captivated with 
 the fulness of thought and feeling, which the 
 works of Giotto, and other painters of nearly 
 the same period, present to their minds, they 
 imitate many of their defects, while they seek to 
 ensure to themselves possession of their beau- 
 ties y which I deem labour lost and ingenuity 
 wasted. But I am sure, that if you would com- 
 prehend aright the perfections of the works of 
 the best times, you would do well to go for a 
 season to the fountain head ; and there seek to 
 imbibe the knowledge of the basis of that which 
 is best in art, as exhibited unadorned to your 
 eyes, in the works of Giotto, Puccio Capanna, 
 and others, up to the time of Masaccio ; each, 
 in their day, adding some new beauty or com- 
 pletion in support of the same system. 
 
 I am conscious that it is not easy for those 
 who have the pleasure and advantage of seeing 
 pictures, possessing a full display of all the 
 finished qualities of the art, to give their atten- 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 43 
 
 tion to less perfect productions. The alluring 
 blandishments of contrast, of colour, and of 
 chiaro-oscuro, we are now taught to require ; 
 and are with difficulty persuaded to regard 
 works where they do not invite us. I have never- 
 theless, convinced as I am of its inherent value, 
 endeavoured to attract your attention to another, 
 a higher and a nobler quality in art ; which I 
 think perfectly consonant with those blandish- 
 ments, could any one be found capable of 
 uniting them with propriety ; and shall endea- 
 vour hereafter to prove the truth of that opinion. 
 Feeling and sentiment are, however, the prime, 
 the essential qualities in all kinds of art, as 
 far as they can be conveyed; and they may 
 be found admirably exemplified in their best 
 application, in the works of many of the older 
 masters.* Let not, therefore, their dryness and 
 formality, their weak drawing and imperfect 
 colouring, deter you from the study of them. 
 They will assist your judgment and direct your 
 feeling ; they may be called the grammar of the 
 art, which it is well for you to study, ere you 
 attempt to display its perfect language ; and, 
 
 * The original works must be seen to be duly estimated. 
 In the transfer which is given of them in prints, or even 
 copies, the delicacies of expression are too often lost, whilst 
 all that is gothic and rude is retained. 
 
44 LECTURE I. 
 
 versed in their simpler beauties, you will be 
 better enabled to relish the higher style and 
 more perfect labours, of the greater masters of 
 the Florentine school. 
 
 * 
 
LECTURE II. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF PAINTING. — Continued. 
 
 1827. 
 
47 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 It is an acknowledged axiom in the education of 
 youth, that the quality rather than the quantity 
 of their acquirements, should be the main object 
 of a teacher's care. In nothing is this truth more 
 completely exemplified than in the progress of 
 an artist during his probationary labours. 
 
 It was in conformity with this sentiment, that, 
 at the concluding part of my first lecture, I 
 directed your attention so much at length to 
 that important principle, which is the first of all 
 good qualities in the application of painting, its 
 solid basis in all its branches ; viz., a just feeling 
 of the characteristic qualities of the subject or 
 object selected for representation, and a con- 
 stant attention to its preservation ; a principle, 
 which never fails to excite interest wherever it 
 is found ; even, as I have shown to you, in very 
 imperfect art; art which, without it, is weak 
 and unattractive. 
 
 That high quality of feeling which I pointed 
 out to you as so strongly impressive in the best 
 works of the early painters, and more particu- 
 
48 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 larly in those of Giotto, continued to actuate his 
 immediate pupils and successors ; and his works 
 became examples to the artists of the Florentine 
 school, throughout the fourteenth century: 
 though some aberrations from his style occurred, 
 through weakness or affectation. 
 
 There were some in different parts of Italy, 
 as at Venice particularly, who endeavoured to 
 improve it by ornamenting it with colour, rather 
 than by removing its defects. But their estima- 
 tion, and the praise they enjoyed were confined 
 to their own provinces, and among those of 
 similar pursuits ; while the style itself was not 
 only admired, and practised, and improved in 
 minor points by the Florentines, but it obtained, 
 as it merited, an interest over all Italy. 
 
 Giotto himself received honours equal to 
 those bestowed upon any subsequent artist. 
 He was sought for, even to contention, by the 
 princes and nobles of Italy. The chief cities 
 all required pictures by him, and he was the 
 first who was engaged to paint in the Vatican.* 
 
 The imperfections which appertained of ne- 
 cessity to his art, were gradually removed ; 
 
 * Unfortunately none of his works there are preserved. 
 Even the mosaic which he is said to have wrought in the 
 portico of St. Peter's, but most probably only designed, is, 
 according to Lanzi, so changed by restorations, that very 
 little of his design remains. 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 49 
 
 though the main-springs of its excellence, his 
 line of general form, and his breadth, continued 
 for a great length of time unequalled. 
 
 Though the more exalted and refined among 
 the people of Italy seem thus early to have im- 
 bibed a taste for the arts, and to have honoured 
 its skilful professors ; yet it was long ere such 
 esteem became a general sentiment. 
 
 Few of those who employed the artists had 
 any idea of elevated taste ; and yet, the employ- 
 ment thus given for particular purposes, gave 
 also a specious claim to that control which has 
 too often operated as an impediment in the 
 growth of art. To something like this, there is 
 reason to hope, was owing the extravagant use of 
 gilding in early works, which must have exceed- 
 ingly embarrassed the progress of the finer qua- 
 lities of the art; though it was managed with 
 extreme dexterity. 
 
 The splendour required by the altar seems 
 to have been the first cause of the use of golden 
 grounds, with compositions relieved from them 
 by their own light and shade; which, having 
 been used by the old Greek painters, were con- 
 tinued by the modern Italians. Gilding was 
 afterwards employed by Giotto, only in glories 
 round the heads of holy characters, or, on the 
 borders of vestments ; but soon after his death it 
 was spread richly on embroidered damasked robes, 
 
 E 
 
50 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 on armour, and even on the hair ; completely 
 confusing the effect of the whole, and enforcing 
 the application of extravagant hues of colour. 
 
 The splendour thus acquired by the altar, was 
 a sacrifice offered at the expense of the art ; and 
 this is the first instance, after its revival, wherein 
 we find men mistaking addition of ornament for 
 increase of sentiment ; or rather adding the orna- 
 ment to the destitution of sentiment, expecting 
 to produce more engaging pictures ; whereas it 
 debased, and in measure destroyed the art. 
 
 And yet so engaging did this absurd ornament 
 become to eyes accustomed to behold it, or so 
 imperious were the demands for it by the church, 
 that it continued in use long through the better 
 times of the art. 
 
 Though Masaccio wisely declined it, with 
 Bartolomeo della Porta, yet Ghirlandaio, Peru- 
 gino, and even Raffaelle, employed it. In his 
 Madonna della Seggiola, the glories are gold, and 
 so are the necklace and ear-rings in the Fornarina. 
 
 He carried it with him into the Vatican. The 
 Dispute of the Sacrament, or as it is now more 
 properly called, the School of Theology, is full of 
 it to excess ; and so are others of his first works 
 there. In the School of Athens there is less of 
 this defect, and it is confined to the borders of 
 draperies ; but in the Heliodorus, the Attila, and 
 other pictures wrought after he had better culti- 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 51 
 
 vated his native taste, and aggrandised his style, 
 he omitted it ; and probably his mind being once 
 relieved of the idea of its necessity, imbibed in 
 the school of Perugino, he would not, had he 
 lived, have returned to it. 
 
 Michel Angelo even, does not appear entirely 
 free from this evil in his great work in the Sistine 
 Chapel ; but, to the annoyance of Pope Julius 
 who was offended by the slight use of it, there is 
 but little, and that not upon the figures. 
 
 To return to the history, a singular and import- 
 ant feature of which is the immediate application 
 of pictures to, or upon, the altars of the Christian 
 Church. 
 
 This first occurred in the painting of small 
 pictures of holy subjects upon the front of the 
 predelle, or platforms raised upon the table, and 
 on which is placed the holy chalice. Afterwards, 
 but not till the beginning of the fifteenth century, 
 long pictures, of divers subjects, divided by 
 pilasters, and sometimes surrounded by saints 
 and angels, were introduced, elevated upon the 
 back of the predelle, or on the table. By de- 
 grees, the pilasters or divisions were taken away ; 
 the proportions of the figures, and the size of the 
 pictures, increased ; and the saints, instead of sur- 
 rounding the picture like so many statues, were 
 brought within it, accompanying the Virgin and 
 the Saviour in varied positions and actions. 
 e % 
 
5% 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 Thus were formed those anomalous compositions 
 of holy personages which now so overload the 
 altars of the churches of Italy, and the collec- 
 tions of the cognoscenti. 
 
 At the end of the fourteenth, and to the middle 
 of the fifteenth century, arose a great number of 
 ingenious artists, whose works are well worthy of 
 attention. Angelico da Fiesole, Benozzo Goz- 
 zoli, Paolo Uccello, Pesellino, Filippo Lippi, 
 Gentile do Fabriano, and many others, all and 
 each adding more or less of finish and of refine- 
 ment, still retaining the main object, expression. 
 But the real successor of Giotto, as a great 
 improver of the art, was Tomaso di San Gio- 
 vanni, better known under the name of Ma- 
 saccio*, whose labours give date to the second 
 epoch of its restoration. 
 
 The great work upon which his fame princi- 
 pally depends, is in the church of the Carmelites 
 at Florence. It consists of several pictures, the 
 subjects of which are, the crime of Adam and Eve, 
 and their expulsion from Paradise ; with some 
 scenes of the life of St. Peter. 
 
 This work had been begun by his able master, 
 Masolino da Panicale, with great good sense 
 and ability in every respect ; but Masaccio, con- 
 tinuing it, wrought with greater simplicity than 
 he, with more grandeur of line and more fulness 
 of effect : a combination most appropriate to the 
 
 * b. 1401. 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 53 
 
 serious and impressive nature of the subjects 
 which he adopted. 
 
 This improvement, the result of a gradual 
 progression in the scientific portion of the art 
 through a period of 160 years, Masaccio hap- 
 pily combined with the pure principles of 
 Giotto, in what relates to feeling and taste in 
 composition. He recalled the attention of art- 
 ists to unity of interest in treating a subject, 
 and to the simplicity of that great painter's style ; 
 which had been in a considerable degree for- 
 gotten, in the search after minutise. He directed 
 it to the consideration of that which was alone 
 requisite and proper. His composition leads 
 and confines the eye to the principal point of 
 the subject, undisturbed by extraneous matter. 
 There is great breadth in his imitation, justness 
 in his proportions, and propriety, but not energy, 
 in his choice of action, with a very good but 
 simple system of colouring and execution. 
 
 From the predominance of those good qua- 
 lities in his works, they became the favourite 
 source of study to most of the great artists who 
 succeeded him ; Michel Angelo among them, and 
 his foe, Torregiano ; and it was while studying 
 them, that the keen wit of the former excited 
 the anger of Torregiano, and Michel Angelo's 
 nose was, in consequence, deprived of a portion 
 of its natural elevation. 
 
54< 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 Gifted with the power I have described, Ma- 
 saccio may be considered as the true precursor 
 of Raffaelle, in the application of our art to 
 produce dramatic effect ; and Raffaelle has him- 
 self testified his admiration of him, by adopting 
 several of his figures, and applying them in his 
 own pictures.* 
 
 There are but few of his paintings remaining ; 
 the best are in the churches of St. Clement 
 at Rome, and of the Carmelites at Florence. 
 The subjects of the former, are a series of the 
 history of St. Catherine, large figures of the 
 Evangelists on the ceiling, a Crucifixion, and 
 some others. Of those at Florence I have al- 
 ready spoken. 
 
 In the former, we find much power over ex- 
 pression ; but in the latter, it is limited to the 
 action and look of his figures ; and he has not 
 ventured to give much variation or action to 
 their features. Even the orator who accuses St. 
 Peter before the Roman Emperor, does it with 
 his mouth closed ; and none of his figures exhibit 
 that vigour of expression which we see, in some 
 of the works of Giotto, and still more in those 
 that surround the dying Ananias in the cartoon 
 by Raffaelle. 
 
 * His Adam and Eve at the Tree of Knowledge, and the 
 figure of St. Paul exhorting St. Peter. 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 55 
 
 There is but little imagination manifested in 
 the attire of his figures. Many are portraits, 
 and are dressed as such, and almost all the dra- 
 peries are transcripts of the dresses worn by the 
 Florentines of his time ; consequently, they 
 sometimes offend our judgment, though they 
 frequently are not unapt for the period of the 
 subject. The naked figures which he introduced, 
 are rather weakly rendered, than misunderstood. 
 
 Still, then, though far advanced, the practice 
 of the art had by no means reached the goal to 
 which it aspired. It was as yet inadequate even 
 to the full and free conveyance of those thoughts 
 to which its then limited powers, bound, as it 
 were, the minds of its professors ; viz., the re- 
 presentations of facts. Drawing had gradually 
 improved, and the general forms of the figure, 
 and of draperies, were maintained with simpli- 
 city and with faithfulness, but with tameness ; 
 and little indulgence of fancy entered into the 
 imitation of natural objects. Some imperfect 
 views of the capabilities of the art were still 
 acted upon. 
 
 Among other errors, attempts were not un- 
 frequently made, to rival the power of poetry, 
 and give a detailed history, in one picture, of 
 various events appertaining to the life of an in- 
 dividual ; presenting him at one and the same 
 time, from youth to manhood ; engaged in 
 
 e 4 
 
56 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 various pursuits, or enduring varied sufferings. 
 Masaccio even is guilty of this anomaly : as is 
 also his master, Panicale, in those pictures he 
 had previously painted of the same series. 
 
 This circumstance evidently arose from the 
 removal of the ornamented bands which pre- 
 viously were employed to separate pictures 
 painted upon the same wall ; such as surround 
 those I have mentioned to you by Giotto, at 
 Padua, and at Assisi. Figures the size of life 
 were not yet employed, but such as were about 
 four feet, or four feet and a half high ; and, con- 
 sequently, when a large expanse of wall was to 
 be covered, one subject was not productive of 
 matter sufficient for the purpose, and the artist 
 ventured to give others, relating to the same 
 persons, without a line of separation. Such a 
 practice, however, is an evident abandonment of 
 the proper sphere of the art of painting ; and an 
 unwise manifestation of its weakest point, in 
 comparison with the powers of its rival. But 
 it ceased, or nearly so, after this period ; and 
 painters became content to display their skill 
 under the right influence of the native power of 
 the art they professed. 
 
 Ghirlandaio*, who succeeded Masaccio, con- 
 tinuing the same kind of art, added nothing 
 but more technical power ; more finish, but less 
 breadth. 
 
 * b. 1449. 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 57 
 
 He had more fancy, perhaps, but a less elevated 
 imagination, with less comprehensive feeling of 
 that which is specifically required by fine art. 
 That his fame was great among his contempo- 
 raries, as his practice was extensive, is made 
 evident, not only by the employment he re- 
 ceived, but by his having been selected to be 
 the master of Michel Angelo. 
 
 With him and Perugino*, the teacher of 
 Raffaelle, and some others of nearly equal 
 powers, closed the second epoch of the art in 
 the Florentine school. The third commenced 
 with the bright names of Signorelli, Da Vinci, 
 Bartolomeo della Porta, Michel Angelo, and 
 Raffaelle. 
 
 If any proof were wanting of the extreme 
 difficulties attending the advancement of the art 
 of painting, which, now that it has been exhi- 
 bited to us in its more perfect state, appears 
 comparatively of easy attainment ; let it be con- 
 sidered, that nearly 200 years elapsed from the 
 period of its restoration, ere its more polished 
 principles and practice were brought in aid of 
 the natural, and almost instinctive feeling of ex- 
 pression with which it began : and that, not- 
 withstanding so many men of ingenious minds 
 were continually engaged in the practice of it, 
 
 * b. 1446. 
 
58 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 in an age of learning, when they were aided by 
 poetical and philosophical investigation. 
 
 This consideration, surely, stamps a value upon 
 the art, of no light impress ! 
 
 How great has been the pleasure derived by 
 mankind from the result of that intense applica- 
 tion, and long-continued labour, with which the 
 language of the art was perfected. The feeling, 
 which called for it, that fervour of the mind 
 the genuine impress of nature, apt at all times, 
 and by the poet poured forth in unpremeditated 
 verse, who " lisps in numbers, for the numbers 
 come," was ready for display in painting, when- 
 ever the means were prepared for conveying it. 
 
 But the means required for that purpose, — the 
 application of ordinary materials to the produc- 
 tion of light, and life, and expression, — was not, 
 like language, the immediate gift of nature, 
 but the product of man's own ingenuity ; and 
 was acquired, as we have seen, only by long and 
 active perseverance. 
 
 If, disguised by imperfections, incident to the 
 different stages of its progress, it was admired 
 and enjoyed, by those to whom it was addressed ; 
 no wonder that, when it became adorned by 
 increased power in its developement, and by 
 polished selection in its means, and the applica- 
 tion of them, it was received with rapture, 
 and its professors exalted to honour. 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 59 
 
 We now arrive at the period when it attained 
 that dignified and important degree of estimation. 
 
 Till this time no government had adopted the 
 art of painting as an object worthy of particular 
 encouragement. The church, in its individual 
 establishments, had, indeed, become its protector, 
 and continued to be its encourager ; and found, 
 in return, a powerful aid in its productions, to 
 the furtherance of its own views. 
 
 But the Papal power, the head of that church, 
 had not, except in a few instances, employed 
 painting ; preferring mosaics for ornament in the 
 churches of Rome devoted to its own particular 
 service. In proof of this, we find that there 
 was not any school of art established at Rome, 
 previous to the time of Raffaelle. The painters 
 employed in the Lateran Palace by Pope Inno- 
 cent VIII. were chiefly Florentine : after him, 
 Sixtus IV. called upon the same school to adorn 
 his new chapel in the Vatican ; and, indeed, 
 almost all those who in after-times supplied that 
 great seat of church government with her prin- 
 cipal and her best works were Florentines or 
 Bolognese. 
 
 About the middle of the fifteenth century, 
 the family, De' Medici, exercising sovereignty in 
 Florence, adopted the arts as objects worthy of 
 their especial protection and encouragement, in 
 common with science and literature. By this 
 
60 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 they increased the splendour of their existing ele- 
 vation to grandeur and to power, and promoted 
 more securely their future fame ; and to them, 
 and to their example and influence, painting is 
 indebted for the most brilliant efforts of the 
 Florentine school. And well are they rewarded 
 for their liberal and generous conduct ! What 
 were now the record of their fame, had they not 
 been actuated by that elevated feeling, that 
 desire to promote the advancement of literature 
 and the arts ? 
 
 Hitherto, the object of the art of painting, in 
 the school which they encouraged, had been 
 single, or nearly so, as I have shown to you ; and 
 its career had been conducted with steps careful 
 but slow ; but now, having obtained a firm foot- 
 ing, it suddenly sprang forward with a degree 
 of elasticity beyond all expectation. Its pro- 
 fessors, excited by more elevated ideas, left the 
 beaten track of mere imitation ; and, maintaining 
 its general principle, as a basis for their exer- 
 tions, launched forth in pursuit of those qua- 
 lities which add lustre to truth, and grace to 
 beauty. We have henceforth, at least for a sea- 
 son, to contemplate its productions, adorned 
 with refinement, and executed with more perfect 
 freedom and fancy. 
 
 The anatomy of the human figure was made 
 an object of more particular study, and great aid 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 61 
 
 was gained in its application, by the discovery 
 of many remnants of ancient sculpture and 
 painting. Mere imitation of the model, being 
 abandoned for that select combination of beau- 
 ties to be found only in the general mass of 
 mankind; that ideal excellence of form and cha- 
 racter, which was the idol of the ancient Greeks, 
 became the great object of attention. 
 
 The artists were not content with dramatic 
 illustration of facts, as heretofore ; but, giving 
 the reins to their imaginations, indulged their 
 fancies in the regions of the spiritual world. 
 
 Luca Signorelli da Cortona* claims priority 
 in this grand exaltation of the art. His great 
 works in the Duomo, at Orvieto, the Resurrec- 
 tion, with the Punishment of the Wicked, and 
 the Reward of the Just, in separate compartments, 
 and a number of minor compositions in the same 
 church, present to us the product of a vivid 
 imagination, purified of the gross and puerile 
 imagery introduced in representations of the 
 same subjects by his predecessors. Bold and 
 daring foreshortenings, accompanied by great 
 vigour of line, are here rendered with the 
 greatest truth ; exhibiting perfect knowledge 
 of the anatomy of the human figure, employed 
 by a varied and fertile invention in striking 
 
 b. 1439. 
 
62 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 contrasts and combinations ; and with an almost 
 complete abandonment of the style of arrange- 
 ment and effect which had till then been the 
 guide of the school. The skill he there exhi- 
 bited, fully justifies a belief in the declaration 
 of Vasari, and of others, that Michel Angelo 
 attentively studied his works. 
 
 Coeval with Signorelli was Lionardo da Vinci* ; 
 than whom no one more generally accomplished 
 ever embraced the profession of an artist. Ex- 
 treme sensibility to refinement in all that he un- 
 dertook, appears to have been the prominent 
 feature in his character ; and this ardent desire 
 for excellence, the cause of his bringing so few 
 works of art to perfection. 
 
 Still perceiving somewhat beyond that which 
 he had effected, he laboured to attain it ; and 
 was never satisfied, till the exalted aspirations of 
 his mind were fully presented to view. 
 
 Original in thought, fertile in expedient, active 
 in mind and body, there appears to have been no 
 bound set to his pursuits. Each of the arts 
 which adorn human life, and the sciences which 
 give power to man, engaged his attention ; and 
 it is the necessary consequence of his refinement 
 of thought and his superabundance of pursuits, 
 that but little of his painting remains to testify 
 
 b. 1445. 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 63 
 
 his ability, considering that he enjoyed fifty years 
 of manhood. But, it must be confessed, that 
 little is powerful ; it amply informs us of his 
 pre-eminent acquirements as a painter, and 
 justifies his elevation among those of the highest 
 rank. 
 
 Soon after Signorelli, by venturing so ably 
 and freely into the world of imagination, had 
 provided extended means for the occupation of 
 the art ; Lionardo added a novel and important 
 feature to its technical power ; abstract in itself, 
 but duly founded on some of the peculiar effects 
 of nature. 
 
 The quality to which I allude, is chiaro-os- 
 curo, in its most serious character : that which 
 is selected, or composed, to exhibit an indi- 
 vidual object to advantage ; totally different 
 from those styles, of which I shall speak here- 
 after, the Venetian and the Flemish. 
 
 The style of artificial management of light 
 and dark introduced by Da Vinci, distinct from 
 the mere natural light and shade of objects 
 (and little more had been attended to previously), 
 consists principally in a selection of a concen- 
 trated light, and, consequently, a larger quantity 
 of shade upon his figures (such as is produced 
 by lamp-light) ; and the union of those shades 
 with the grounds of relief. It was by him prac- 
 tised upon rather a confined scale, which gives 
 
64 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 monotony to the character of his minor works ; 
 it was afterwards extended in its application by 
 Fra. Bartolomeo, and Mariotti Albertinelli ; but 
 found that breadth which gives it its ultimate 
 perfection, in the hands of Correggio. 
 
 In support of this original and valuable quality, 
 his pictures bear the impress of the most skilful 
 and earnest investigation into the works of 
 nature, and the preceding productions of art ; 
 pursued with almost inconceivable industry and 
 ingenuity. 
 
 That he obtained power over the most com- 
 plicated composition, is sufficiently testified by 
 his well known group of horsemen contending 
 for a standard ; a portion of a large work, in- 
 tended to have been painted on the wall of the 
 great council chamber at Florence, in competi- 
 tion with Michel Angelo. In this composition, 
 his line is an enlargement upon that of Masaccio, 
 and even upon his own ; for it cannot be said 
 that grandeur of line is a prevailing feature in his 
 works generally : even in his Last Supper, his 
 most important work, painted in the refectory 
 of the Dominican Convent at Milan, his line, 
 though varied, is not large ; but, to compensate, 
 there is in it, that great quality to which I have 
 so repeatedly directed your attention : it springs 
 from truth, it always conveys feeling, as it is 
 wrought with understanding. 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 65 
 
 But fulness of expression, even to minuteness, 
 united with suavity, was the quality he princi- 
 pally and perseveringly sought to develope ; and 
 he accomplished it. It grieves me to say that 
 this most extraordinary work of art, to which I 
 have just alluded, is now but a ruin ; and our 
 copy, which is before you * and gives you a very 
 good idea of its general effect (which Morghen's 
 print does not), is become a valuable possession. 
 
 Since there have been given to the public many 
 contradictory reports concerning the condition 
 of this important picture, it may not perhaps 
 be unpleasing to you, should I occupy a little of 
 your time in reading a few remarks, extracted 
 from notes I made before it, when at Milan in 
 1825. " Mr. Hilton and myself examined its 
 condition with careful and minute attention, and 
 could with difficulty find a portion of its ori- 
 ginal surface. The little we did find, exhibited 
 to us an exceedingly well prepared ground, 
 smooth to the highest degree, and the painting 
 upon it free, firm, and pure. 
 
 " Till this time all paintings on walls had been 
 wrought in fresco ; but oil painting, which had 
 become known and practised in smaller works, 
 better suited Da Vinci's mode of proceeding, 
 as it admits of retouching or repeating; and 
 
 * A copy by Marco d'Uggiono, a pupil of Da Vinci, now 
 in the Royal Academy. 
 
 F 
 
66 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 unfortunately he adopted it here. He was 
 not, however, the first who had employed it 
 in that way: Domenico Veneziano, and one or 
 two others had made tempting examples for him ; 
 and thus led to a result so unfavourable to his 
 reputation. 
 
 " It would appear that the vehicle which he 
 employed, whatever it were, had no union with 
 the ground, and therefore the surface cracked ; 
 and whenever damp found its way through those 
 cracks, and between the painting and the ground, 
 small parts of the former were thrown off, till at 
 length large blotches were formed, exhibiting 
 the white preparation beneath. These have at 
 various times been filled up ; and it had been 
 well, if with that filling-up had rested the efforts 
 of the restorers. But their attempts to match 
 the remaining colours failing, as I suppose, they 
 have taken the shorter method of cure, by re- 
 painting the whole surface of the part they were 
 required to mend ; so that at the present time, 
 little, or nothing, it may be said, remains of 
 Lion ar do, save the composition and the forms 
 generally. 
 
 " Of the heads, there is not one untouched, and 
 many are -totally ruined. Fortunately, that of 
 the Saviour is the most pure, being but faintly 
 retouched ; and it presents even yet, a most 
 perfect image of that Divine character. Whence 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 67 
 
 arose the story of its not having been finished 
 it is difficult now to conceive, and the history 
 itself varies among the writers who have men- 
 tioned it. But perhaps a man so scrupulous as 
 he, in the definement of character and expres- 
 sion, and so ardent in his pursuit of them, might 
 have expressed himself unsatisfied, where all 
 others could see only perfection." 
 
 Our skilful Professor of Anatomy informed 
 us that to this extraordinary man we owe the 
 first scientific tables of anatomy ; to him also, 
 are we indebted for the first intelligent essay we 
 have, on the principles and practice of the art of 
 painting : a powerful testimony, in addition to 
 other writings, in the King's collection, the 
 Museum of France, and the Ambrosian Library 
 at Milan, of his ability as of his industry. 
 
 The increased knowledge obtained by the ex- 
 ertions of those who have subsequently given 
 their attention to the subjects upon which he 
 wrote, now cause many of his observations to 
 appear trite and common-place ; but that ought 
 not to diminish our respect for him, who, in an 
 age of comparative weakness in science, could 
 discriminate, and display so ingeniously, that 
 which was so just and useful in art. 
 
 Distinct from Lionardo, in most qualities ap- 
 pertaining to the painter, was Fra. Bartolomeo 
 f 2 
 
68 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 di San Marco, or Delia Porta*, another of those 
 great luminaries of the art whose works shed 
 lustre on the age in which they lived ; and who 
 almost simultaneously arose, and carried it on- 
 wards to perfection. I think it not improbable, 
 that he was the first of those who, at this period, 
 painted pictures with large figures for the altar ; 
 a practice, which had ceased after the first works 
 of Cimabue and Giotto, and a few others of in- 
 ferior quality. 
 
 Bartolomeo, with his friend and able rival Ma- 
 riotti Albertinelli, enamoured of the taste of 
 Lionardo da Vinci in colour and chiaro-oscuro, 
 adopted it, and employed it ably. And if 
 Bartolomeo did not precede Da Vinci in se- 
 lecting a colossal scale for his figures, at least 
 he surpassed him in the grandeur of line with 
 which they were composed ; though he never ap- 
 pears to have been inspired with a glimpse of that 
 perfection of character and expression, the per- 
 petual and important object of Leonardo's study. 
 
 He regulated precisely the geometric form of 
 composition, long before employed, in those 
 groups of religious personages which were so 
 much in request by the church ; and which, 
 supported by his adoption, and his able manage- 
 ment of chiaro-oscuro and of colour, suits so 
 admirably its purpose, of producing an imposing 
 
 * b. 1469. 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 69 
 
 and solemn effect at the altar. Dignity and 
 elevation of sentiment, were thus added to mat- 
 ter in itself uncongenial, and even repulsive ; 
 and the novel grandeur of style in which it was 
 done, proved its author worthy of being the 
 friend and guide of Raffaelle. 
 
 His introduction of deep and varied colour, 
 and management of it in unison with the grand 
 and solemn style of Florentine design, forms 
 another distinguishing and important feature in 
 his practice. In his best works, we find the 
 tones he employed extremely true to nature ; 
 and so consonant to the expression of his sub- 
 ject, that, united as they are to good form, I 
 cannot but regard them as affording one of the 
 best and most powerful arguments in favour of 
 the system proposed by the Caracci, for an 
 union of the finer qualities of the art. 
 
 But of that hereafter. His works are nu- 
 merous ; never weak, and oftentimes grand and 
 imposing. 
 
 How he laboured to acquire the knowledge 
 of the figure, and the foldings of draperies ; and 
 with what earnestness he cultivated his taste, by 
 which alone he acquired so much skill in se- 
 lection, is made evident by the numerous and 
 elaborate studies from nature now remaining 
 of his hand ; a great number of which are 
 
 f 3 
 
70 LECTURE II. 
 
 in the possession of our justly renowned pre- 
 sident.* 
 
 To this advanced state of the art, and in con- 
 tinuity of the same track of study, was now 
 added the product of the powerful genius of M. 
 Angelo Buonarotti t, whom Mr. Fuseli has well 
 termed, " the salt of art ; " since he imparted to 
 it, that essence of intellectual existence which no 
 other painter has ever equalled. 
 
 The sight which I recently enjoyed of the 
 works of this wonderful man, filled me with asto- 
 nishment, and with delight ; and proved to me, 
 how imperfect is the agency of words to convey 
 ideas, in comparison with such efforts of the 
 pencil. 
 
 How has every author who has written on the 
 works of M. Angelo, struggled to impress us 
 with a feeling of his power ; of the force of 
 sentiment that reigns in his works, of the dig- 
 nity and sublimity of his conceptions, and the 
 grandeur of his style ; few have discoursed upon 
 his intensity of thought, and capacity to convey 
 
 * Sir Thomas Lawrence: — particularly two volumes of 
 studies, containing in number more than 200. They were 
 bought by Sir T. from the collection of his able predecessor 
 in the chair of the Royal Academy, Mr. West. The draw- 
 ings consist, principally, of the studies for the figures and 
 draperies employed in many of his pictures ; and must have 
 been carefully, as well as skilfully, drawn from nature. These 
 books came from the Florentine collection, but how is not 
 known. 
 
 f b. 1474. 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 71 
 
 it; and how vague is the impression on our 
 minds when all is said! Look but upon a single 
 figure from his hand, and all is felt. 
 
 He, of all painters, has in one respect been 
 most unfortunate ; his errors, if I may speak of 
 them, have been mistaken for his beauties ; and 
 his beauties become extinct, in the transcripts 
 that have been given to us in prints or copies 
 of his works, save a very few ; and defaced or 
 utterly lost, in the exaggerated labours of his 
 professed imitators. 
 
 The origin of that quality which forms the 
 intrinsic excellence of his art, seems not to 
 have been sought for by them. It does not ap- 
 pear that the basis of that art was their guide, 
 but rather the mere surface of his pictures. 
 That varied grandeur of line, those contrasts of 
 form, which are by many regarded as the sole 
 characteristics of his painting, are but the pro- 
 duct of a higher quality ; the result of that 
 strong feeling of his mind, which induced him 
 to aspire at o'er-mastering the most arduous 
 labour of the pencil ; imparting life and sen- 
 timent to his figures, by the appearance of 
 motion. 
 
 Where the art of other men ended, that of 
 M. Angelo began. 
 
 His mind seems to have found its resting- 
 place only in the regions of imagination) to have 
 
 f 4 
 
72 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 dwelt with most gratification there, where it 
 found congenial food for its enjoyment. In 
 pourtraying a fact he was surpassed, far surpassed 
 by Raffaelle. But he stepped apart from the 
 ordinary track of his predecessors more than any 
 other man ; gave a new direction to the art in 
 his own works, and left a new lesson to others; 
 particularly in his representations of the human 
 figure. 
 
 He increased the grandeur previously added 
 to form, gave life and energy to motion, intensity 
 to thought, and strength to character ; and with- 
 out the aid of allegory, personified abstract 
 sentiment. 
 
 These were the irresistible impressions I expe- 
 rienced, when contemplating his great, his won- 
 derful work on the coving and the ceiling of the 
 Cappella Sistina in the Vatican. There is very 
 little display of actual fact ; almost all is the off- 
 spring of his exalted imagination applying the 
 materials afforded him by natural objects, as 
 agents to convey to others, the abstract ideas, the 
 potent impulses of his own mind. 
 
 He pressed home that fulness of feeling which 
 is the basis of all that is good in the older artists. 
 It is particularly felt in observing his Prophets 
 and Sibyls in the work I have just mentioned: it 
 is admirably exhibited in the figure of Adam in 
 that sublime conception, of the Almighty impart- 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 73 
 
 ing life to the creature of his hand ; a work 
 dictated by an unrivalled power of thought, and 
 executed with the simplicity and grandeur con- 
 formable to the feeling that inspired it. 
 
 Whoever dwells upon it, till his sense imbibes 
 the feeling it is calculated to inspire, will be led 
 to the highest estimation of the imaginative 
 power that conceived it. No art has yet sur- 
 passed that noble figure of the first man rising 
 upwards at the divine command, to receive the 
 spark of animation from the finger of his Al- 
 mighty Creator ; who self-impelled, and floating 
 in the atmosphere, is surrounded by the acknow- 
 ledged personifications of his wisdom and his 
 power ; the secret agents of his sovereign will, 
 hidden from the view of man by the dark man- 
 tle that surrounds them ! In the whole region of 
 the art in which it has been my lot to range, I 
 have met with no picture so full, so just, so 
 spiritual, yet so simple as this ; so grand and 
 solemn in its effect ; yet without the aid of that 
 customary resort of those who make the grand 
 and imposing their aim — darkness. There is 
 poetic feeling of the highest class ; allegory of 
 the most refined nature ; the application of the 
 art exalted to the noblest purpose. 
 
 It is in the peculiar power exhibited in that 
 picture, that he stands as much apart from the 
 practice of his predecessors, as by his grandeur of 
 
74 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 line, or the fulness of his breadth ; and he stands 
 so entirely apart, that no one, whose works I 
 have seen approaches him. Even in his most 
 capricious compositions, and it cannot be denied 
 that many deserve that title, that power of 
 imparting life, and motion, and sentiment pre- 
 vails, and distinguishes him from all others. 
 
 It would seem, that the natural desire within 
 him to impart these qualities to his figures, as 
 far as his subject was capable of displaying them, 
 impeded, or rather misdirected his course, when 
 attempting to pourtray a history. He could not 
 be contented to take the natural impression of 
 the subject, and adorn it like Raffaelle, but rather 
 sought the imagery in his own mind ; and guided 
 by the desire to convey intensity of feeling, too 
 often formed the actions of his figures with arti- 
 ficial contrasts ; which confuse the mind they 
 were formed to enlighten. Thus I cannot but 
 imagine it might have been with that beautiful 
 figure of Eve at the foot of the tree of know- 
 ledge ; which, though its action be graceful, and 
 its form worthy of the mother of the human 
 race, is not so acting its part, that we are led as 
 by Raffaelle, to intermingle with the scene, and 
 believe we see it, as it must actually have hap- 
 pened. 
 
 The defects of his style then, originate, as 
 has been observed by others, in the same source 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 75 
 
 as his beauties ; I say not this to defend them ; 
 but it is sufficient for me to convey to your 
 minds a sense of such defects, which I regard, 
 as spots in the sun. 
 
 They are still blemishes, but they are over- 
 powered by the splendour that surrounds them. 
 Unfortunately, they have been seized upon by 
 his mistaken imitators, as the only source of his 
 grandeur and elevation of style ; and have led to 
 a wrong apprehension in the world, of his true 
 character as an artist. 
 
 But I will not pursue the enquiry ; it will be 
 more useful for me, convinced as I am of his 
 gigantic power, to trace its happier efforts when 
 he found congenial matter, and that was in his 
 Prophets and Sibyls ; as well as in other sub- 
 jects of the like ideal nature, drawn from his 
 own poetic imagination. In the composition of 
 those single figures, in varied actions, and with 
 varied expressions, employed to convey one 
 common idea, allusive to the coming of the Sa- 
 viour ; he has caught, and rendered that subtle 
 quality of action and of look, which perfectly 
 conveys the idea of mental agency ; or in the 
 appropriate language of Mr. Fuseli, has " unra- 
 velled the features of meditation." 
 
 This is the point which is entirely and exclu- 
 clusively his ; and from this work whatever has 
 since been done of the kind, derives its origin. 
 
76 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 To this end he was conducted by a native 
 vigour of mind, which led him early to see what 
 was still wanting to give life to art, and to 
 adopt the means necessary for its production. 
 
 For this he increased in his designs, the flow 
 of line, the boundary of the form and action of 
 the human figure ; and more than this, he en- 
 dowed it with a living soul. 
 
 There is no coarse display of anatomical know- 
 ledge in his naked figures. There is no dissec- 
 tion of the muscles laid bare to our view ; they 
 are but hinted at, and delicately marked, where 
 draughtsmen and engravers have given us them 
 hard and fully defined. In nothing, have I found 
 myself so mistaken, as in the idea I had been 
 led to entertain of the tone and character of 
 M. Angelo's painting, from what I had read, and 
 heard, and seen of his works, before I went to Italy. 
 But the sight of those I have mentioned, and of 
 that tremendous picture of the Last Judgment, 
 where if it existed, the error I have alluded to 
 would have been most apparent, entirely re- 
 moved the delusion I had been under; and 
 taught me how I ought to estimate his principles 
 and his works. 
 
 Now, I know, or think I know, what induced 
 Sir J. Reynolds to speak of M. Angelo in the 
 manner he has done. Wherein he followed him ! 
 what it was that he imbibed on regarding his 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 77 
 
 panitings and transplanted to his own, as far as was 
 in conformity to his own native grace and taste, 
 and the necessities of his practice. Not merely 
 the flow of his outline, or the grandeur of his 
 forms, but that which gave birth to both ; his 
 feeling, and his breadth, the breathing essential 
 individuality of the character which he per- 
 sonified, and which our first great president, and 
 leader in art, imparted to his portraits, gave it 
 to the heads, and to the actions of his figures. 
 
 It was for this, as I conceive, that he said, 
 " he felt himself grateful for the knowledge, that 
 he was capable of entertaining the sensations M. 
 Angelo intended to excite" 
 
 That he had penetrated his secret, and applied 
 it in the most ingenious manner, an attentive 
 observer, cognisant of the works of both, will 
 readily perceive. 
 
 But I shall have occasion to return to the 
 works of M. Angelo when I treat of the princi- 
 ples of the art : for the present therefore I 
 leave them, and turn to those of another artist, 
 whose excellencies combined with his, completed 
 the triumph of the Florentine school — Raf- 
 
 FAELLE.* 
 
 For whose successful career it would seem 
 that all things had been preparing for the 200 
 
 * b. 1483. 
 
78 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 previous years. It was begun by Cimabue, 
 strengthened, and thrown into a right direction 
 by Giotto, confirmed by Masaccio, improved by 
 Luca Signorelli, Lionardo da Vinci, and Fra. 
 Bartolomeo, till at length it was perfected by 
 Raffaelle, with the aid of that grandeur of style, 
 which he caught of M. Angelo ; and that sense 
 of grace and beauty, the inmates of his own 
 mind, improved by study from remnants of an- 
 cient Greek and Roman art, then recently dis- 
 covered. 
 
 Less vigorous however, and consequently less 
 independent in mind than M. Angelo, Raffaelle 
 did not display that precocity of talent, which 
 led the former to daring competition at once, 
 with the great of old. At first he was a care- 
 ful, but graceful imitator of his father, and of 
 his master Pietro Perugino ; and there remain 
 at Perugia many of his pictures in their original 
 stations, which show how entirely he was under 
 the control of the circumstances by which he 
 was surrounded. In the same churches where 
 those works exist, there are some also by Paris 
 Alfani, his fellow-scholar ; and it yields an ad- 
 mirable lesson for the correction of the vanity 
 incident to youth, and the encouragement of 
 modest ingenuity and industry to know, that 
 Alfani, exhibited more energy and freedom of 
 invention and of line than Raffaelle, and seemed 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 79 
 
 likely to have surpassed him ; but he became, 
 in consequence perhaps of that freedom, a man- 
 nerist, and was lost ; whilst RafFaelle, the hum- 
 ble, but steady and industrious cultivator of 
 truth and beauty, rapidly increased in power ; 
 and was rewarded by the highest degree of suc- 
 cess and honour in life, and by the glorious fame 
 which waits upon his memory. 
 
 The pure simplicity of the taste and feeling 
 of Perugino in both form and colour, seems to 
 have found congenial union with the suavity of 
 the mind of RafFaelle ; and it encouraged both 
 the delicacy of thought, and the accuracy of 
 design, which characterise the earlier efforts of 
 his pencil. But the renown of M. Angelo, and 
 of Da Vinci, and the encouragement given to 
 the arts by the house of Medici, led him to 
 Florence, where he enjoyed the friendship of Fra. 
 Bartolomeo ; and there, abandoning the tame- 
 ness of Perugino, he improved his style, and 
 added to his fame. Constant study from the 
 antique, from nature, and from the most excel- 
 lent of former artists, prompted his imagination, 
 while it strengthened his power of execution, 
 his taste for grace and beauty, his capacity for 
 composition, and his power over expression ; 
 and prepared him for the production of those 
 great works, which still extend his reputation, 
 and add lustre to his name. 
 
80 
 
 LECTURE IT. 
 
 Dramatic art was his! that application of 
 painting which displays the conflicts of human 
 passions ; the actions and characters of men in 
 communion with their fellow creatures. 
 
 The incidents of human life, were depicted 
 by him with more force, more clearness, and 
 more variety than by any other painter. 
 
 His representations of facts, are such as lead 
 us to suppose that they must have happened 
 just as he has represented them ; and when they 
 required illustration, he adopted the most natural 
 and direct means for effecting it. 
 
 To him we are indebted for an extended and 
 united application of those principles of the art 
 which engaged the attention of the Florentine 
 school. Much he borrowed of others, parti- 
 cularly with regard to line and colour ; but, in 
 one main quality, he was entirely original, viz. 
 the extension and refinement of picturesque 
 historical composition ; which he conducted with 
 the highest and the soundest sense. To that, 
 which before his time had been effective in its 
 simplicity, he added the charm of variety, with- 
 out impairing its purity ; and thus superinduced 
 that delightful union of grace and beauty with 
 good sense, which, whilst it delights the eye, 
 gratifies the understanding ; and is, indeed, the 
 ultimatum of art. 
 
 It has been, and it still is, the tone of con- 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 81 
 
 noisseurship, to elevate his portraiture above 
 that of all others ! But for my own part, 
 though I admire it much, I can never agree to 
 place him in that department on a level with 
 Titian, Vandyke, or our own delightful en- 
 chanter, Sir Joshua. 
 
 Considering that they flourished at the same 
 period, and divided the attention of the world of 
 art in their day, were employed by the same dig- 
 nified persons, and laboured to adorn the walls 
 of the same magnificent abode of power, one can 
 scarcely avoid comparing the excellencies of this 
 extraordinary man, with those of his great rival 
 M. Angelo. And yet it is difficult to do so, their 
 individual courses, relative both to the princi- 
 ples and the application of the art, were so op- 
 posed to each other, M. Angelo stands alone, 
 apart from all who went before him. RafFaelle is 
 greatly beholden to others. He carried forwards 
 in a direct line, and improved the good that had 
 preceded him. When he abandoned that course, 
 and attempted to walk in the sphere of M. An- 
 gelo, which he did not, till the path, as well as 
 the object was pointed out by that great master, 
 he does not appear to have been actuated by 
 that powerful impulse which gave birth to the 
 works he emulated ; but like a timid adventurer 
 in an unknown region, his step was unsteady, 
 his native power seems to have been paralyzed, 
 
 G 
 
82 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 and he fell below himself. Witness his Isaiah, 
 in the Church of St. Agostino, in Rome ; his 
 figures of Justice and Mercy, in the Vatican ; 
 and even his Sibyls in the Pace; though in that 
 picture, full of grace and beauty, he was most 
 successful. 
 
 Within his own sphere, a relater and adorner 
 of historical or poetical fact, displaying those 
 acts which exhibit the virtues that adorn, or the 
 vices that degrade our nature, the grace and 
 tenderness of the female character, or the more 
 active vigour of man, with appropriate form, 
 character, and expression ; he also stands alone, 
 unrivalled by any. His earlier pictures mark 
 that power! he displayed it largely, before he 
 had attained his 21st year, in the extended 
 compositions and cartoons he prepared for the 
 pictures by Pinturuchio in the library of the 
 Duomo at Sienna ; and it never failed him, till at 
 length he reached the perfection exhibited in the 
 chambers of the Vatican, and in the cartoons. By 
 this, he engages our hearts, and proffers to our 
 understandings, actions, and scenes, which we 
 immediately recognise as true ; our sympathies 
 are thus excited, and w r e feel no difficulty in 
 comprehending his whole meaning. 
 
 M. Angelo's pictures have more recondite 
 matter in them. We must think, ere we can 
 enjoy the whole pleasure proffered to us. 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 83 
 
 Instead of comprehending his whole intention 
 at once, we are called upon to reflect. His 
 forms strike at first sight, as singular, and grand ; 
 attract attention, elicit enquiry, — and enquiry 
 substantiates a feeling of the sentiment which 
 actuated him ; it takes possession of the mind, 
 and, when understood, there is no resisting the 
 acknowledgment, that his art is of the highest 
 quality, though it may not be the most agreeable. 
 Each, therefore, retains his specific influence 
 over our minds ; and it is a curious trait of 
 the difference of the genius of these two great 
 men, that each failed most, where the other was 
 most excellent. Raffaelle has the advantage, 
 however, of appealing more to the heart, and 
 thereby more awakening the sympathies of man- 
 kind ; and will have, as he almost always has had, 
 the largest share of admirers. 
 
 Those great and unrivalled works they pro- 
 duced, have now become our standard guides to 
 principles in historical composition ; and I shall, 
 hereafter, have to direct your attention to more 
 minute examination of some of them in illus- 
 tration of the main object of these lectures. 
 
 I have now, gentlemen, conducted the history 
 of the art upon which it is my duty to address 
 you, to the utmost state of perfection which it 
 
 g 2 
 
84 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 attained in the Florentine school ; and I have 
 purposely confined your attention to its progress 
 in that school, without any reference to others, 
 which arose, and were matured nearly at the 
 same time. 
 
 To this I have been impelled by two reasons. 
 First, it was there that those paintings were 
 produced which have so long borne the stamp of 
 pre-eminence! I was, therefore, desirous to 
 impress you with an undisturbed and concen- 
 trated idea of the growth of that application of 
 the art of painting, to which we owe those mas- 
 terly productions ; and secondly, because the 
 nature of the studies began and perfected in that 
 school, are precisely those most wanting in our 
 own ; and this circumstance renders it most 
 desirable that you, upon whose exertions must 
 hereafter depend the maintenance and extension 
 of our good name in art, should at least be clearly 
 impressed with the knowledge of the good those 
 studies promoted. 
 
 The object of its Professors was a display of 
 the mind of man through the medium of his 
 bodily form ; and for this purpose a dignified 
 employment of one of the great principles of our 
 art, Design, which led them to composition and 
 expression, was their principal instrument. Exer- 
 cised under the guidance of an exalted spirit of 
 invention, they found this principle effective, 
 though accompanied by an imperfect union of^ 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 85 
 
 the other portions of the art, viz. colour, and 
 chiaro-oscuro. 
 
 Intent upon effecting this object, to which 
 they were led by the nature of the demands of 
 the church which employed them ; engaged in 
 representing scenes, of which all that is most 
 important to man was the theme ; they were 
 constrained to adopt this plan of proceeding, as 
 the most efficient for their purpose. 
 
 To impress upon the minds of devotees the 
 sacredness, the tenderness, and virgin purity of 
 the mother of the Saviour ; the dignity and 
 power of that Saviour, united with his character 
 as peacemaker upon earth ; his many acts of 
 mercy and of benevolence ; his varied suf- 
 ferings and his redeeming death ; with all the 
 attendant combinations of affliction among his 
 relatives, his friends, and disciples, with the 
 hatred and fury of his foes ; were the first im- 
 portant subjects they were called upon to 
 display. Subjects, which, in pictures, obtain 
 the interest they have in the minds of men, 
 accordingly as the varied feelings of all those 
 who were mingled in the scenes they presented 
 were brought to view. 
 
 Their aim, then, was direct to this point; and 
 to effect it, they felt, and most justly felt, that 
 drawing or design, was the true, the proper 
 medium. 
 
 g 3 
 
86 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 Now the cultivation of this principle of the 
 art, so directed, and so relied upon, requires 
 exalted views in the artist ; compels him to the 
 cultivation and refinement of feeling ; calls upon 
 him for the exercise of discrimination and selec- 
 tion ; directs him to a close observation of the va- 
 ried modes in which the feelings of the human 
 mind become manifest in the features of the coun- 
 tenance, and the actions of the body. Hence, it 
 certainly is one, wherein more intellectual power 
 is required, than in attempting to present the 
 mere beauty of arrangement or combination of 
 colours, or determining the proportions and re- 
 lative positions of light and dark, such as are 
 required for a good adjustment of chiaro-oscuro. 
 
 To what purpose, indeed, would such arrange- 
 ments be wrought, or such adjustments be made, 
 if not circumscribed by form ? 
 
 It is evident, therefore, that the object of 
 the painters of the Florentine school, was the 
 most elevated and important to which they 
 could direct their attention ; and they never 
 relaxed in their efforts till they effectually 
 gained their point. Their enthusiastic pursuit 
 of it was only equalled by their industry ; and 
 they were constantly, and most perseveringly 
 engaged in studies from nature. They fre- 
 quently repeated their sketches of the figures, 
 and the draperies, they were desirous of paint- 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 87 
 
 ing ; improving the actions of their figures, 
 and strengthening and refining the expressions ; 
 employing the utmost activity and energy in pre- 
 parations to enable them perfectly to represent 
 whatever subject was entrusted to their care. 
 And if our own country is ever destined to ob- 
 tain a great name in art, what better method can 
 be employed by her artists to promote that end, 
 than by adopting their principle recognized as 
 the best ; endeavouring to combine with it, what- 
 ever beauty may administer to its strength? 
 
 Such " consummation, devoutly to be wished," 
 can never be effected, unless, while studying their 
 productions, we endeavour to comprehend the 
 principles which guided them. But to follow their 
 path requires their strength, the same support 
 from knowledge which they possessed. No mere 
 copying will conduct us far on the way. Our 
 best guide, is an emulation of their diligence in 
 seeking the characteristic forms of figures, and 
 of draperies, and of all natural objects ; and the 
 most appropriate and agreeable combinations of 
 them ; and learning from their labours how to 
 select those parts of objects necessary for the 
 more exalted purposes of art ; omitting all that is 
 burthensome in its uselessness. 
 
 To comprehend thoroughly this separation of 
 good and evil, so necessary to fine art, which 
 exalts the labours of the painters of the Floren- 
 
 g 4 
 
8S 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 tine school, it is needful to understand the 
 whole, that we may know wherein the choice 
 resides, and when and wherefore it should be 
 made. This is the only way to obtain that 
 energy and intensity of character and expression, 
 the best, because the truest tokens of elevated 
 genius ; and without it, we can never hope to 
 gain a great name in art. 
 
 Such was the result of the labours of the 
 great masters of this, the principal school of art 
 in Italy, and such are the means whereby the 
 knowledge of its principles may be most success- 
 fully sought. Its able and successful professors 
 received the highest honours, were exalted by 
 the esteem of the learned, the great, and the 
 good ; were rewarded by the munificence of 
 princes, and venerated by succeeding ages ; so 
 that their names, and their labours, have been 
 preserved, when those of many able statesmen, 
 and warriors have sunk into oblivion. 
 
 May I not say it was just! True, and su- 
 perior excellence in the art of painting has been 
 at all times rare ; and has ever been found 
 united with talents of superior order. The men 
 who have merited and received those high dis- 
 tinctions and rewards, employed their whole 
 lives in the improvement of the age in which 
 they lived, and created sources of gratification 
 and instruction to mankind for ages to come; 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 89 
 
 and they have not only been eminent as painters, 
 but as men of clear intellect, and sound un- 
 derstanding : nor has such esteem ever been 
 the meed of the vulgar, the ignorant, or the 
 sordid. 
 
 They were men, who, though highly gifted 
 by nature, yet laboured earnestly to become 
 possessed of knowledge ; which alone gives the 
 power to enchant mankind, in any art ; genius, 
 the exciting cause, and enthusiasm, its help- 
 mate. 
 
 If there be among you, as I hope there are 
 many, desirous of obtaining that degree of ex- 
 cellence in art, which alone leads to honour, 
 and who feel within them the clear perceptions 
 of genius ; let them guard well those seeds of 
 future fame, nourish them with never-ceasing 
 assiduity, and ever-growing acquirements : how- 
 ever bright they may be, however strong in 
 quality, without this care time will tarnish 
 them ; the troubles, or the pleasures of the 
 world will weaken their influence, and prevent 
 their development to any useful purpose. 
 
 Ancora imparo ! said M. Angelo in his old age : 
 Ancora imparo! still I learn, still I strive to 
 know ! and thus will every wise man endeavour 
 constantly to improve his store of knowledge, 
 however extended may be its scale. 
 
LECTURE III. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF PAINTING. — Continued. 
 
 1827. 
 
93 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 Though the great importance, and superior 
 aim of the Florentine school of painting, have 
 hitherto led me to confine your attention to 
 the history of its progress, and the reflections 
 that arose from it, yet others demand our con- 
 sideration ; as it was not there alone that rege- 
 nerated painting found cultivation and employ- 
 ment. 
 
 The same fostering influence, arising from the 
 wealth and the wants of the church, operated 
 throughout all Italy in favour of the art, and 
 extended its practice. 
 
 The taste, however, and the style of the great 
 school of Florence, found the most extensive 
 field for its exercise. The whole of the coun- 
 try under the Florentine dominion of course 
 felt the influence of its capital, with Sienna, 
 Pisa, and Rome ; but, in others of the then 
 independent States of Italy, as Ferrara, Venice, 
 and other parts of Lombardy, the study and 
 the practice of the art were pursued with va- 
 
94 
 
 LECTURE III, 
 
 rious degrees of union with that school, or 
 deviation from it. 
 
 It would be no easy matter to determine which 
 was the most complete aberration from its style; 
 that which engaged the attention of the Vene- 
 tians as displayed by Giorgione, and Titian ; or 
 that of the Lombards, as practised by the great 
 master of their school, Coreggio. 
 
 The painting of the Venetians lives in fame by 
 the force of qualities of which the Florentines 
 comparatively knew little or nothing ; or, that 
 were united but in a minor degree to their own, 
 by a few of their professors. Those qualities were 
 colouring and a compound chiaro-oscuro ; totally 
 diverse from that of Lionardo da Vinci, and 
 composed of certain arrangements of light and 
 dark, or warm and cold colours, and of artificial or 
 imaginary effects of light and shade. Another 
 great quality also marks their better productions, 
 viz., an ingenious management of form in com- 
 position ; not conducted as by the Florentines, to 
 tell a story sensibly, with attention to propriety 
 and controlled by feeling ; but to rill the space 
 they were called upon to cover, as agreeably as 
 possible. And it must be confessed that it was 
 admirably done by some of their better masters ; 
 though frequently to the utter loss of even com- 
 mon sense. This was not always the character 
 of the painters of the Venetian school ; for at 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 95 
 
 first they were careful imitators of the renovated 
 style of painting. They attempted to improve 
 it by colour, till the fascinating power of that 
 engaging medium took possession of their minds, 
 and it became their principal object. 
 
 This distinguishing quality of the school was 
 first cultivated with effect in Murano, one of 
 the islands that surround Venice ; and it was 
 some time practised, before it was transferred to 
 the city itself. There, it gradually acquired 
 strength, till it reached the perfection in which 
 we behold it in the works of the great Venetian 
 masters. 
 
 If we seek for the cause of the preference 
 given by the Venetians to the ornamental por- 
 tions of the art, over the more essential prin- 
 ciple of design, as cultivated by the Florentines ; 
 we may perhaps find it, in the great influx of 
 wealth to which Venice was so much indebted 
 for her extensive power and influence, from the 
 ninth to the sixteenth century. Engaged in 
 vast mercantile and warlike enterprises, that city 
 became, by conquest and by purchase, the depot 
 of immense treasures in wrought and costly 
 marbles, and other works of art ; though, ex- 
 cepting the renowned horses, and they are not of 
 the finest quality, they were generally of the 
 lower degraded periods. The spoils of Con- 
 stantinople furnished sufficient to enrich, and 
 
96 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 even overload, the rude but imposing archi- 
 tecture of the principal church, St. Mark's ; in 
 which the love of richness and costliness, in lieu 
 of good taste is rendered visible, not only by the 
 variety of its splendid display of ancient columns 
 and its windows of painted glass ; but also, by 
 the multitude of mosaics with gilded grounds, 
 which almost entirely cover its walls. 
 
 It is not unreasonable to suppose, that the 
 splendour of effect obtained by those rich mate- 
 rials, the gold, the coloured glass and marbles, 
 and the semivitrified colours, of which those 
 mosaics are composed, became an object of 
 emulation to the painters of Venice : an effect in 
 perfect consonance with the false taste and the 
 love of show, generated by the influence of the 
 luxury attendant on wealth. 
 
 There are existing specimens of painting at 
 Venice which exhibit this quality in a consider- 
 able degree of perfection at the beginning of the 
 fourteenth century ; and one with the name of 
 its author, Jeronimo a Libris, in the church of 
 St. Georgio, is dated 1326 ; in which the art is 
 considerably advanced, the colours rich, except 
 those of the flesh. 
 
 This peculiar style continued to receive im- 
 provement till the two Vivarini, Crivelli, 
 Gentili and Giovanni Bellini, produced co- 
 lours, almost, if not quite, equal in brilliancy 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 97 
 
 and depth, and purity, to those of the greater 
 masters ; and precisely upon the same system ; 
 the colouring of flesh alone excepted. True 
 and pure imitation of the hues and tones of 
 nature in all kinds of objects, was the point to 
 which their attention was directed ; but when 
 obtained, they wasted it generally upon poor 
 and insipid forms and materials ; and rarely 
 applied it to illustrate character in the human 
 figure, still more rarely expression. 
 
 To Giorgione*, to Titian*, Tintoretto, and 
 Paul Veronese, the school is indebted for the 
 most perfect application of this system of colour- 
 ing, already prepared. 
 
 To the theory which regulates the arrange- 
 ment of colours in a picture, Giorgione and 
 Titian gave general principles ; and they all in 
 varied manners applied well-regulated chiaro- 
 oscuro ; a powerful addition to its previously 
 established purity and force of light and shade. 
 To them, also, the Venetian school is indebted 
 for the union of colour to form ; form not so 
 correct, not so purified of the vulgarities of 
 common life as by the Florentines, still grand 
 and pleasing, and full of vigour. 
 
 To Giorgione and to Titian, landscape paint- 
 ing owes its first efficient introduction to the 
 
 * b. 1477, 
 
 H 
 
98 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 world of art ; and they have presented it to us 
 in its gayest and its gravest characters ; Titian 
 more particularly. By them also portraiture 
 was first established on a true and solid basis. 
 
 Titian enjoyed by much the longer life, and 
 therefore we have the more numerous body of 
 examples from him ; but those of Giorgione, as 
 indeed of both, are simple yet rich, dignified, 
 full of character and truth ; and executed with 
 great delicacy and firmness. 
 
 Another and, at that time, a novel feature in 
 art, was likewise produced by Giorgione, by his 
 adopting for subjects the engaging scenes of 
 fetes champetres ; where in full, and free, and 
 rich composition, he employed, as vehicles for 
 the richest colours, the dresses of the noble 
 Venetians. These pictures he composed with 
 great elegance, and finished with the most 
 masterly science. They are the prototypes, of 
 the rich scenes of the like kind, which we have 
 seen from the pencils of Rubens, and Watteau. 
 Scenes of all kinds fell from the hands of Titian, 
 from the simplest, the most domestique, and the 
 most luxurious, to those, the most exalted and 
 sacred ; and they are pourtrayed by him, with 
 grace and taste, with fulness and vivacity of 
 colour, but yet with a dignified sobriety of tone 
 and manner, which gives importance to the 
 meanest. 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 99 
 
 In the race of rivalship between these extra- 
 ordinary artists, it seems probable, that had 
 Giorgione's life beenprolonged, he might have 
 surpassed Titian in splendour and vivacity, both 
 of colour and of execution ; but I know no work 
 of his which affords us any decisive means of 
 judging, whether it be probable that he would ever 
 have arrived at the perception of the grand and 
 impressive, as exhibited in the pictures by Titian 
 of the Death of St. Peter Martyr, the David re- 
 turning Thanks to God for his Victory over 
 Goliath, and others of the like solemn and im- 
 portant subjects. 
 
 Had another of the four great Venetian 
 masters I have mentioned, been endowed with a 
 just sense of the value of his own power as an 
 artist, and been less careless of his reputation, 
 he might have rendered the claim of Titian to 
 pre-eminence in this school, doubtful, I mean 
 Tintoretto * ; a name which excites a compound 
 emotion in the mind, of admiration, with asto- 
 nishment, and almost disgust. All his pic- 
 tures manifest an imagination of the brightest 
 quality, accompanied with vast knowledge of the 
 human figure, and of drapery ; at the command 
 of an energetic hand, capable of impressing it on 
 the canvass at a stroke : sometimes most happily 
 
 * b. 1512. 
 
 H c 2 
 
100 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 exerted, at others, with the extreme of folly and 
 absurdity ; and it is painful to me to add, most 
 frequently, the latter. 
 
 The churches, and the scuole or halls of the 
 different communities of Venice, are overloaded 
 with the productions of his fertile pencil. In 
 the scuola of St. Roch alone, there are sixty 
 pictures by him of sacred subjects ; which ex- 
 hibit a combination of extraordinary power, 
 and weakness in the control of it ; or rather 
 an abandonment of the attempt, such as sets 
 all criticism at defiance. The freedom of his 
 execution, and the beauty of his tones of co- 
 lour, are worthy, as has been said by others, 
 of being added to the grandeur of design of 
 M. Angelo. Indeed, his own style of design is 
 more masterly than Titian's ; free and large, and 
 with fine form, acquired by study from the best 
 antique figures, of which he had a large collec- 
 tion of casts. To assist him in producing the 
 extraordinary actions, and views of figures, 
 which we find in his works, he employed small 
 wax models ; by means of which, the difficulties 
 attending the design of figures floating in the 
 air, ascending or descending, with the infinite 
 foreshortenings they were subject to, were greatly 
 diminished; and the light and shadow more 
 easily determined. Some of his pictures are of 
 enormous size. The Crucifixion is forty feet long ; 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 101 
 
 and in the Church of Santa Maria del' Orto, 
 there are two, the subject of one being the 
 Worship of the Golden Calf, of the other the 
 Last Judgment, each sixty feet high at least; 
 filled with figures drawn in great style, and 
 painted with powerful colour and execution ; but 
 presenting absurdity upon absurdity. With him 
 it would appear, the 6 6 firstlings of his heart, or 
 his head, were the firstlings of his hand," and to 
 fill his canvass an object of infinitely more im- 
 portance than to tell his story. In that power, 
 in that application of the art — that is, in employ- 
 ing composition for the mere purpose of filling a 
 portion of space with beautiful divisions of 
 forms — it must be confessed he is paramount in 
 the Venetian school ; and there is one work of 
 his, painted when he was only twenty-eight 
 years old, of St. Mark releasing a Christian slave 
 condemned to death by the Turks, which, for 
 management of colour, and for execution, lays 
 claim to the same honour. 
 
 A well regulated judgment will find vast and 
 valuable sources of study in what concerns the 
 art merely, in the rhapsodies of his pencil ; for 
 such, in general, is the just character of his pic- 
 tures. An artist wanting that good quality, will, 
 if he takes them for his guide, find an ignis 
 fatuus, which, while it fills his imagination with 
 
 h 3 
 
102 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 joy and with hope, may in the end, 'whelm him 
 in an abyss, from whence to escape will be no 
 easy task. 
 
 Nothing like the enthusiasm, which, notwith- 
 standing the glowing defects I have mentioned, 
 fills the mind of an artist when regarding the 
 works of Tintoretto, is derivable from those of 
 Paul Veronese.* His road to fame lay diverse to 
 that of either of the three great masters of whose 
 works I have spoken. Neither does his design, 
 or his colouring, partake of the character of 
 theirs ; it is entirely his own : more ornamental, 
 more artificial, more careful, but less true. 
 
 Hence it is, that while his paintings please, 
 and even surprise, they do not move the mind 
 to rapture. The ceilings of the Ducal Palace at 
 Venice, bear testimony to his taste and skill. 
 Splendour, and magnificence of form and mate- 
 rials, fill his canvasses in well-arranged compo- 
 sition ; and they are conveyed by a steady hand, 
 guided by knowledge, both of the art, and of 
 the materials he employed. 
 
 At the same time that the art of painting was 
 so far perfected at Florence in form, and at 
 Venice in colour, it found the third grand re- 
 quisite to make manifest its entire power, in 
 the school of Lombardy, and at the hands of 
 Coreggio.t 
 
 * b. 1532. t b. 1494 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 103 
 
 A more ample and more brilliant application 
 of the chiaro-oscuro introduced by Da Vinci, 
 was employed to produce harmony and totality 
 of effect, by that man of original and powerful 
 genius ; and he added to it, its natural accom- 
 paniment, grace : though it not unfrequently 
 verged upon affectation, or tended to insipidity. 
 His greatest works are his cupolas at Parma. 
 Of these there are two ; that of the Duomo, or 
 Cathedral, and that of the Church of St. John 
 the Evangelist. That of the Duomo represents 
 the Assumption of the Virgin : and though it is 
 filled with a multitude of figures brought to an 
 extraordinary degree of relief, yet it appears 
 from below like a rich bed of flowers ; not gaudy, 
 but soft and agreeable, and of the most delicate 
 hues. All acts combinedly to produce gaiety and 
 animation ; and one may conceive, that when 
 fresh, it must have appeared like a scene in open 
 air. In it is clearly seen the main source of the 
 beauties that adorn the pictures of Sir J. Rey- 
 nolds. The practical portion of his art is there ; 
 his selection and separation of parts, minor and 
 unimportant ones being rejected ; his forms and 
 management of drapery, his suavity of tone, and 
 his brilliancy and amenity of colour. However 
 he may have admired the intense feeling dis- 
 played by M. Angelo and Raffaelle, his taste 
 
 h 4 
 
104 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 for effect seems to have found a more congenial 
 guide in Coreggio. 
 
 The cupola of the Church of St. John the 
 Evangelist was an earlier work, and was painted 
 with more carefulness ; as if Coreggio had not 
 then felt his own power, or knew so well how to 
 calculate the effect of distance in giving finish 
 to boldness of stroke. It has the same ad- 
 mirable improvement upon Lionardo da Vinci's 
 scale of chiaro-oscuro, possessing beautiful ad- 
 mixtures of light with light and dark with dark, 
 to produce masses of each, connected and ex- 
 tended through the whole. 
 
 This breadth of mass, and largeness (but not 
 refined grandeur) of form, characterise his style 
 of design. Whence he acquired it, is unknown. 
 It was unfelt by any of those to whom he was 
 indebted for instruction in the art ; from them, 
 therefore, he could not have drawn it.* But it is 
 most likely, seeing that it is in such perfect ac- 
 cordance with his chosen and pure style of colour- 
 ing, and his luminous breadth of chiaro-oscuro, 
 that he found it in the necessities of the practice 
 of that style \ and that it was principally the off- 
 spring of his own mind. The grace and the 
 beauty arising from this homogeneous combin- 
 
 * He might have obtained a hint of it from Melozzo da 
 Forli, an artist of whom but little remains, born about twenty 
 years before him. 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 105 
 
 ation, the amenity and rotundity that it produces, 
 and that hence reign in his works, form the sove- 
 reign features of his character as an artist. Depth, 
 sweetness, and purity, dwell in his colouring; 
 and are united in rich impasto, and that mellow- 
 ness, and harmony, only to be found in works 
 which rival his in those respects, from the hand 
 of Sir Joshua Reynolds. 
 
 Indeed, it is an agreeable thing to know how 
 much the arrangement of effect in his great 
 cupola, corresponds with the system of painting 
 introduced by that great artist and at present 
 pursued in this country, where breadth of light 
 prevails over breadth of dark. If we admire the 
 vast power of his abilities, in the management of 
 such works as his cupolas, we cannot be less 
 gratified with the beauty and perfection of his 
 art, as seen in his minor productions. The 
 grace, the taste, the exquisite perfection of his 
 colouring and of his execution are seen in his 
 St. Jerome presenting his Translation of the 
 Bible to the infant Saviour ; his Nativity, called 
 the Notte ; in his Marriage of St. Catherine ; or 
 in that beautiful personification of silence, of re- 
 pose, and contemplation, his Magdalen ; they have 
 long commanded the admiration of the world, 
 and must, whilst they endure, continue to do so. 
 
 In the three great schools, then, of Florence, 
 of Venice, and of Lombardy, or rather of Parma, 
 
106 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 we find the three important principles of paint- 
 ing, brought as near to perfection as probably 
 the hands of man may ever conduct them. 
 
 We may, however, indulge the idea, that it is 
 possible to extend their application, and, per- 
 haps, perfect their combination ; that they may 
 be applied to objects, and to scenes, diverse in 
 quality from those upon which they were then 
 engaged, and in the management of which, pro- 
 priety may demand other arrangements, and 
 other proportions of their constituent parts ; and 
 thus new art may arise, equally well founded 
 with the old.* 
 
 But experience has taught us that there are 
 two kinds of art in painting. The one exhibits 
 nature, the other the artist. There is art, which, 
 as we have seen, has its foundation in the imi- 
 tation of the varied productions of nature, seen 
 under her varying circumstances ; selected to 
 suit the purposes required, and controlled by 
 taste. Such, in their approach to perfection, 
 as we have hitherto seen, was the art of those 
 
 * Of this, indeed, we have an example in the works of the 
 Dutch and Flemish schools, yet still the varieties of nature 
 are not exhausted. In them we find a perfect imitation of 
 common life and nature ; conducted both on principle and in 
 practice in a mode entirely distinct from those of the schools 
 of Italy: but there also truth acts upon our sympathies; and 
 in opposition to refined feeling, we admire the skill and the 
 dexterity of their artists. 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 107 
 
 great schools which have so long excited the 
 admiration of mankind ; and have, consequently, 
 become models for our imitation. The form- 
 ation of the art they practised, proceeded upon 
 the purest principles in the selection of natural 
 objects and effects for imitation. But rejecting 
 precise imitation, they substituted in its stead, 
 a chosen model ; a portion, characteristic of a 
 whole. 
 
 There is also art of a spurious nature, which 
 has its origin in the cultivation of art ! of that 
 very art even, which well understood, leads to 
 the excellence we have contemplated. 
 
 The former is the acme of perfection in 
 painting. To this point the aim of the truly 
 great was directed : but this, excellent as it is, 
 bordering, as from its excellence it of necessity 
 does, upon the extreme verge of propriety ; 
 pressed beyond its just bounds produced that 
 species of art, which, as I have said, had its 
 origin in the cultivation of art, I now add, to 
 the neglect of nature ; rejecting her influence, 
 and not unfrequently in opposition to her dic- 
 tates : not scrupling to supply forms, and lights, 
 and shades, and colours, in combinations which 
 set at nought all established systems of natural 
 effects, and yet calls itself, or at least has been 
 long imposed upon the world, as of the highest 
 
108 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 class ! for which I know no other reason, than 
 that it is the most incomprehensible. 
 
 On this point Mr. Barry has well observed, 
 that " when an intelligent, and active mind, or 
 genius, finds the general mass of information in 
 his country in a healthful and flourishing state, 
 he leads it to maturity ; but when it has passed 
 its point of perfection, the same active vigour 
 and genius still moving forwards, works as ef- 
 fectually in the poisoning and destruction of it, 
 as in the former case it had done in its nurture 
 and cultivation." 
 
 Thus it was with most of the artists who fol- 
 lowed the career of those great men of whom I 
 have spoken. Their very attempts to improve 
 the practice of art, became the means of corrupt- 
 ing it, and causing its downfall. 
 
 But before we conclude, that attempting to 
 improve what had been done, should of neces- 
 sity have caused the mischief, let us examine the 
 means adopted for that improvement, and see if 
 they were adequate to the proposed end. 
 
 The well-earned fame of M. Angelo, ac- 
 quired by his great labours in sculpture and 
 painting, wrought a total change in the system 
 of Florentine art. The painters, to speak the 
 words of a contemporary author, " regarded him 
 as the presiding Deity of Design ; " and their 
 adoration of him went so far, that that excellent 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 109 
 
 system of study, which had led to such perfec- 
 tion, was no longer thought worthy of attention. 
 RafFaelle was forgotten, and all that had pre- 
 pared the way for him. Most even of his own 
 pupils, adopted the prevailing style of design, 
 partly, perhaps, from his own example ; but they 
 did not, like him, retain sense and feeling, as 
 the basis for its application. In general, style 
 and contrast, become the principal objects of the 
 artists, were no longer the offspring of feeling, 
 but its controllers ; as if they were the source of 
 the secret power of M. Angelo : and thus, the 
 instruments of that power, and not the spirit 
 that moved them, assumed the station due only 
 to the superior perceptions of genius. 
 
 Hence the decay of the art ! Had those paint- 
 ers, gifted as they were with technical power, 
 imbibed the spirit that produced the works they 
 emulated ; and then sought to combine with it 
 for their altar-pictures, richer and deeper colour, 
 and varied chiaro-oscuro, suited to the subjects 
 they chose for representation ; the excellent in 
 art, might probably have had a prolonged pe- 
 riod of existence. As it was, nature forgotten, 
 the extreme of art alone their guide, and affect- 
 ation having usurped the station of sense and 
 propriety, we cannot wonder that it fell. Yet 
 there were some who upheld it in a superior 
 
110 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 manner. Some works were painted of great 
 merit from the designs and under the inspec- 
 tion of M. Angelo himself, and two of them 
 have more particularly obtained admiration ; 
 one, the Resurrection of Lazarus, by Sebastian 
 del Piombo, now adorns our National Gallery 
 the other, the Descent from the Cross, by Daniel 
 da Volterra, was painted for the Church of Santa 
 Trinita da Monte, in Rome, and is now in the sa- 
 cristy*, but sadly injured. It has long been classed 
 as one of the three finest pictures in that great 
 city, that emporium of art : the Transfiguration, 
 by RafFaelle, being another, and the Communion 
 of St. Jerome, by Domenichino, the third. 
 
 At Florence, Andrea del Sarto, sought to 
 combine the beauties of Bartolomeo della Porta, 
 with the style of M. Angelo. If he did not 
 quite succeed in the bold endeavour, at least his 
 work is original, and not like that of an igno- 
 rant imitator. In the pictures of Andrea, it is 
 not form, but amenity of tone, which is the dis- 
 tinguishing feature. 
 
 Gentleness, not beauty, resides in his Ma- 
 donnas ; rarely dignity or grandeur are to be 
 
 * It was taken from the walls by the French, and much in- 
 jured by accidents. It has been repaired, but is become dark 
 in the process, and has lost the fresh look of fresco. Still it 
 is a magnificent ornament to the sacristy of the church, in a 
 chapel of which it was painted. 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 Ill 
 
 found in his heads, though those qualities some- 
 times adorn his figures. Clearness, amenity, 
 and harmony of colour, and very ingenious com- 
 position abound in his pictures, with occasionally 
 strong feeling ; and render him an agreeable 
 painter, if not a powerful one. 
 
 II Rosso, Bronzino, Puntormo, and some 
 others, upheld the school with more or less of 
 ability ; but the most powerful imitator of M. 
 Angelo's style of design, was Pellegrino Tibaldi*, 
 who, with Julio Romano, are the two most re- 
 markable examples of extraordinary power weak- 
 ened by that vitiating principle of false art, 
 to which I have directed your attention ; and 
 their works justify an observation of that great 
 moral philosopher Dr. Johnson, viz. that "where 
 truth is sufficient to Jill the mind, fiction is worse 
 than useless." 
 
 The works of Tibaldi in the Hall of the In- 
 stitute of Bologna, which are considered as his 
 finest, exhibit sufficient proof of the observations 
 I have made ; and show how necessary it is, for 
 those who would really excel, to turn from the 
 study of even the finest art, to its source in 
 nature. Mr. Fuseli, has well characterised this 
 labour of Tibaldi, as " a singular mixture of ex- 
 traordinary vigour, and puerile imbecility of 
 
 * b, 1577. 
 
LECTURE III. 
 
 conception, of character and caricatara, of style 
 and manner." Allegorical figures, and subjects 
 from the Odyssey, are there blighted by forced 
 contrasts, and extravagant form ; but they are 
 executed with a power over design, which 
 merited application to far better matter. Doubt- 
 less his knowledge of the figure, and his skill in 
 delineating it were very great, overcoming with 
 ease the most difficult foreshortenings. His 
 colouring in fresco is fresh and pure ; producing 
 powerful and agreeable relief. But the enthu- 
 siasm with which it is evident these technical 
 portions of the art are presented to us, wanted 
 the regulating principle of good sense ; without 
 which, great facility too surely leads to greater 
 imperfection. 
 
 In short, the want of that, which made M. 
 Angelo bold, gives to Tibaldi the air of madness ; 
 and we turn from the result with sorrow blended 
 with our admiration. 
 
 Primaticcio*, and Nicolo del Abatet wrought 
 in the same brilliant and free style of design and 
 composition ; masterly but false ; able in art, 
 but at variance with nature ; and manifesting far 
 more science than feeling ; freedom and ease 
 of design, being regarded by them as most 
 worthy of attention. 
 
 * b. 1490. 
 
 f b. 1512. 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 113 
 
 What Tibaldi, with his great power and real 
 knowledge mistook, or was unable to o'er-master, 
 completely bewildered the minds of the nume- 
 rous Florentine artists, who, with Vasari, sought 
 to prolong the existence of the style of Michael 
 Angelo, and unite with it grace and taste. 
 But mistaking the manner, for the spirit, they 
 destroyed the reputation of their own school, 
 and brought discredit upon the great name of 
 him whom they sought to honour : for their 
 errors has Michael Angelo, most unjustly, been 
 made accountable. 
 
 The style of painting thus adopted by the 
 Florentine school is now become the acknow- 
 ledged characteristic which separates it from 
 the other schools of Italy ; so that whenever 
 that school is mentioned in conversation, allusion 
 is generally made to its practice at this period, 
 to the forgetfulness of its prior and more worthy 
 claims to attention and respect, unless specifi- 
 cally noted ; a most unjust triumph of fashion 
 and circumstance over good sense and right 
 feeling. 
 
 While this degradation of fine art took place 
 at Florence, another set of artists, with Julie 
 Romano* at their head, adopted the latter style 
 of Raffaelle in form and composition for their 
 
 * b. 1492. 
 I 
 
114 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 model ; and thus commenced that class of 
 painting, which has since been called Roman, 
 or of the Roman school. 
 
 The principal point wherein it differs from the 
 Florentine is a more strict attention to the forms 
 obtained by study of the Greek sculpture, to 
 which, perhaps, Julio Romano paid a greater, 
 though not so refined a degree of attention as 
 Raffaelle. To him and Francisco Penni, known 
 by the name of II Fattore, with Pierino del 
 Vaga, and Polidoro da Caravaggio, was in- 
 trusted the completion of the paintings designed 
 by Raffaelle for the chambers, of the Vatican, 
 and left unfinished at his death. 
 
 The assistants whom they retained, adopted 
 their style of course, and became known by the 
 title of the Raffaelleschi ; but unfortunately, their 
 leader was endowed with too active and adven- 
 turous a spirit and genius, to conduct them in 
 safety. To him, therefore, that passage which 
 [ have quoted from Mr. Barry, applies with al- 
 most equal force in certain qualities, as to Ti- 
 baldi in others ; and hence it is, that in this able 
 scholar of Raffaelle we have another species of 
 aberration from truth. It was not easy to fall by 
 imitation of that great master of our sympathies. 
 It was indeed rather by the want of it, by a bold 
 ambitious attempt to unite qualities uncongenial 
 to his mind, with style of design, of which he 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 115 
 
 had great knowledge, that Julio Romano is ren- 
 dered liable to the comments I have ventured to 
 make. 
 
 His art is great, and would have had greater 
 power, had he, like Raffaelle, been content to 
 convey it in a measured medium ; or had the 
 delicacy of his mind, been equal to the vigour 
 of his imagination. 
 
 That which he wrought in the Vatican and 
 the Farnesina was from designs by Raffaelle, but 
 in the ducal palace, and in the Palazzo del T. 
 at Mantua*, we find a large mass of his original 
 works, wherein subjects of sublime allegory, and 
 of deep pathos, are treated by him with the 
 hand of a master, in all which relates to poetic 
 fervour and invention in design and composition. 
 
 Strong and vivid in conception, and bold and 
 free in execution, he poured forth without labour, 
 as it would appear, the rich treasures of his mind. 
 No wonder that so animated a helpmate should 
 have been regarded by Raffaelle with especial 
 favour. His knowledge of the riches of anti- 
 quity, and his acquaintance with cultivated 
 form, tempted his master to leave much in his 
 hands in the stanze of the Vatican ; but his bold- 
 ness, and his looseness, have not increased the 
 value of the designs then intrusted to his exe- 
 
 * So called from its vicinity to the Porto del Te, or, del 
 Teatro, from there being a theatre near it. 
 
 I 2 
 
116 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 cution. When compared with Raffaelle's own 
 labours, they rather lead us the more to regret 
 the early loss of that great master ; and that during 
 his life, any employment, however honourable, 
 should have withdrawn him from completing that 
 portion of the series which he began.* 
 
 Ambitiously desirous of uniting the varied 
 beauties of art, Julio Romano sought to support 
 his poetic fulness of imagination, and his power 
 over design, composition, and expression, by 
 the beauties of colouring and forcible chiaro- 
 oscuro. He might, perhaps, have been led to 
 this attempt, by the success of Sebastian del 
 Piombot ; who, in painting the designs of Michael 
 Angelo, had introduced Venetian colouring to 
 Rome and added it to Florentine expression ; 
 not, however, with the truth of Titian, or with- 
 out manner adverse to natural principles. 
 
 But his, is not the excess to which it was 
 carried by Julio Romano, in whose hands it 
 not unfrequently betame caricatura. Day and 
 night are commixed in his effects, lights and 
 
 * In this respect Michael Angelo has greatly the advantage 
 over Raffaelle. The whole of the ceiling of the Cappella 
 Sistina, is the work of his own hand ; and every part there- 
 fore is painted in a style and with a spirit of feeling corre- 
 spondent to the vigour of its invention ; but the same accord, 
 unfortunately for Raffaelle, is not found in the chambers, or 
 in the loggie of the Vatican. 
 
 f b. 1185. 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 117 
 
 darks are arranged at will, and often in total 
 violation of the principles of nature. Colours 
 are heaped together of the most vivid hues, such 
 as sunshine or the prism only can produce, 
 accompanied by shades of deeper colour, or of 
 the blackest night ; whilst the lights and shadows 
 are frequently interrupted in their course, with- 
 out any possibility of assigning a reasonable cause. 
 This, then, is another example of that evil art, 
 founded upon art, and at variance with nature, 
 to which I have alluded. 
 
 Its brilliancy and vigour have acquired for it 
 too much of applause from that portion of the 
 world which has given its attention to pictures. 
 Its great defects have been overlooked because 
 of the beauties and the power of imagination 
 united with them, but which in reality they ob- 
 scure or deform. 
 
 Such art in its defects, is not like the imper- 
 fect imitations of minor matters in the works of 
 the greater masters while pursuing their princi- 
 pal objects. In all those, either the mind is cap- 
 tivated by the mode of treatment in the compo- 
 sition or expression of the subject, and without 
 gross offence in the unpretending qualities of 
 other parts ; or the cultivated eye is delighted, 
 by the beauty and arrangement of the colouring ; 
 or both are gratified at once. Where either is 
 disturbed, the art is not perfect; where both 
 
 i 3 
 
118 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 are offended, what term shall we apply to that 
 art which produces such an effect, if not unnatu- 
 ral or bad ? however alluring may be its accompa- 
 niments, or ingenious the handicraft it exhibits ! 
 
 I have no delight in pointing out thus strongly 
 the defects in the productions of so powerful 
 and original a man of genius, as Julio Romano ; 
 and would rather lead you to the admiration, 
 and the emulation, if I could, of his poetic fer- 
 vour of mind, and his inventive power of com- 
 position ; his knowledge of the human figure, 
 and his vast skill in the management of dra- 
 peries ; but it is a portion of my duty, and in 
 unison with my instructions, to point out to you 
 the defects of men of renown as well as their 
 merits ; to lead you to the knowledge of that 
 which caused the downfall of the art of painting, 
 as well as of that which led to its elevation ; and 
 I know not how to afford you a more important 
 or more instructive lesson. 
 
 If I should extol the extravagant, how shall I 
 enable you to estimate the just ? If I praise the 
 ability with which errors are committed, and am 
 restrained from pointing them out to you as 
 errors, by the beauties which accompany them, 
 I shall by no means give you possession of true 
 knowledge in our art, or direct your course aright 
 to the acquirement of it. 
 
 But I shall have great pleasure in returning to 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 119 
 
 the works of Julio Romano, when I treat of 
 invention, design, and composition, of all which 
 he has left us most admirable examples. 
 
 Many other artists, contemporaries of these 
 able men, were like them gifted by nature and 
 by study with the most animated powers of 
 invention and design, and they were liberally 
 encouraged and employed. But there were few 
 who had strength enough to resist the deluge of 
 fashion of the day ; which mistaking freedom of 
 hand and vivacity of invention, for fine feeling 
 and good sense, lost the beneficial influence of 
 cultivated taste in the pursuit of its shadow. 
 
 Francesco Mazzuolo, called il Parmeggiano*, 
 offers us a different subject for reflection. He was 
 not of the Florentine school, but self-educated at 
 Parma, and at Rome. He endeavoured to com- 
 bine the great excellences of the styles of Michael 
 Angelo and the antique, with that of Coreggio- 
 With what great success he effected this laudable 
 object is seen in his figure of Moses in the 
 church of the Steccata at Parma; and you have 
 an opportunity of judging for yourselves by the 
 study of that fine production of his pencil, the 
 vision of St. Jerome ; which the members of the 
 British Institution, actuated by the most liberal 
 and laudable feeling, have presented to our 
 National Gallery. 
 
 * b. 1503. 
 i 4 
 
WO 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 His art is original, and distinctly his own. Less 
 an imitator than a rival of his countryman Co- 
 reggio, he surpassed him in style of design ; but 
 is far unequal to him in his chief characteristics, 
 suavity, and breadth of colour, of harmony, and 
 of chiaro-oscuro. 
 
 The colour and style of Coreggio were more 
 nearly imitated by Bernardino Gatti * (his pupil) 
 in the cupola of the church called the Steccata at 
 Parma. The subject of this work is the same as 
 that of his master in the Duomo ; and the prin- 
 ciple of its plan is an imitation of it, though not 
 a copy : and had Gatti known how to have been 
 content with fewer figures in his composition, 
 and thus have avoided the confusion which pre- 
 vails in this vast production, it had proved a 
 powerful rival to that of Coreggio. 
 
 Schidone t imitated the impasto, and sometimes 
 the colour, of the great founder of the Lombard 
 school ; Baroccio t his form and composition in 
 his minor productions ; and in one instance, the 
 Descent from the Cross in the Cathedral at Pe- 
 rugia, he rose to style and pathos. But in 
 general the grace which he attempted to display 
 is lost in insipidity, and his colouring is tinted 
 and artificial. 
 
 That which he produced, however, stimulated 
 another, and far more able artist of the Floren- 
 
 ;v b. 1575. 
 
 t b. 1560. 
 
 t b. 1528. 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 121 
 
 tine school, to study the works of Coreggio ; 
 and led him to burst the bonds of thraldom 
 under which lay the mistaken imitators of Michael 
 Angelo. 
 
 Such was the course adopted by Ludovico Carli, 
 called Da Cigoli *, who then turning to nature, 
 endeavoured to extract fresh beauties from that 
 genuine source of all that is excellent, and com- 
 bine them with the varied and great qualities of 
 art. We have but few of his productions here ; 
 but in the Pitti Palace at Florence there are two, 
 a Descent from the Cross, and an Ecce Homo, 
 which testify the propriety of his attempt, and 
 the power of his pencil. The inequality of their 
 parts manifest, however, the difficulty of the 
 task he undertook. 
 
 His colouring and his chiaro-oscuro are ex- 
 tremely rich and powerful in quality; but the 
 forms and expressions of his figures are too 
 nearly allied to common nature, for suitable ap- 
 plication to such subjects. 
 
 Another and a better colourist even than he, 
 was Jacopo Chimenti, or Da Empolit, whose 
 forms also were of better taste ; and from these 
 two, in conjunction with their contemporary, 
 Ludovico Caracci, may be dated the second 
 regeneration of the art of painting in Italy. 
 Perhaps we may add that Michael Angelo Da 
 
 * b. 1559. 
 
 t b. 1554. 
 
LECTURE III. 
 
 Caravaggio, the Opie of the Roman school, also 
 contributed not a little, by the originality, the 
 boldness, and breadth of his light and shade, and 
 close adherence to the forms of nature. 
 
 The Venetian school, founded upon a basis 
 less firm than the Florentine, or the Lombard, 
 but more applicable to ornamental purposes, was 
 very ably sustained for a time by several skilful 
 painters ; among whom the principal ones were 
 Bonifaccio, Paris Bordone, the two Palmi, the 
 Bassani, Pordenone, and Salviati, who, though a 
 Florentine by birth and education, yet adopted 
 the composition and colour of the Venetian 
 school. 
 
 The former, Bonifaccio*, was undoubtedly the 
 most perfect colourist amongst them ; one whose 
 pictures constantly pass current for those of 
 Giorgione ; whilst Paris Bordone t, as frequently 
 occupies the place of Titian, though in general 
 with a minor claim to respect. Here, however, 
 as at Florence, the weaker minded members of 
 the school adopted the style, the spirited ex- 
 ecution, and the splendid arrangement of mate- 
 rials dictated by art, rather than those pointed 
 out by nature ; and followed the track of Tin- 
 toretto, and P. Veronese, rather than that of 
 Titian. 
 
 Hence, at Venice, the same effect ensued of 
 discredit and degradation to the art, as at Flo- 
 
 • b. 149L 
 
 t b. 1513. 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 123 
 
 rence ; and its churches are consequently crowd- 
 ed with pictures, skilfully wrought, indeed, but 
 exhibiting the most senseless splendour, and the 
 most ostentatious absurdities.* 
 
 Thus we find corresponding causes producing 
 the same effects, in each of the three great 
 Italian schools of painting ; in their decline, as in 
 their advancement ; and I repeat the observation 
 I have before made, that, as in their advance- 
 ment we saw attention to truth and nature, and 
 an endeavour to excite emotion in the mind, 
 were the causes of excellence in the art; the 
 rules, or the principles by which it is regulated, 
 being made subservient to that end ; so likewise 
 we find, that the permitted control of these 
 principles of art over the dictates of nature; 
 
 * It is a remark worthy of attention, that the art of paint- 
 ing arose to perfection in the different schools at the same 
 time, and fell almost simultaneously also ; and it has been 
 made a question, whence that happened ; which has not per- 
 haps yet received a better answer than is afforded by an ob- 
 servation of Lanzi. He says, " that it appeared to him, that 
 men at certain periods of time, or ages, form certain maxims, 
 which are universally received by professors and dilettanti ; 
 and which, when they are true and just, form at the same 
 time some extraordinary professors, and many good ones. 
 Change those maxims, as human instability is liable to do, 
 and the character of the age changes also." 
 
 This sentiment I think ftuTy confirmed, when we consider 
 the line of conduct adopted by the Italian artists, after the 
 truly great had presented their labours to the world. 
 
124 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 and the adoption of mere style and ornament 
 for the guide, instead of character and senti- 
 ment, were the sources of its decay. 
 
 This is a point well worthy the serious consider- 
 ation of all artists, in the existing situation of the 
 art, and of the patronage with which it is honoured 
 in our country ; but more particularly for you, 
 young gentlemen, lest your growing efforts should 
 take a wrong direction ; lest you should, like many 
 of the older and able artists of whom I have 
 spoken, mistakenly conceive yourselves obtain- 
 ing substantial fame, and adding to the improve- 
 ment of the art, while in fact you may be 
 hastening its ruin ; blighting your own prospects, 
 and misleading the growth of taste in your 
 country, by a display of mere manual dexterity, 
 and a vivid imagination, instead of sense and 
 thought ; controlled by the science, and not the 
 soul of art. 
 
 Sir Joshua Reynolds has justly observed, " that 
 mistake, and prejudice, when neglected, gain 
 ground upon truth and reason." How necessary 
 is it, then, to guard against mistake, lest it lead to 
 prejudice ! And in no season of life is it so 
 necessary as in the period of youth ; when the 
 judgment is immature, when experience cannot 
 have afforded her beneficial influence ; and when 
 the adopted course of study gives a bias to the 
 whole product of remaining life. 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 125 
 
 The history of the art of painting has now led 
 us to that period, when mistake and prejudice 
 had far overpowered reason in all which related 
 to it, till at length excess of error became 
 manifest and promoted its own correction. 
 
 We have seen a few artists returning to na- 
 ture, and claiming assistance from her to the 
 amendment of art. With some of them, how- 
 ever, selection was wanting ; and as they imitated 
 too closely the ordinary forms of nature, the 
 opposing scale of taste consequently descended 
 too low. The Caracci* endeavoured to regulate 
 it; and by their abilities, and exertions, the 
 great school of painting was transferred from 
 Florence, to Bologna. 
 
 The principle upon which the Caracci proceed- 
 ed, was an attempt to combine the excellences 
 of the three great schools we have contem- 
 plated : a principle which has been productive 
 of much diversity of opinion among men of pow- 
 erful talent. 
 
 The endeavours of the greatest masters of the 
 Florentine school to obtain as much of it as they 
 could, is an evidence in its favour. Even Michael 
 Angelo did not disdain it ! For what purpose 
 did he court the assistance of able colourists, 
 Sebastian del Piombo and others, to paint from 
 
 * Ludovico, b.1555. Agostino, b. 1558. Annibale, b.1560. 
 
126 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 his designs ; if it were not, that he thought an 
 union of fine colour, with fine form, a desirable 
 object? Raffaelle in all his labours sought to 
 obtain it ; and that he did not more completely 
 effect that purpose was perhaps more owing to 
 his attention having been withheld from it by 
 the principal course of his study, and the want of 
 effective examples before him, than to any other 
 cause. 
 
 His friend and instructor, Fra. Bartolomeo, 
 actually did display the combination of form, 
 colour, and chiaro-oscuro with great success. 
 But I shall not, at present, press the subject 
 farther, as I shall be compelled to return to it, 
 at a future time. 
 
 Truth obliges me to say, that the Caracci, 
 skilful and powerful as they were in academical 
 acquirements appertaining to their art, did not 
 in their own practice fully substantiate their 
 theory. 
 
 Ludovico approached the nearest to it ; but it 
 appears, I think, from an examination of their 
 productions, that there must have been some 
 controlling influence over them, which it is not 
 now easy to fathom, which led them to an 
 artificial, and not a natural combination of their 
 chosen qualities ; to answer some given purpose, 
 perhaps, too subtle for fine painting, and adverse 
 to the union they proposed to themselves to 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 127 
 
 form. Their light and shade are not those of 
 Coreggio; nor their colours an imitation of 
 nature, such as Titian produced ; they did not 
 exhibit the powerful activity of the pencil of 
 Tintoretto, nor the grace and purity of Raffaelle ; 
 yet such were their pretensions, and more ; but 
 the breadth of Coreggio and Titian, the zeal 
 and imagination of Tintoretto, and the high and 
 delicate qualities of Raffaelle, or the style and 
 intense feeling of Michael Angelo, are not exem- 
 plified in their works ; and they rarely captivate 
 the imagination ; never excite the senses to that 
 delicious emotion, which all the rest produce in 
 their turn, though so different in their qualities. 
 
 Whence is this, is their system wrong, or are 
 they in fault ? is an enquiry worthy of the atten- 
 tion of the artist and the connoisseur. 
 
 That they understood the human figure admir- 
 ably is displayed with great effect in their labours. 
 Excellent composition was in their power, and 
 great intelligence in the management of the 
 whole material of the art of painting ; producing 
 clearness of colour, and brilliancy and depth of 
 light and dark. 
 
 The latter quality, however, they too frequently 
 carried to excess ; it renders their more serious 
 and more important pictures dark and heavy; 
 and is, if I mistake not, the main preventive of 
 
128 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 their entire success, as far as the mechanical 
 part of the art is concerned. 
 
 Possibly they were led to it, by conceiving 
 that it gave solemnity appropriate to the pur- 
 poses of the altar ; for which their pictures were 
 chiefly produced. But it will appear, that the 
 Caracci carried their principle too far, when we 
 consider how great a number of pictures are 
 serious and impressive in their effect, without this 
 fictitious aid. One instance will suffice, the St. 
 Peter Martyr, by Titian. 
 
 The greatest work of Annibal, the ceiling of the 
 Farnese gallery, upon which he expended all the 
 force of his academical acquirements, is a display 
 of immense practical power. Skilful composition, 
 admirable drawing, and clear, but false, colour- 
 ing prevail in it : unity of subject, or any subject 
 indeed productive of interest, was unthought of ; 
 or if we give him credit for one, it was one un- 
 suited to the mansion of an elevated dignitary of 
 the church : and it excites no other sensation, 
 than admiration of the skilful and laborious ta- 
 lents of its author. More mechanism and less 
 mind, more ingenious artifice and less valuable 
 art, distinguish it from that work which it prin- 
 cipally emulates, the ceiling of the Sistina, and 
 no less so, from the labours of Raffaelle in the 
 Farnesina, and in the chambers of the Vatican. 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 1^9 
 
 It has none of their powerful influence on the 
 mind ; once well seen it is all seen : no depth of 
 thought lies under its surface ; and we do not wish, 
 as with them, to return to it again and again. 
 It is however the perfection of execution and 
 finishing in fresco ; it is gay and cheerful, and 
 highly ornamental ; though crowded overmuch. 
 It admirably exemplifies what industrious in- 
 genuity may do, even when that true spirit of 
 genius which excites to works touching to the 
 heart, awakening our sympathies, and improving 
 our minds, lies dormant. Of the force of ex- 
 pression, both Ludovico and Agostino were 
 more highly endowed than Annibale^ The 
 former, has more frequently exhibited it, and you 
 find him mentioned with admiration in the Dis- 
 courses of Sir Joshua Reynolds for his serious and 
 true historic tone of colour. Agostino, who was 
 in fact the most able man of the three, devoted 
 so much of his time to superintendence of the 
 school and to engraving, that we cannot be 
 surprised if, in the mechanical part of the art, he 
 was unequal to the others. Annibale, the most 
 accomplished in that particular point, often gives 
 us beautiful colour ; and sometimes in his minor 
 works, though it is by no means his general cha- 
 racteristic, exquisite touches of feeling : in none 
 more than in that excellent picture of the Maries 
 lamenting over the dead body of the Saviour j 
 
 K 
 
130 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 now at Castle Howard, but formerly in the 
 Orleans collection. 
 
 He vainly attempted to follow Titian in ideal 
 landscape, but remained at an immense distance 
 behind him. His forms in that class of pictures 
 are artificial and his colouring most frequently 
 untrue ; and though clear and brilliantly executed, 
 they fail to excite the sentiment inspired by 
 those which he emulated ; or the subsequent 
 productions of Nicolo Poussin. 
 
 Guido Reni*, Albanot, Domenichinot, Lan- 
 franc§, and Guercinoll, the most conspicuous 
 among the pupils of their school, adopted each as 
 much of the practice of the Caracci, as suited 
 their individual tastes and purposes ; created 
 their own systems, and maintained more or less 
 distinguished stations in the art. 
 
 The most specious talent and the most pleas- 
 ing to the eye, was Guido's ; but the strongest 
 and most effective, lay in the mind of Domeni- 
 chino. Guido exhibited his taste and capacity 
 in his youth; Domenichino's powers were slowly 
 but gradually developed. The peculiar qualities 
 of both are well illustrated by that contrast of 
 their pictures in the oratory of St. Andrew, ad- 
 joining the church of San Gregorio at Rome ; 
 
 * b. 1574. t b. 1578. J b. 1581. 
 
 § b. 1581. || b. 1590. 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 131 
 
 and by the story of an old woman overheard by 
 Annibal Caracci commenting upon the picture 
 by Domenichino, and pointing out to a girl the 
 strong expressions of the feelings which actuated 
 the different figures in it; whilst, looking earnestly 
 for a time at Guido's, she passed it by in silence. 
 Caracci's own observation was, that Guido's ap- 
 peared truly the work of a master, and Domeni- 
 chino's of a scholar, but of a scholar who knew 
 more than the master ; and Poussin testified his 
 approbation of it by not only choosing to copy it 
 rather than Guido's, but by persuading others to 
 do the same. 
 
 The former of the two pictures of course re- 
 ceived the applause of the multitude, the latter 
 of the few more wisely critical ; who went qua- 
 lified to feel, where there was matter to excite. 
 
 Such was the just triumph of feeling, though 
 displayed in imperfect colour and execution, 
 over the more ornamental portion of the art. 
 But let me not be misunderstood. It is not of 
 so great a master of that which is graceful and 
 beautiful in the art of painting as Guido, that I 
 would wish to speak with disrespect. 
 
 We have to choose between two great and es- 
 timable qualities in the art; and I but prefer 
 those efforts of the mind which are directed to 
 the highest degree of perfection in its applica- 
 tion, whilst I am not insensible to the value 
 k 2 
 
132 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 of that which I feel compelled to place in the 
 second rank. It must not be forgotten that 
 those graces, and that taste of line and of exe- 
 cution, cultivated with such success by Guido, 
 form no small portion of the source of that 
 pleasure and gratification which the art of paint- 
 ing is capable of affording. 'Tis true, his figures 
 have frequently the air of the dancing-school, or 
 of the theatre, where affectation often supersedes 
 propriety; yet they are arrayed in such excellent 
 and elegant forms of drapery, and rendered so 
 engaging by free and perfect dexterity of hand 
 in execution, that they command our attention 
 and control for a time our senses. Great pa- 
 thos is occasionally found in his expressions. 
 His Madonnas have sometimes a more grand 
 and more beautiful character than those of 
 Raffaelle ; and are painted with a celestial purity 
 of hue, which adds greatly to the sentiment in- 
 spired by their expression. The character of 
 the head, and the appropriate expression of the 
 suffering Saviour of mankind, has been by no 
 one, unless it be Lionardo da Vinci, rendered 
 with more affecting influence than by Guido. 
 
 In colouring he is occasionally vigorous and 
 rich, and always pure ; but apt to be cold and 
 inharmonious. His style was varied : its native 
 tone is given by a picture in the Museum at 
 Bologna, painted when he was only twenty 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 133 
 
 years of age, and it is similar to that of his more 
 delicate productions. At a later period, when 
 the works of Caravaggio found favour at Rome, 
 Guido for a while attempted to rival them ; which 
 he did with great power, but not entire success. 
 
 The triumph of Domenichino lay in colour, 
 and in pathos. His' large work of the Cruci- 
 fixion of St. Andrew, in Santa Maria degli Angeli, 
 at Rome ; his Demoniac Boy, at Grotto Ferrata ; 
 and his Communion of St. Jerome, in the Mu- 
 seum of the Vatican, place him above all the 
 scholars of the Caracci and among the most 
 excellent in art. The charm which overpowers 
 the heaviness of his execution, arises from a ma- 
 nifestation of good sense, which led him to give 
 just and strong expression ; and to maintain a 
 total freedom from affectation. 
 
 One class of subjects, however, he undertook, 
 for which his mind seems to have been ill qua- 
 lified ; such are the gigantic single figures of 
 the Evangelists, and others of an allegorical 
 character, in some of the churches in Rome ; 
 and they are consequently deficient in that ap- 
 propriate ideal character, conveyed by Michel 
 Angelo in his figures of the like kind. 
 
 Albano's province was more confined than 
 either, and his style tender and agreeable, but 
 of no great strength. 
 
 Guercino, is bold and skilful : but ungraceful, 
 k 3 
 
134 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 and inharmonious ; whilst Lanfranc lavished to 
 excess the charms of bravura in design and 
 execution, in heterogeneous masses of allegorical 
 allusions, or mystic scenes, on the domes of 
 churches, or the ceilings of palaces. These he 
 wrought with great skill ; but they interest only 
 by the ingenuity with which they are performed, 
 and the ornamental effect which it must be con- 
 fessed they possess. 
 
 He was succeeded in the same career, by the 
 ready invention, and the ingenious legerdemain 
 of Pietro da Cortona*, which gave the general 
 tone of the art, down to the time of Carlo Ma- 
 rattit and Luca Giordano. t The same bravura 
 of execution, operated also upon Salvator Rosa§; 
 but the originality of his choice of matter and ap- 
 propriate manner, and the unity and totality of his 
 arrangements, deservedly rescue his works from 
 the neglect into which others have fallen. 
 
 The attempt made by Francis I. of France, 
 to transplant the art of painting from Italy to his 
 own country, by inviting Lionardo da Vinci to 
 his court, and employing Primaticcio, with 
 Nicolo del Abate, at Fontainbleau, where they 
 adorned the great ball-room and the gallery 
 with a number of spirited compositions, was 
 not followed by any successful issue. But few 
 painters of note arose till the time of Nicolo 
 Poussin ; and he, though born in France and 
 * b. 1596. t b. 1625. % b. 1632. § b. 1615. 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 135 
 
 educated as a painter under Simon Varin, ought 
 rather to be ranked as an Italian ; since it was 
 by drawing from prints after RafFaelle, that he 
 first formed his taste ; and in Italy , that he imbibed 
 the real culture of an artist and fixed his abode. 
 If he returned to France for a time at the es- 
 pecial desire of the king, it was but to learn, 
 that the art which he had so eagerly sought, 
 and had so ably and wisely cherished, was un- 
 congenial to the minds of his countrymen. 
 
 He hastened, therefore, to leave the honours 
 and pecuniary advantages proffered to him, and 
 on his arrival bestowed upon him by the court, 
 with the mortifications and troubles which accom- 
 panied them ; and returned to the happy enjoy- 
 ment of his more grateful, and tranquil, though 
 less profitable studies at Rome. 
 
 Nicolo Poussin # merits a station in the class 
 of original painters ; of those who extended the 
 application of the art, if not its mechanical 
 power. Raffaelle and Julio Romano had pre- 
 ceded him in study from the remnants of 
 antiquity, but Poussin's perception of the use 
 that might be made of them was totally distinct 
 from theirs ; and, if less grand, not less ima- 
 ginative. It was also more strictly imitative of 
 ancient forms, customs, dresses, and appropriate 
 scenery ; of all which he has left us a most useful 
 
 * b. 159*. 
 K 4 
 
136 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 display. Though he drew the principal part of 
 his materials from the works of ancient times, and 
 his combinations of them from the inspirations of 
 the poetry and mythology of the same period ; 
 yet those combinations are so just, the incidents, 
 and accompaniments so well chosen, and exhi- 
 bited with such an air of truth, that the invention 
 is truly his own ; as distinct from those of other 
 men, as are the works of Michel Angelo. 
 
 He endeavoured to recall the attention of the 
 artists, and the people of France and Italy to 
 the study of pure art ; but, except on the minds 
 of Eustache le Sueur *, and Sebastian Bourdon t, 
 his countrymen, the call was vain. The glow 
 of pomp and a flourishing and luxurious display 
 of the power of the pencil, had gained ground 
 in both countries ; and the more simple dictates 
 of sense and propriety were unattended to. The 
 art, in fact, had again become the object of at- 
 tention, to the abandonment of wisdom in the ap- 
 plication of it. His historical pictures, properly 
 so called, are founded upon the perception of 
 the value of truth. Perhaps it may be said that 
 he pursued incident too far, and over-laboured the 
 illustration of a fact ; and there can be no doubt, 
 that sometimes it is the case, and reflection seems 
 to have constrained his imagination in too great 
 a degree. Yet even then, the evil is not, that 
 
 * b. 1617= 
 
 f b. 1616. 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 137 
 
 affectation found its way into his pictures, but 
 only a superfluity of true imagery; embarras- 
 sing, indeed, to the observer, abstracting his 
 attention from the main end of the picture, and, 
 consequently, in opposition to the dictates of 
 good taste. 
 
 The landscapes of Nicolo Poussin, transcripts 
 of the districts in the neighbourhood of Rome, 
 or of the mountains that bound the Campagna, 
 convey in their arrangements and tones of colour 
 a full sense of the dignified perceptions of his 
 mind. The grandeur of their forms, the well- 
 regulated union of their parts, and the depth and 
 richness of their tones of colouring, never fail to 
 impress us with elevated ideas, and supply us 
 with poetic imagery. 
 
 But though thus much was effected by Pous- 
 sin in landscape, as had been done before him 
 by Titian, yet it was reserved for another 
 Frenchman to add the ultimate polish to that 
 class of art, and give the true effect of at- 
 mospheric influence over the preconceived gran- 
 deur and beauty of form. 
 
 To Claude Gelee de Lorraine* we are in- 
 debted for this great improvement. He, like 
 Poussin, made Italy his place of abode, and 
 thence drew his scenery and there cultivated 
 
 * b. 1600. 
 
138 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 his taste. His eye seems to have been imbued with 
 a most exquisite sense of the true beauty of aerial 
 tint and its gradations, and his mind possessed 
 of a consciousness of its utility ; which enabled 
 him to spread it around every object he intro- 
 duced into his pictures, with every possible and 
 appropriate degree of variety : be it on the 
 foreground, in the middle, or the extreme dis- 
 tance. 
 
 No school of art dictated rules to him, unless 
 it were in composition. The country was his 
 study ; and the objects around him and the 
 effects produced upon them by the varied illu- 
 mination of morning, noon, or evening, were his 
 guides ; which he obeyed or controlled, as best 
 suited his purpose : not imitating servilely what 
 he saw, but employing it as a regulator of his 
 taste whilst composing his splendid assemblages 
 of select forms of natural objects ; adorned with 
 remnants of ancient architecture, or the more 
 recent and rich inventions of that art. 
 
 His pictures are therefore completely original, 
 without a prototype in art ; and we may proudly 
 boast, that if he has had successors, whose works 
 rival his in his peculiar sphere, they must be 
 sought for in our own country. 
 
 The poetical and ingenious combinations made 
 by Poussin, of landscapes with figures illustrative 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 139 
 
 of historical subjects, were best imitated by Se- 
 bastian Bourdon.* Interested and moved by the 
 touches of feeling and grandeur of imagery 
 which we see in his pictures, we lament that 
 they want breadth and keeping ; are frequently 
 inharmonious in their colouring, and deficient in 
 aerial tint ; so that he is seen to most advantage 
 in the prints which have been made from them. 
 
 Philip de Champagne t, and Mignardt, ex- 
 hibited great power, but Le Sueur best pursued 
 the track of Poussin in history, felt like a man of 
 fine and elevated mind, and merited the title be- 
 stowed upon him, of the French RafFaelle. His 
 series of pictures from the history of St. Bruno 
 now in the Louvre, much more nearly approach 
 the character of good Roman art, and possess 
 more of its power than any work produced by his 
 contemporaries ; except by Poussin. Nor were 
 those pictures the only testimonies he gave of his 
 capacity. But the unpretending style of Le Sueur, 
 interesting as it was, was not destined to receive 
 support from the tide of patronage then in full 
 effect in his country ; it flowed with more con- 
 genial and fertilising influence over the exuberant 
 abilities of Le Brun.§ His luxuriant imagin- 
 ation covered the ceiling of the gallery of 
 Versailles, with rich and ornamental combin- 
 
 b. 1616. fb. 1602. J b. 1603. § b, 1619. 
 
140 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 ations of well-arranged forms, and all the cap- 
 tivating machinery of the art suited to the 
 atmosphere of the court ; but yet in a style far 
 superior in sense and taste to the works of the 
 later masters of the Italian schools. 
 
 That great work, with his large pictures of the 
 battles of Alexander, testimonies of his power 
 over the materials of the art, established his 
 name as the great hero of the florid style of 
 painting in France ; and his manner, became the 
 subsequent standard of the art in that country 
 to the period of its political revolution. Jou- 
 venet* and others pursued it with success ; and 
 produced pictures of great skill. But when we 
 have seen the more firmly rooted bases on which 
 were raised the glories of Italian art give way 
 to the baneful influence of flourish and affect- 
 ation ; we cannot be surprised to find, that it was 
 not long ere this, which began upon a weaker 
 ground of security, sunk into flimsiness and 
 flutter ; such as we find it in the hands of sub- 
 sequent artists, as Van Loot, Bouchert, &c, till 
 the country which reared it, felt ashamed of its 
 weakness and abandoned it. § 
 
 * b. 1644. t b. 1705. % b. 1704. 
 
 § From these observations must be rescued the name of 
 Watteau, a painter of original taste in subject, and in execu- 
 tion of the most rich, free, and decided and beautiful cha- 
 racter. 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 141 
 
 It is not necessary, neither perhaps would it 
 be decorous in me here, to enter into a discus- 
 sion of the present system of painting in France, 
 or that which has arisen upon the abandonment 
 of former taste. You have works sufficient be- 
 fore you to form your own opinions ; referring, 
 as you ought to do, to nature, and the higher 
 principles of the art, as the guides of your judg- 
 ments. 
 
LECTURE IV. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF PAINTING — Continued. 
 
 1827. 
 
U5 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 In my former lectures I have directed your 
 attention to the rise and fall of the art of paint- 
 ing in Italy, and its introduction into France ; 
 where it was cultivated in a style derived from 
 the ornamental works of the later Italian painters 
 of the seventeenth century. 
 
 I have now to bring forward for your consider- 
 ation another style of the art, totally distinct 
 from either in the principles upon which it was 
 conducted, and the manner of its execution ; and 
 therefore, though the commencement of its ca- 
 reer was nearly coeval with that of Italy, I have 
 thought it best to discuss its history and its quali- 
 ties, apart ; and have hitherto but slightly alluded 
 to it. 
 
 The art I speak of, is that which was practised 
 in Holland, in Flanders, and in Germany ; but 
 principally in the two former. 
 
 Though the object proposed for its attainment, 
 was like that of the schools of Italy, the adorn- 
 ment of the altars in the churches and convents, 
 and the like ecclesiastical influence was exer- 
 ts 
 
146 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 cised for its support ; yet the means adopted for 
 its cultivation, were drawn from a less elevated 
 source, were accompanied by feelings totally dif- 
 ferent from those of the Italians, and were more 
 nearly allied to the common and ordinary per- 
 ceptions of mankind. Consequently, though 
 this peculiar practice of painting became rich, 
 and even splendid in colouring and chiaro- 
 oscuro, and exhibited a most extensive mastery 
 over the materials it employed ; it never, or but 
 in few instances, attained an exalted degree of 
 propriety in its application ; or of perfection in 
 grandeur or purity of form, or dignity and cor- 
 rectness of expression* 
 
 Perhaps this may in a considerable degree 
 be accounted for, from the earlier painters of 
 Germany not having had the advantage which 
 was enjoyed by the Italians, of contemplating the 
 remains of ancient Greek or Roman sculpture. 
 Giotto is known to have availed himself of such 
 aid, though but few marbles were preserved in 
 his time, and those, not of the highest quality. 
 He also had the advantage of seeing the use 
 which the sculptors, Nicolo, and Andrea Pisano, 
 made of them ; how they simplified form, and 
 gave it rotundity, and fulness. Thus painting 
 and sculpture grew up together in Italy ; nur- 
 tured by the same principles, as far as related 
 to form and composition. 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 147 
 
 The painters of Germany were not thus favour- 
 ably circumstanced. Their country had never 
 been exalted by attention to refined art in ancient 
 times, and its inhabitants knew little of that .of 
 Italy. Association between the different coun- 
 tries of Europe was not, in the thirteenth century, 
 quite so easy of attainment as at the present 
 time, nor had engraving then become known : 
 an art that subsequently disseminated the know- 
 ledge of the productions of painting, and spread 
 it abroad through regions far remote from 
 civilised Italy. Another circumstance favour- 
 able to the cultivation of painting among the 
 Italians, which has at no time been enjoyed by 
 the Germans, arose from their artists having 
 been early engaged upon works in fresco. The 
 practice of that peculiar class of art does not 
 admit of so much attention to minutiae, as may 
 be given to pictures painted in body water-co- 
 lours, the early system for the execution of small 
 works ; or in the richer and more powerful effects 
 of colours mixed with oils, which superseded it. 
 By means of fresco, which will not allow of long- 
 continued labour, or of re-painting, the Italians 
 were led, at a very early period, to see how much 
 might be dispensed with in imitation, and still 
 satisfy the mind ; whilst in the other modes, 
 the comparative facility of practice, and the 
 l 2 
 
148 
 
 LECTURE 1Y- 
 
 command which the painter possessed over his 
 materials, tempted to minuteness ; and almost in- 
 evitably conducted the early artists to meanness. 
 
 The Germans, and the Flemings were thus 
 compelled to draw upon their own resources* 
 under the influence of that power of invention, 
 which received its stores from the ordinary in- 
 tercourse of life. They had also to contend with 
 the vulgar prejudices of mankind, ere they could 
 direct their attention to other, than that servile 
 imitation of nature, always the favoured object 
 of uncultivated, or ill-cultivated minds. 
 
 Hence it arose, that their perception of the 
 true beauty of form, was inferior to that enter- 
 tained by the early Italians ; and hence also it 
 arose, that this want of refined taste of form in 
 their paintings, is too often accompanied by a 
 want of purity in the choice of materials properly 
 belonging to their subjects ; and their works are 
 frequently degraded by imagery trite and com- 
 mon place, to say the least of it. Ordinary 
 forms and characters combined with common and 
 vulgar incidents and actions, are too often se- 
 lected to occupy conspicuous stations ; and when 
 such things are introduced into pictures of serious 
 subjects, they attract the mind from the contem- 
 plation of the real point of interest. 
 
 In the midst of all this repulsive matter there 
 is a redeeming power, to the eye of an artist, in 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 149 
 
 the beauty and purity of their colouring, in 
 which we find hues of the most refined quality ; 
 thus exhibiting an interesting contrast to those 
 works of Giotto, and of the older Florentine art- 
 ists, to which I have so earnestly directed your at- 
 tention ; and justifying in some degree the higher 
 estimation which has been attached to them by 
 common observers. 
 
 In the works of the Italians the thoughts, and 
 not the handicraft, interest and engage the 
 mind of the sensible observer ; whilst in the 
 German works, the beauty of the handicraft and 
 the power over the materials, are the objects 
 of attraction : although, not even their utmost 
 degree of beauty, has influence enough, often- 
 times, to screen from contempt the thoughts 
 which they are employed to illustrate. 
 
 Bursts of better feeling were occasionally mani- 
 fested ; and as in the minds of men undirected 
 by rules, strong and glowing perceptions of 
 native vigour, will sometimes appear, and excite 
 a powerful interest by the ideas they convey ; so 
 it happened among the early painters of Flanders 
 and Germany. Some ingenious minds pour- 
 trayed figures expressive of lofty feeling, and 
 maintained great delicacy and fulness of expres- 
 sion, with admirable composition; though alloyed 
 by the dross of vulgar and ordinary form* 
 
 The specimens of old Greek painting which 
 l 3 
 
150 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 about the end of the thirteenth century found 
 their way into Germany or Flanders, gave no 
 insight into the true beauty of art ; but rather 
 indeed, rendered darkness visible. It was not 
 so, however, with regard to the use of the mate- 
 rials of the art ; on that point powerful instruc- 
 tion might be obtained from them; and the 
 hints they afforded were not lost upon the art- 
 ists of either of those countries. The earliest 
 of their works which remain, are consequently, 
 all clear and pure in their hues and tones of 
 colour. 
 
 In design, they appear to have acted, as 
 though they had begun the practice of the art 
 entirely anew; with all the meagreness and 
 poverty of line generated by the want of know- 
 ledge of that which constitutes beauty, in nature 
 or in art. 
 
 Very little indeed is satisfactorily known of 
 their early painters, whose works nevertheless 
 are numerous, till we find Van Eyck, at the be- 
 ginning of the fifteenth century, exciting the 
 attention of the artists of Italy, by the excel- 
 lence and the purity of his painting in oil. 
 
 It is now made very clear, that he was not 
 the first, as Vasari has reported, who practised 
 painting with colours mixed with oil ; but I 
 think it may fairly be supposed, that the mode 
 he invented, or the material he prepared, was 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 151 
 
 • 
 
 productive of an effect more perfect than had 
 then appeared in Italy ; and it is so perfect, that 
 to this day the colours he employed, retain an 
 extraordinary degree of freshness and force. It 
 is the same with the works of those who suc- 
 ceeded him. We see it in the pictures of Ou- 
 water, Hemmelinck, Mabeuse, and many others : 
 but except in Hemmelinck with a lower and 
 more degraded taste. Hemmelinck, often gave 
 exquisite examples of delicacy and feeling, and 
 Martin Schoen still more. In his series of 
 the life and suffering of the Saviour, of which 
 there are prints by himself, we find strong per- 
 ceptions of real character, but displayed in a 
 manner too common and vulgar for historical 
 art ; totally wanting that refinement which should 
 accompany all things whose proper aim is to ex- 
 cite the mind to elevated feeling. 
 
 By these men, the way was prepared for the 
 inventive, and active genius of Albert Durer. 
 As excellent in mind, as he was beautiful in per- 
 son, he added greatly to the honour of the art 
 in his country ; not only by his paintings, but 
 by his engravings, and writings. 
 
 But it is to his painting that I have to direct 
 your attention ; and in that, you will find, fine 
 thoughts, and high indications of sense and sen- 
 sibility : sometimes pourtrayed with fulness of 
 power, and at others merged* and almost lost in 
 
 l 4 
 
152 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 meanness of style. He studied the proportions 
 of the human figure, and has left us his thoughts 
 upon the subject: but so problematical, so in- 
 volved with perplexing diagrams, is his work, 
 that it is ill-suited for application to general pur- 
 poses. It remains a guide for instruction to 
 teachers, rather than to learners ; as it exhibits 
 the necessity of simplification in the means 
 employed for instruction. 
 
 Original thought and feeling mark his pro- 
 ductions, both in matter and manner ; and though 
 it is true that he did not invent a style in which 
 to present them to the world, at least he im- 
 proved largely that which had preceded him. 
 Not indeed to the degree that RafFaelle im- 
 proved upon his precursors ; but still in such a 
 degree, as to make his name honourable among 
 his countrymen ; and call upon RafFaelle himself 
 for respect, which he willingly granted. His 
 conception of the figure of Melancholy, M. Fu- 
 seli acknowledged, " needed little more to render 
 it sublime." His Warrior steadily and firmly ad- 
 vancing, though death spreads his terrors before 
 him, and malignant demons attempt to dismay 
 him; is conceived with originality, and manliness 
 of thought, and with poetic fervour, worthy of 
 Ariosto or of Spencer. His Caiaphas rending his 
 clothes, is depicted with full propriety of charac- 
 ter ; and thus might I proceed to direct your atten- 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 153 
 
 tion to many other instances of excellence in the 
 multitude of his productions, and call upon you 
 for admiration. 
 
 With due respect therefore to so great an autho- 
 rity in criticism, as M. Fuseli, I feel desirous 
 of restoring the claim of genius to one who was 
 so capable of receiving vivid impressions from 
 natural effects ; of retaining and combining them 
 with novelty, and imparting them with inge- 
 nuity ; though encumbered by peculiarities, not 
 accordant with the subsequent acquirements and 
 improvements of taste. 
 
 He frequently, it must be acknowledged, in- 
 dulged in extravagant and quaint conceits, yet 
 in the midst of them impresses us with senti- 
 ment ! Beauty and deformity are perhaps more 
 blended in his labours than in those of any other 
 man : grandeur and meanness are there found 
 side by side. 
 
 His colouring was admirable in hue and in 
 tone. He did not attain a management of ge- 
 neral chiaro-oscuro ; that science adorned the 
 school at a later period : but he frequently pro- 
 duced powerful effects in parts. 
 
 His command of line, and his mastery over the 
 pen, and the pencil, was of the most extraordinary 
 kind, and may be seen in a work (not long since 
 published) called his Prayer Book, the original 
 of which is in the great library at Munich. 
 
154 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 The costume of his figures informs us of his 
 want of refined taste and of classical knowledge 
 in works of art ; the dresses he employed were 
 those of his own time and country, wherever the 
 scenes of his pictures were laid. In his dra- 
 peries, which are commonly full, the general di- 
 recting line of the foldings is fine and flowing ; 
 oftentimes elegant, or grand ; but it is broken, 
 and as M. Fuseli has admirably expressed it, 
 snapt and abrupt in its minor parts, and too 
 much involved. 
 
 Whatever were his defects, his skill and his 
 beauties in composition and in colour, as well as 
 in feeling and sentiment, were not surpassed, 
 nor equalled, unless sometimes by Lucas Van 
 Leyden, or by Holbein, till the knowledge of 
 Italian art was spread in Germany through the 
 medium of prints ; and the artists of that coun- 
 try, as well as those of Flanders and Holland, 
 were stimulated to attempt a rivalry with it. 
 
 The excess to which man is prone when 
 novel ideas invade the mind, and a vivid imagin- 
 ation prevails unaccompanied by that knowledge 
 which is the foundation of sound judgment, is 
 perfectly exemplified, in the course then adopted 
 by the German and Flemish painters. 
 
 Unacquainted with the principles of beauty, 
 and true excellence, and brought at once to the 
 contemplation of the extreme of its power, they 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 155 
 
 were unable to penetrate to its source ; and do 
 not appear to have extended their enquiries fur- 
 ther, than the surface of the models they chose 
 for their imitation. 
 
 But, if the ingenuity of Pellegrino Tibaldi 
 failed to produce true and effective imitation of 
 the works of Michael Angelo, or the vast abi- 
 lity of Julio Romano, those of Raffaelle ; what 
 must be said of the works of Coch, of Ponts, of 
 Goltzius, Sprangher, De Vos, Van Ath, and a 
 host who followed them ! who excited by the 
 same desire with Tibaldi, and emulous of the 
 same taste, produced those extravagant, yet skil- 
 ful effusions of misconception, and conceit ; 
 those extreme contrasts in redundancy of line 
 and affectation of grace, to the meagreness that 
 preceded them, even in the works of Albert 
 Durer : but given with a total abandonment of 
 his sense, and his power over expression. 
 
 For a time this evil, this baneful abuse of 
 fine art, occasioned ruin to the taste of the 
 countries which generated it ; as it spread widely 
 in them, and pervaded the whole of their produc- 
 tions. But in the changeable course of human 
 events, good arose from that evil. The total 
 change from meagreness to fulness of form, was 
 in itself a vast advantage ; and the introduction 
 of large and flowing lines, in skilful combin- 
 ations, which almost immediately followed, but in 
 
156 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 an exaggerated style, was by degrees deprived 
 of much of its excess. 
 
 Goltzius even produced some works of ex- 
 cellent quality, and void of his general cha- 
 racteristic extravagance. Bloemart, Van Oort, 
 Breughel, and Otho Venius, all moderated, but 
 still maintained the novel style, till from their 
 hands it gave rise to the glowing labours of 
 Rubens ; which, if not in correctness, if not in 
 the chastened purity of Greek, or high Italian 
 art, at least in the wide range of the executive 
 power and the brilliancy of imagination dis- 
 played in them, rival those of the highest and 
 the best. 
 
 It is a peculiar quality of genius, to extract 
 from the labours of extravagance, the germs of 
 its vigour ; correcting its errors by the appli- 
 cation of solid sense, and the principles of good 
 taste. 
 
 Thus did Rubens ! The very excess of line, 
 and of rich contrasts in colour, and brilliancy 
 of effect which were before him, formed the 
 basis of that magnificent and luxuriant display 
 of art by which he honoured, and has enriched 
 his country ; and commanded the admiration 
 and esteem of his own, and of succeeding ages. 
 
 It is of no avail that we say, and may say 
 with truth, that it wants the grace and refined 
 feeling of Raffaelle, or the purified energy of the 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 157 
 
 finer works of M. Angelo : still the dazzling and 
 controlling power of his genius over all the re- 
 gion of the art, authorises our placing him by 
 the side of the greatest masters. 
 
 Born, like Michael Angelo and Titian, in 
 an elevated sphere, and educated as a scholar 
 and a gentleman ; Rubens, like them, adopted 
 the art of painting for his profession, in opposi- 
 tion to the wishes of his relations ; a third ex- 
 ample, of high born names rescued by the 
 art of painting, from the oblivion that might 
 otherwise have awaited them, and rendered me- 
 morable among men. 
 
 Rubens received his first professional instruc- 
 tion in the practice of painting, from Van Oort, 
 and Otho Venius ; and cultivated his native ta- 
 lents with a degree of power, which soon ob- 
 tained for him patronage and fame. In Italy, 
 he corrected his taste, without destroying his 
 native feeling ; remaining, like Sir Joshua Rey- 
 nolds, one of the few examples transmitted to 
 us of the true mode of profiting by the labours 
 of others \ preserving his own originality of 
 thought, and combining with its productions, 
 whatever he felt compatible with his peculiar 
 taste of design ; which he never changed in 
 any very considerable degree. 
 
 He evidently availed himself of the thoughts 
 exhibited in the works of all the greater masters - 9 
 
158 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 particularly in those of M. Angelo, Titian, 
 Lionardo da Vinci, and Giorgione ; but he can- 
 not be said to have copied their inventions. 
 
 Whatever he borrowed from them, he has so 
 admirably endowed with his own energetic spirit, 
 so combined with his own peculiar feeling, that 
 it but leaves a hint of its prototype, and becomes 
 his own. 
 
 From Giorgione, he seems to have adopted 
 that fine engaging vehicle for display of colour 
 and chiaro-oscuro, presented by those fetes cham- 
 petres, in painting which he so eminently excel- 
 led; and probably by them he was conducted to 
 the scenes of rural life which he has depicted 
 with such vivacity ; from Lionardo da Vinci, 
 we trace, unerringly we may say, his hunting 
 scenes. By the works of M. Angelo, he framed his 
 extraordinary groups of falling angels and mor- 
 tals; and in measure moderated his line, as by the 
 pictures of Titian, his colouring. But he did 
 not transfer Venetian colouring to Flanders, as 
 has been said. His system in that department 
 of the art, is as different from theirs, as its 
 effects. 
 
 Though he thus caught instruction from all 
 these great artists, still he persevered in his own 
 views of the art; and by that perseverance, 
 has established his claim to rank among those 
 men of original genius, who have extended its 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 159 
 
 boundaries, opened a new field for its exertions, 
 and confirmed its claim to the admiration and 
 respect of mankind. 
 
 The originality, and the peculiarity of inven- 
 tion in the style of Rubens, call upon us, when 
 observing his works, to associate our minds with 
 his ; to abandon in measure the feelings elicited 
 by the pictures of others, particularly the great 
 Italian painters, and accompany him in his pur- 
 suit after those objects and effects among the 
 varied productions of nature, by which he chose 
 to illustrate his perceptions of the principles and 
 the powers of the art. 
 
 If our desire be, to acquire knowledge from 
 the labours of his pencil, this is the more neces- 
 sary ; but it is also in principle, the wisest way 
 of securing to ourselves the greatest extent of 
 the pleasure derivable from paintings. A narrow 
 view of the boundaries of the art, or the range 
 within which it may be employed, either in 
 matter, or in manner, within the probabilities or 
 possibilities of natural effects, is a great impedi- 
 ment to the full enjoyment of its power ; and he 
 who limits the exertions of the pencil to one 
 peculiar line of direction, though it may be the 
 highest, acts in opposition to the general in- 
 terests of the art. 
 
 I cannot therefore coincide with those who 
 lament, that Rubens had not cultivated his taste 
 
160 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 to more perfect union with that of the ancients ; 
 or even of Raffaelle, or the solemn grandeur of 
 Michael Angelo : and this I feel may be said, 
 without abandoning the principle which dictates 
 the preference due to them. 
 
 The mind of Rubens was evidently unprepared 
 for such cultivation, by early associations ; and 
 his principles in the art were formed before he 
 went to Italy. It appears therefore to me that 
 it was more wise in him, to pursue a system of 
 which he felt himself master, than be involved 
 in a conflict of feeling the issue of which was 
 uncertain, and which might, perhaps, have pro- 
 duced mediocrity only, in a pre-existing style. 
 As it is, we have perfection in his own, and 
 that powerfully original ; extending its influence, 
 like Michael Angelo's, to the boundaries of ex- 
 cess, and leaving no perceptible means for im- 
 provement in its peculiar character ; at least 
 none has yet been found. 
 
 No painter like Rubens, with so great an ex- 
 actitude of imitation of natural objects, ever so 
 ingeniously controuled their visible effects ; or 
 so brought them to act in uniformity with a 
 settled system ; that system being artificial to an 
 extraordinary degree, and always apparent to a 
 well informed observer. No one ever made na- 
 ture so subservient to his own views upon so 
 extensive a scale, with so illusive an effect. For 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 161 
 
 notwithstanding the extreme artifice of his style 
 of imitation, it is the last thing which attracts 
 our attention when examining his pictures ; such 
 is the power of that good sense which regulated 
 his composition, and directed the freedom of his 
 execution. 
 
 The invention manifested in the compositions 
 of Rubens, seldom fails to conduct us to the 
 real point of interest in his subjects whatever 
 they may be ; as far as line, and form, and ex- 
 pression are concerned. In these points, his 
 pictures generally set criticism at defiance, and 
 compel it to seek foundation for attack in the 
 combinations of their light and dark, or the splen- 
 dour of their colour. He does not always appear 
 to have considered the extent of power in those 
 principles of the art to destroy as well as to 
 enforce expression ; and it must be acknowledged 
 that in the works of this wonderful man painted 
 for the solemn purposes of the altar, those orna- 
 mental portions of the art are too frequently 
 found impeding the sentiment of the compo- 
 sition, which they should have been employed to 
 increase ; and attracting the attention of the 
 observer from the character of the subject, to 
 which their influence ought to have confined it. 
 
 There are however many of his pictures of 
 religious subjects to which such criticisms would 
 but ill apply. Such are the Descent from the 
 
 M 
 
162 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 Cross, and its side compartments, copies of which 
 are in the room*, the St. Roch interceding with 
 the Saviour for the removal of the plague, the 
 Crucifixion, and many others ; wherein touches 
 of the deepest, and most powerful expression are 
 portrayed with a freedom and ease, as astonishing 
 as they are effective. 
 
 The main character of the style of composition 
 of Rubens, is unrivalled splendour and mag- 
 nificence of effect. An exuberant and vigorous 
 power of invention, the fruitfulness and even 
 prodigality of which were devoted to the pro- 
 duction and support of those qualities, reigns 
 triumphant throughout his works. 
 
 In those points even Tintoretto, and Paul 
 Veronese, fall before him. To obtain such splen- 
 dour and richness, his line in every part is 
 large and flowing, even to exaggeration. Fea- 
 tures and limbs are sw r oln and rendered coarse 
 in their forms, draperies are extended, and even 
 columns of marble are bent to gratify the excess 
 of his love for that variety which constitutes 
 the basis of the picturesque ; and all are com- 
 bined with the richest luxuriance of colour, and 
 the most powerful effects of light and dark. 
 
 All this daring proceeding which in other 
 and weaker hands becomes disgusting, when 
 conducted with his power, ingeniously applied, 
 and with constant attention to the demands of 
 
 * In the Royal Academy. 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 1 63 
 
 beautiful composition ; the whole being in uni- 
 son, and evidently a free emanation from the 
 original power of invention in his own mind ; 
 forming a style entire in its character, and bear- 
 ing the stamp of genius as its passport : all this 
 from him, we accept and enjoy, although it be 
 at variance with better and purer taste ; and far 
 removed from a style of art better suited to many 
 of the subjects upon which it was employed. 
 
 The extraordinary fecundity of his genius is 
 visible in the immense range of the subjects 
 upon which he employed his pencil ; and there 
 are but few objects in nature upon which it was 
 not engaged. We see it in the rich flow of his 
 line ; the facility and wonderful power of his 
 drawing ; the variety, the life, the truth, and 
 reality of his scenes and his imitations ; which 
 command our attention and admiration. The 
 freedom and ease of his execution gives living 
 energy to every limb of his figures, and bears 
 the impress of a powerful hand, which could 
 arrest, and give permanency, to the most ener- 
 getic actions. He seems to have been as inti- 
 mately acquainted with the appearances of flying 
 figures and winged cherubs, as if they were con- 
 tinually fluttering about his painting-room. His 
 works exhibit the most artful combinations of 
 lines, and forms, not surpassed in intricacy and 
 beauty by Michel Angelo himself : and whilst 
 
 m 2 
 
164 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 he rivalled that great master in that respect, ex- 
 hibiting a degree of knowledge equal to his of 
 the structure of the human figure, though not 
 so chastened an application of it, he far excelled 
 him in the practice of the minor principles of 
 the art ; in ingenuity of touch, in arrangement 
 of chiaro-oscuro, in richness and harmony of 
 colouring, and in the general arrangement of a 
 whole to produce a picturesque and an agreeable 
 effect. In short, if Michel Angelo deserves 
 the praise which is due to that high cultivation 
 of the art which leads to its most important 
 degree of elevation ; and in his application of 
 it, like the ancient Greeks, fixes our attention 
 upon one point : Rubens merits the honour 
 due to him who excels in all its other qualities ; 
 and sometimes he contends for the palm in 
 that also. 
 
 Possessed of a full sense of his power and 
 never varying his system, he carried the same 
 scheme of art, the same mode of combination 
 and execution, throughout the whole extended 
 range of its practice. History, allegory, por- 
 traiture, animals, landscape, and still life, en- 
 gaged his attention ; and all bear the stamp of 
 the same hand, guided by the same eye and the 
 same mind. In so far, a certain degree of uni- 
 formity prevails in all of them, in colour, in 
 form, and the texture of the surface ; yet all are 
 wrought with so much intelligence and beauty 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 165 
 
 of execution, that pleasure supersedes severity 
 of criticism, and we applaud while we acknow- 
 ledge the superiority of his power. 
 
 But refined or specific distinction of character 
 appropriate to serious subjects was not his ; and 
 in his attempts to portray the Godhead, or 
 even the mortal form of the Saviour, he 
 makes manifest the original sin of his style. In 
 subjects of an elevated and solemn character, 
 the whole weight of the grossness of that 
 style, too often chained him to earth ; and 
 the taste which dictated his choice of means 
 for representing them, show the measure of 
 the distance at which he must be placed below 
 Raffaelle, or Michel Angelo ; if justice be done 
 to elevation or refinement of mind in the appli- 
 cation of our art. 
 
 In comparing the labours of the great men I 
 have just mentioned, we have the boundary which 
 separates the art from its application, marked 
 distinctly; and it is a distinction which greatly 
 facilitates a right understanding of the qualities 
 of painters. There is no denying, that Rubens 
 infinitely surpassed Raffaelle and Michel An- 
 gelo (if not Titian) in the practice of the art ; 
 combining a greater extension of its principles, 
 with far more perfect execution in all that 
 relates to imitation, than either of them ; and is 
 therefore, speaking with reference to that power 
 
 m 3 
 
166 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 only, by far the abler painter. But if, in our 
 consideration of the qualities which form a great 
 painter, we reflect upon the value of that taste 
 which selects the most effective application of 
 the power of the art of painting to exalted 
 purposes, and so produces the deepest and most 
 important impression upon the mind : then we 
 must deprive him of that high station and give 
 it to those, who, though they had less diversity 
 of power in art, than he, have manifested greater 
 wisdom, and a more elevated and purer taste, 
 in its application. 
 
 We should do injustice to the artist, in with- 
 holding that honour from Rubens ; but still 
 greater injustice to the combination of the artist, 
 and the man, did we not sanction its bestowal 
 upon Raffaelle and Michel Angelo. 
 
 The honours deservedly bestowed upon this 
 great painter far exceeded those awarded to any 
 other ; as they arose not only from admiration of 
 his extraordinary power as an artist, but also 
 from his general acquirements as a man. 
 
 To enumerate his works, or to bestow upon 
 them the attention they merit, would be to em- 
 ploy your whole evening ; such is their number, 
 and such their power. You will find very mi- 
 nute and interesting descriptions of many of 
 the most important with most admirable and 
 useful comments upon them, in the journey 
 
HISTORY OF FAINTING. 
 
 167 
 
 of Sir Joshua Reynolds through Flanders and 
 Holland, published with his other writings ; and 
 I shall have occasion to refer to them again in 
 other lectures. 
 
 Gaspar de Crayer, a contemporary of Rubens, 
 produced pictures which approach so near to full 
 rivalry with his, that they are not unfrequently 
 mistaken for them : a species of praise com- 
 pletely indicative of their excellence, and pre- 
 cluding any necessity of further eulogium from 
 me. 
 
 The school which the brilliant success of 
 Rubens created, raised a number of ingenious 
 artists, who, adopting his style, strove to rival the 
 effects he produced,. 
 
 But it is not given to every one to wield the 
 club of Hercules ! Native strength of mind and 
 vigour of imagination are endowments required 
 by those who attempt to render the system of 
 action assumed by greater men, subservient to 
 their own views ; without them they but the 
 more expose their weakness. So it proved with 
 most of those artists above mentioned ; whose 
 works, though skilful, yet, according to the 
 opinion given by Sir Joshua Reynolds, appear 
 in comparison with his, dull and uninteresting. 
 
 But there are two we must select from the 
 mass, whose display of art is of a different cha- 
 racter ; I mean Vandyke, and Jordaens. 
 
 m 4 
 
168 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 Vandyke, with more delicacy of mind at- 
 tempted to polish, while he employed the taste, 
 and style of his master. Jordaens on the con- 
 trary, with very great power, caricatured its 
 stronger and grosser qualities in every respect : 
 in choice of matter, in style of drawing, in exe- 
 cution, and in colour ; and never escaping from its 
 worst influence, rarely surrendered his thoughts 
 to its best. 
 
 Vandyke, was more tasteful, and therefore 
 more fortunate ; and formed a style for himself, 
 founded upon that of Rubens, which proved him 
 to be by far, the worthiest scholar of his tran- 
 scendent instructor. His historical pictures it is 
 true, do not exhibit the amazing vigour of ima- 
 gination which reigns throughout the works of 
 Rubens, nor ever display great precision of cha- 
 racter, or expression, but they are skilful in com- 
 position, and executed with a degree of beauty 
 of touch, equalled in exactness by few. His 
 style varied exceedingly. In his youth he was 
 free and bold in all the qualities of fine painting, 
 and seems to have wrought with great enthu- 
 siasm, as with prodigious strength of effect ; and 
 this style he preserved till he had been some time 
 in England. Afterwards, he dropped the bra- 
 vura of his taste, and became careful and deli- 
 cate in every point. The great picture at 
 Wilton, of the Earl of Pembroke's family, is an 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 169 
 
 example of the first, as are his fine portraits of Sir 
 Robert and Lady Shirley, at Petworth, the head 
 of Gevartius, and some others; but the numerous 
 portraits by him in this country show a gradual 
 diminution of that vigour, till we find some of 
 them even tame. The knowledge of the forms 
 of the head and features which they exhibit, and 
 the careful precision with which they are marked, 
 whilst breadth is maintained, render them more 
 fit for careful and early study, than those of any 
 other painter : and a student who has formed his 
 taste and execution upon them, will be better 
 qualified to employ the broader and grander 
 manner of Titian, or Sir J. Reynolds. 
 
 Coeval with Vandyke, arose that most extraor- 
 dinary luminary of the art in the Low Countries, 
 Rembrandt Van Rliyn ; whose fervid mind and 
 vivid imagination, exceedingly aided in the ma- 
 nifestation of the extent of its power. 
 
 His view of the capabilities of the art was as 
 original as that of Rubens, but was applied to 
 objects and effects produced by nature of a kind 
 totally different. The choice of Rubens was 
 chiefly directed to the broad and brilliant effects 
 of open air, and of a noon-day sun : Rembrandt 
 loved to dwell on more confined effects of light 
 — the illumination of a torch, or of a sunbeam, 
 the twilight, or a flash of lightning, afforded him 
 the opportunity of proving the accuracy of his 
 
170 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 observation, the fidelity of his imitation, and the 
 perfect command he enjoyed over the materials 
 of the palette. 
 
 No one ever arranged composition with more 
 complete adaptation for effecting the purpose he 
 intended ; or invented circumstances more ap- 
 propriate to the expression of his subject than 
 Rembrandt ; not even Raffaelle. 
 
 They were not always, it is true, of an ele- 
 vated character, nor unfrequently of a vulgar 
 one: but they were the product of strong in- 
 stinctive feeling, powerfully impressed with the 
 knowledge of the natural character of man ; and 
 of that important elementary agent, light, in its 
 visible effects upon natural objects. Such power 
 for instance we find in his picture of the de- 
 parture of the angel after the return of Tobias to 
 his family, now in the Museum at Paris. In that 
 picture one knows not whether to admire most, 
 the sense and ingenuity of the invention in every 
 desirable quality, or the incredible vigour, and 
 effect of its execution. Such merits also are seen 
 in his Return of the Prodigal Son ; and his 
 Death of the Virgin, in which the character of 
 the high priest is grand almost to sublimity. 
 
 Exquisite touches of human feeling abound in 
 his pictures, and interest us in spite of the low 
 and vulgar characters by which they are mani- 
 fested. Two admirable specimens of his pencil 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. ljl 
 
 adorn our National Gallery, to which I would di- 
 rect your attention, as they exhibit his power 
 in diverse styles, accordant each to its subject. 
 The one as free and broad in its execution, as 
 the other is minute and delicate ; and both are 
 beautifully effective. In them we find that 
 perfect congruity throughout the arrangement of 
 their peculiar effects, which proves them to be 
 emanations of an original and vigorous mind. 
 The whole is in unison in manner, matter, and 
 execution, all are directed to one end, and that, 
 an end unsought for by others, are impressed 
 with the character of originality, and bear the 
 stamp of genius. 
 
 But the greatest claim of Rembrandt, to high 
 respect arises from his astonishing management 
 of chiaro-oscuro. No matter what was his sub- 
 ject, high or low, interesting or trifling, he 
 rendered it attractive by this powerful medium ; 
 conducting it with admirable sense and poetic 
 feeling ; and arranging it in beautiful forms. 
 
 It is unknown whence he derived his percep- 
 tions of the vast influence of this principle of the 
 art, which he has exhibited to us more power- 
 fully than any other man. He might perhaps 
 have seen its prototype, in part, in the Notte of 
 Coreggio now at Dresden, or rather of prints or 
 drawings from it, the effect of which he has imi- 
 
172 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 tated in several of his Nativities ; but it had not 
 been rendered by any of his countrymen before 
 him ; and certainly has never since been equalled 
 by them. This exquisite power over chiaro- 
 oscuro was accompanied by a most perfect sense 
 of colouring. His eye appears to have been en- 
 dowed with a capability for discrimination of 
 tone, rivalled only by that of Giorgione, of 
 Titian, or Coreggio. 
 
 The accuracy of his drawing, when he chose 
 to imitate, was of the most extraordinary kind. 
 Many of his academy figures, or figures drawn 
 from nature, remain, and are models of that spe- 
 cies of design, which seeks to be exact without 
 tameness ; they are touched with extreme spirit 
 and truth of character, but with no indication of 
 the slightest desire to give refinement of form. 
 Yet the arrangement of form in the dresses of his 
 figures, seems to have been an object of consider- 
 able attention with him, and is often exceedingly 
 beautiful. In point of expression, his drawings 
 are made more perfect with a few lines, than 
 probably was ever done by any other artist ; so 
 powerful is the feeling of his mind displayed in 
 them, and so clear an understanding did he pos- 
 sess of the means by which to express it. 
 
 His art, like that of Rubens, and Michael 
 Angelo, touches, in its kind, the confines of ex- 
 travagance ; or rather, like theirs, sometimes 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 173 
 
 o'erleaps the boundary ; and is rescued from dis- 
 credit, only by the genius which prompted the 
 bold exploit. Like their art also, it is a dan- 
 gerous model to follow, unless congeniality of 
 feeling be supported by an equivalent degree of 
 intellect and cultivation in the artist who makes 
 the attempt. 
 
 As I give to you, who are studying the art of 
 painting, full credit for that ardent and enthusi- 
 astic feeling of delight in your profession, with- 
 out which you may never hope for success ; that 
 unceasing activity of research after all that can 
 afford you instruction ; that perpetual enquiry 
 into the power and the principles of the art, so 
 necessary for attaining it 5 I cannot but suppose 
 that you have earnestly contemplated the nu- 
 merous and beautiful works of the masters of the 
 Flemish and Dutch schools, which, by the gra- 
 cious munificence of our royal patron # , were re- 
 cently exhibited to our view. 
 
 The sight you have so lately enjoyed of those 
 pictures, added to the multitudes of others of the 
 same class which are continually to be seen in 
 this metropolis, and afford you such opportu- 
 nities of extending your knowledge of the cha- 
 racter of the artists who produced them, renders 
 it almost unnecessary that I should enlarge upon 
 their merits. 
 
 * George IV. At the British Institution. 
 
174 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 Neither the brilliancy, nor the clearness of 
 the skilful compositions of Teniers, nor the 
 character, and finish of Ostade, nor the perfec- 
 tion of expression in Jan Stein, can, I imagine, 
 have escaped your observation. Nor have you 
 failed, I presume, to endeavour to learn from the 
 exquisitely beautiful management of colour in 
 the works of De Hooghe, how wonderfully the 
 power of the art extends even to the imitation 
 of light itself: or with what perfection, precise 
 imitation of the natural effects of objects, may 
 be united with breadth, and delicacy, and soft- 
 ness, in the pictures of Metzu, or Terburg; 
 with brilliancy in those of Potter ; or with beauty 
 in those of Wouvermans. You must have ac- 
 quired a knowledge of the excellence of their 
 landscape and marine painting, those faithful 
 transcripts of nature in her common and some- 
 times in her grandest attire ; their exquisite and 
 minute imitation of animals, and of the charms of 
 fruit and flowers ; and all the various objects to 
 which the art can be applied. All this I presume 
 must be known to you ; and it must be confessed, 
 that as exhibitory of the power of the art of paint- 
 ing, that is, the mere power of imitating to the 
 most perfect degree of precision, the productions 
 of nature ; and even of combining and arranging 
 them, so as to produce the most powerful effect 
 of contrast, and the most perfect appearance of 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 175 
 
 relief ; in all, in fact, which the materials of the art 
 are capable of effecting when employed in actual 
 imitation, the palm of excellence must be given 
 to the artists of the Low Countries, the Flemings 
 and the Dutch. Pictures whose design is in- 
 tended to convey sentiments or tell a tale, often 
 excite great interest in description, though 
 weakly executed ; but those which have nothing 
 of that kind to rely upon, yet exhibit the perfec- 
 tion of art, sink under description ; their whole 
 interest existing in the skill with which they are 
 executed. We may learn much by regarding 
 them, but nothing by talking of them ! 
 
 The history of the art of painting in England 
 presents no point of interest till the time of 
 Charles I., if we except the productions of Hol- 
 bein and Sir Antonio More, during the reigns of 
 Henry VIII. and Elizabeth. 
 
 Had Charles enjoyed the throne in peace, he 
 would probably have permanently established the 
 art amongst us. His native taste led him to 
 make a large and valuable collection of pictures, 
 to invite Titian to this country, and employ such 
 artists as Rubens and Vandyke. By the latter, 
 most of the palaces of our nobility are en- 
 riched with beautiful works, produced during 
 his lengthened residence here : two more parti- 
 cularly, Petworth House, and Warwick Castle. 
 
 But the career of the art, thus favourably be- 
 
176 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 gun, was cut short in its progress ; and the col- 
 lection of fine examples made by the king, was 
 dispersed by the tyranny of Puritanism, which 
 took place at his death. 
 
 Unanimated by a spark of emulation of the 
 beautiful paintings of Vandyke, or even those of 
 Lely who succeeded him, our countrymen till 
 the reign of George II. continued insensible to 
 the beauties of fine art, and even degraded the 
 weaker style of Kneller ; till it was rescued, in a 
 degree, from its wretched condition by Sir J. 
 Thornhill, by Ramsay, and Hudson, and still 
 more by Hogarth. 
 
 But it was reserved for the brilliant genius of 
 Sir Joshua Reynolds, to remove, suddenly, the 
 spell which hung over the art of painting in his 
 country, and elevate it at once to a high state of 
 perfection, rivalling the best in any age. 
 
 He was admirably supported by the talents of 
 his able and venerable successor as president 
 of the Royal Academy, Mr. West, and by those 
 of Barry, Wilson, Gainsborough, Romney, Opie, 
 and Fuseli; all men of great and original 
 genius.* 
 
 * To these names of the departed great adorning the 
 annals of British art, the irresistible hand of death has now, 
 alas ! added another. 
 
 Lawrence ! the polished admirer and portrayer of beauty, 
 the tasteful in poetic literature ; a man fascinating in man- 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 177 
 
 What period of time, or what country, might 
 not have been proud of that great moral drama- 
 tic painter, Hogarth ! that inimitable inventor of 
 a wide range of subjects from the most comic, 
 to the most pathetic ! 
 
 Born with the genius of an artist, though un- 
 favourably educated for its developement, he 
 forced his way through the difficulties that sur- 
 rounded him ; and in despite of a fearful want 
 
 ners, and gifted indeed, with all the blandishments of brilliant 
 genius. 
 
 Whilst his views of the art of painting were enlarging and 
 the powers of his hand still refining, we are deprived of him ! 
 
 How often have we beheld with admiration his pictures 
 adorn our exhibition ! each succeeding year manifesting to 
 us, his unremitting industry and zeal, and the increasing 
 power, with which he exercised his art ; displaying, with 
 with unequalled lustre, the beauty and the manliness which 
 adorn our country ! 
 
 How constantly, had the members of the Royal Academy, 
 occasion to admire and applaud his persevering and unwearied 
 attention to the duties of his exalted station ! 
 
 Yet, while we justly deplore his loss, we may rejoice for 
 him ; that having enjoyed a long and successful career, he 
 was removed ere the disease which had assailed him had em- 
 bittered his existence, or perhaps, diminished his mental 
 power 1 Nay, we may even envy his lot, that he was with- 
 drawn amidst the full lustre and dignity of those honours he 
 so ardently sought, and so justly obtained ; ere a leaf of the 
 laurels which adorned his brow was changed, or the infirmities 
 of the outward frame had, in the slightest degree, obscured 
 the bright intelligence within ! 
 
 N 
 
178 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 of patronage, produced those works which so 
 energetically display the weaknesses and failings, 
 and sometimes the better qualities in the moral 
 character of mankind ; and will never fail to ex- 
 cite feelings sympathetic with his own, notwith- 
 standing the changes that may ensue of manners, 
 of dress, and of circumstances. 
 
 How skilfully he employed our art in re- 
 proving vice and lashing the follies of the day, 
 and how excellent were his powers as an artist, 
 you may learn in our National Gallery ; from 
 that keen, satirical, and poetical display of pride, 
 extravagance, avarice, and folly, with their just 
 punishment, which is depicted in his series of 
 the Marriage a-la-mode. 
 
 We have too many testimonies of the ability 
 of Sir Joshua Reynolds, as a man and as a 
 painter which excite our admiration of him, to 
 permit of any hesitation, in my mind at least, in 
 placing him on a level with the most eminent 
 of those who have practised the branch of 
 the art which he more immediately professed ; if 
 not above them all ! 
 
 It is by Titian, that the palm of merit must 
 be disputed with him if by any one. And there 
 is a vital power in the evident identity of cha- 
 racter, and the calm dignity of his portraits, 
 with their distinct and simple mode of relief, 
 which weigh strongly in his favour. But, if Sir 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 179 
 
 J. Reynolds permitted his taste and his collected 
 knowledge of the picturesque arrangements of 
 backgrounds, and his extended luxuriancy of 
 colouring and powerful and beautiful chiaro- 
 oscuro, to divide interest with the portrait itself ; 
 we find these portions of the art combined with 
 so much elegance and beauty, and executed 
 with so much power, that we feel inclined to 
 pardon the excess, for the sake of the wonderful 
 ability which united the whole in so agreeable 
 a display. 
 
 If, however, this excess of beauty throughout 
 the whole, diminishing the influence of the 
 principal object, were generally the character of 
 the works of Sir J. Reynolds, then I fear that 
 we must surrender the superiority to Titian. 
 
 But it is not so. That poetic, and almost 
 sublime effusion of his pencil, the portrait of 
 Mrs. Siddons as the tragic muse, is a perfect 
 instance of the reverse ; and sufficient to rescue 
 him from the imputation, were there not num- 
 berless others in which the extent of the higher 
 principles of the art are manifested, and still 
 the main object of portraiture preserved ; and 
 certainly when that is the case, the combination 
 entitles him to the highest degree of esteem. 
 
 He added to portraiture a very important 
 feature by adopting the peculiarities of actions 
 of men, caught accidentally, or without observa- 
 n 2 
 
180 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 tion ; and leaving no appearance of their having 
 been studied. By that means he obtained an infinite 
 variety in his pictures : and as they have appro- 
 priate expression and accompaniments, not only 
 are the features of their countenances, but their 
 moral character and their station in life also, 
 more completely developed and preserved to 
 futurity. Thus he gave life to the biography 
 of the talents and the beauty of his time ; and 
 elevated portraiture to the province of history. 
 
 He tells us, in those most valuable discourses 
 which he has left us, and in which he has also 
 discussed the principles of painting with so great 
 authority, how he laboured to obtain excellence y 
 and describes the earnest impulse of his mind 
 in pursuit of all that could add strength to its 
 native power, and advance his knowledge in his 
 art ; leaving us a perfect example for our imi- 
 tation, in precept as in practice. 
 
 I would willingly recall to your remembrance 
 more minutely the admirable qualities of that 
 practice, the grace, the taste, which he never 
 failed to impart to whatever he touched ; time, 
 however, will not permit me. 
 
 But whilst the allusion I have made to his 
 works awakens your recollection of their beau- 
 ties ; let me advise you to be cautious, when 
 you attempt to imitate them. 
 
 Men of great genius, are entitled to great 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 181 
 
 liberty ! but the feeling which dictates the use 
 of that privilege, nay, sometimes requires it for 
 its perfect developement, being founded on 
 knowledge, has always a reference to nature. 
 When Shakspeare drew such monsters in human 
 form as Iago and Lady Macbeth ; carrying the 
 influence of the evil passions which excited 
 them, to acts beyond the bounds of probability ; 
 he shows us that he did not forget the source 
 whence he drew : for he links them to human 
 beings by delicate touches of natural character, 
 which oblige us, though against our will, to 
 acknowledge them as fellow-creatures. 
 
 In like manner, when M. Angelo, when Ru- 
 bens, when Rembrandt, and Sir J. Reynolds, 
 revelled in the pursuit of the best mode to convey 
 the sentiments which actuated them, in the repre- 
 sentation of character or of beauty in man or in 
 animals, or even in the inanimate productions of 
 nature ; or to advance the beauty or the influence 
 of art; and sometimes felt compelled to step 
 beyond the bounds prescribed by exactness; 
 even then, the intelligent and candid examiner 
 will find proofs that it was not done without a 
 reference to nature ; or without that knowledge 
 of her infinite varieties, which forms the only 
 solid basis of the power of a painter. 
 
 This only sanctions the excess to our ad- 
 miration, but not to our imitation ; unless con- 
 n 3 
 
182 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 genial knowledge be within us to guide our 
 conduct. 
 
 I shall not at the present time pursue the 
 history of the art in our country farther. It is 
 gratifying to know that the abilities and taste 
 of Sir J. Reynolds, supported by those of the 
 able men whose names I have mentioned, and 
 others who have succeeded them, have rescued 
 it from the odium which was unjustly attached 
 to it ; and have entitled it to claim a share in 
 the estimation and the praise due to the successful 
 cultivators of the fine arts. 
 
 And now, gentlemen, what is the summary 
 of the information I have endeavoured to afford 
 you ; and what the use to which it may be ap- 
 plied ? 
 
 You have seen how the art of painting strug- 
 gled through a long period of weakness and 
 imperfection, ere it attained sufficient power to 
 express, in a perfect manner, those perceptions 
 of sentiment and of beauty, which more or less 
 have accompanied the varied stages of the pro- 
 gress of man ; and which writers and poets who 
 could conceive them, have found comparatively 
 little difficulty in conveying to others, through 
 the medium of language. 
 
 At length, by the enthusiastic and persevering 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 183 
 
 labours of ingenious men, the means required 
 for the perfect practice of the art were obtained, 
 and its full powers made manifest. You have 
 also seen the probable causes of its decay, at 
 least in Italy and in France ; at various periods, 
 and by various means ; but generally, if I am 
 not mistaken in the view I have taken of it, 
 by the misguided influence of its own excellence : 
 when the artists, finding the labour of perfecting 
 its different qualities completed to their hands, 
 thought only of applying it in the most orna- 
 mental manner, and neglected the principles upon 
 which was founded its claim to the respect that 
 it had obtained. 
 
 If I have led you to a right understanding 
 of this matter, you know that the great eleva- 
 tion of the art was obtained, only by the most 
 vigorous exertions, the most emulative intel- 
 ligence, and the most persevering industry, con- 
 tinued through the lapse of nearly three centuries 
 by men of distinguished talents ; and directed 
 to one end, or nearly so, in each of the schools 
 wherein the art has flourished. 
 
 Can we expect that it shall be maintained, 
 where the like energy, the like exertions, the like 
 elevated views are not upheld ? Can we, with- 
 out such exertions, reasonably hope to follow 
 with success the career of those whose admir- 
 able talents have given to the art and its skilful 
 
 n 4 • 
 
184 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 professors a station and a name honourable 
 among men of intellect, and estimable among 
 the cultivated and the tasteful ? No ! the hope 
 so founded, would be vain ! Philosophers in 
 morals as in physics have told us, that like 
 causes produce like effects throughout the whole 
 of the operations of nature. 
 
 Skilful, and active exertion is therefore neces- 
 sary through the whole course of a painter's life. 
 It is difficult for him to gain a good name in his 
 art, still more difficult to preserve it; and no- 
 thing will effect that purpose, so important to 
 him, but maintaining a constant reference in his 
 mind, to its true object and end. 
 
 I have freely commented upon the defects, as 
 well as the merits, of some extraordinary artists ; 
 but I should regret exceedingly, if those remarks 
 abated your zeal in the admiration of their 
 real beauties, or weakened your enthusiasm in 
 research after the excellent in art among their 
 productions. 
 
 But zeal, is not blindness! nor enthusiasm, 
 madness ! Those vivid sensations of the mind, 
 arising from powerful conceptions of the imagin- 
 ation, are consistent with sober judgment ; and 
 are never so useful, as when under its guidance. 
 I can never conceive it right to maintain and 
 nourish them at the expense of reason, when I 
 know, that in powerful minds they are generated, 
 
HISTORY OF PAINTING. 
 
 185 
 
 and supported by knowledge ; and that it is only 
 when the mind is fully conscious that its exalta- 
 tion to zeal or to enthusiasm is founded in its 
 perception of unadulterated truth in the object 
 which excites to them, that they are confirmed, 
 and enjoyed, and rendered useful. In weaker 
 minds, when excited by unsound examples in 
 art, or in doctrine ; they are dangerous and mis- 
 chievous ; as their cause is evil, so is their effect ; 
 and the sooner they are eradicated, the better. 
 
 The main point then wherein you may hope 
 to lay the firm foundation of a good name, and 
 elevate the art in your country to the estimation 
 of the world, is by cultivating your minds, 
 whilst you employ your hands ; that you may 
 not be led to zealous or enthusiastic admiration 
 in the cause of error. Exert your whole power 
 in the discovery of the most important point for 
 your attention in every class of art ; or in the 
 subject, or object, in the delineation of which 
 you are engaged. 
 
 All the productions of nature, from the highest 
 to the lowest, have intrinsic character ; and so 
 have all the scenes and combinations in which 
 they are presented to our view, or may be con- 
 ceived by our imaginations. When you have 
 attained the knowledge of that character in 
 whatever you are imitating, preserve it, never 
 lose sight of it, but apply the whole means of 
 
186 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 the art in your possession to its developement ; 
 rendering it as attractive as you can, by the 
 addition of all the power of beauty, of grace, 
 and of taste, with which your minds may be en- 
 dowed : but never permitting those adornments, 
 which should give strength to character and to 
 sentiment, to supersede them. It is only when 
 this well regulated union is obtained, that the 
 art of painting reaches its acme of perfection ; 
 becoming attractive by its beauty, whilst it im- 
 presses by its truth. 
 
LECTURE V. 
 
 ON INVENTION IN PAINTING. 
 
 1828. 
 
189 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 on invention. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 Whilst I address you on the principles and 
 the practice of the art of painting, I entreat of 
 you always to recollect, that my desire is to 
 direct your attention to the effects produced 
 by their combination when employed upon the 
 more important branches of Historical Art, in 
 subjects selected from sacred or profane history, 
 or from poetry ; those in fact, wherein the most 
 active and extensive exertion of the inventive 
 faculty of the mind is required ; and wherein the 
 powers of the art find the most ample means for 
 their developement : and whenever I allude to 
 any other portion of the practice of the art, I 
 shall mention it specifically. 
 
 There is a vast advantage arising from thus 
 directing our minds to the consideration of the 
 most perfect efforts of the art, and the most pro- 
 per objects on which to employ it. For if we 
 accustom ourselves to familiarity with the high- 
 est and most extended employment of its princi- 
 ples in works of the most important class, it will 
 
190 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 give us greater power over all the others to 
 which we may direct our attention. 
 
 I shall treat of each of the principles of paint- 
 ing in its turn ; but there is an active agent in 
 the mind of man of the greatest importance to 
 the painter, which demands a previous consider- 
 ation ; since without it, the acquirement of the 
 knowledge of those principles and of the power 
 they impart, would be vain : I mean, Invention. 
 
 It becomes proper therefore, that I should 
 first direct your attention to the use which paint- 
 ing requires of that noble faculty of our minds ; 
 that power of recreating images once impressed 
 upon our memories by our sense of vision, and 
 of combining them in novel forms to illustrate 
 the purposes we may have in view. 
 
 It is Invention, which more immediately gives 
 importance to the art of painting when em- 
 ployed as by the greater masters : by Signorelli, 
 by M. Angelo, by RafFaelle, by L. Da Vinci, 
 by Rubens, by Titian, by Coreggio, by Julio 
 Romano, by Rembrandt, and others ; and it is 
 because that art, throughout the whole course of 
 its practice, requires the exercise and the govern- 
 ance of that stamp of Genius ; that quality, 
 which, more than any other, elevates man above 
 the brute ; which enables him, intellectually, to 
 range through the visible creation, and by select- 
 ing and combining, create new sources of enjoy- 
 
ON INVENTION IN PAINTING. 191 
 
 ment for himself ; it is, I say, the extension of 
 the influence of this great and glorious mental 
 quality from the commencement to the end of 
 the practice of painting, which justly places that 
 art in the elevated station assigned to it, among 
 those entitled liberal. 
 
 That compound of memory, of imagination, 
 and of judgment, which we term invention ; or 
 that exercise of the mind which is engaged in 
 finding out the means requisite for the fulfilment 
 of any given purpose, is indeed applicable to the 
 sciences, as to the arts ; though not in equal de- 
 grees. The philosopher, the chemist, and the 
 mechanic, as well as the poet and the painter, 
 require its influence in the prosecution of their 
 studies, and for the attainment of the objects of 
 their research. But if there be one employment 
 of the mind to which it may with more pro- 
 priety be specifically attached, than to any other ; 
 one, wherein the means employed furnish less 
 suggestion to the imagination for the furtherance 
 of its end, it is painting. It is utterly impossi- 
 ble for a painter to proceed one step in the exe- 
 cution of the design it presents to his fancy, 
 without its continued assistance ; notwithstand- 
 ing the advance of knowledge in the practice of 
 the art. It directs his lines, it commixes his 
 colours, it controls his arrangements of them ; 
 and in short, having provided him with the 
 
192 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 means of proceeding, it continues to be his guide 
 throughout the whole of his labour, and his 
 main support. Such indeed is the subtlety of the 
 art of painting, and such the power of invention, 
 which the perfect union of its principles and the 
 perfect application of them demands ; that to 
 this hour, the desire to see that union effected, 
 remains ungratifled. 
 
 In this respect painting differs essentially 
 from its most powerful rival poetry ; which finds 
 in language, the common medium of intercourse 
 between men, a ready agent, formed to meet, 
 nay prompting its purposes ; whilst as I have 
 said, painting had, and every painter still has, 
 to invent its means of address to the mind ; as 
 well as to provide, like the poet, the subject 
 matter of it. 
 
 Mr. Fuseli, has said, in language as intel- 
 ligent, as the idea it conveys is just, that " in- 
 vention must not be confounded with creation ! 
 Our ideas," he adds, " are the offspring of our 
 senses. We can no more invent the form of a 
 being we have not seen, without reference to 
 one we know, than we can create a new sense ! " 
 
 In accordance with this just axiom, thus au- 
 thoritatively delivered by one of the most imagin- 
 ative of artists, we must consider man as a com- 
 biner, not a creator ! That he can produce new 
 images, only by the union in the whole, or in 
 
ON INVENTION IN PAINTING. 
 
 193 
 
 part, of those which have already been impressed 
 upon his fancy ; and consequently, he, will be 
 the greatest inventor, who, from active observ- 
 ation, has collected and retained in his memory 
 the greatest quantity of natural imagery, and 
 can render it again with facility in new and 
 striking combinations — 
 
 " Giving to airy nothing a local habitation and a name." 
 
 Though it may not be within the range of the 
 power of man, to create for himself an imagin- 
 ative capacity, a capacity distinct from that rea- 
 soning power which weighs and judges, ere it 
 determines ; yet, where the gift has fallen, it 
 may be improved and strengthened by cultiva- 
 tion. And it is a privilege he enjoys whose 
 memory is cherished by study, though he be not 
 endowed with great vivacity of imagination, that 
 he may create a source of invention peculiar to 
 himself by storing his mind with natural know- 
 ledge ; from which he may select fit matter for 
 the purposes of design. 
 
 Herein perhaps, as much as in any other point, 
 consists the difference, between a man of genius 
 and a man of talent. 
 
 The imaginative mind, more readily calls 
 those images it possesses to recollection, and 
 more rapidly combines them in varied and novel 
 shapes, within their still limited range, than he 
 
 o 
 
194 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 of less vivid intellect. But though slower in 
 these mental operations, the mind more cul- 
 tivated, though less vivacious, having a larger 
 domain for the indulgence of fancy, rich in pos- 
 sessions of a more varied nature for the purposes 
 of illustration, will often, in the race for excel- 
 lence, like the tortoise in the fable, make good 
 its way to the goal of fame before its more ac- 
 tive opponent ; and of this, in the practice of 
 painting, Ludovico Caracci and Domenichino, 
 are very remarkable instances. 
 
 It is scarcely possible to consider the quality 
 and the object of invention, as employed by the 
 painter, without reference to its influence in 
 poetry. There is an unity of object in the 
 minds of the poet and the painter, which gives a 
 near degree of affinity to the arts they profess. 
 When employed upon the illustration of history 
 or the productions of fancy, they differ only in 
 their varied means. One spirit actuates them, 
 one power directs them to the same end ; their 
 course only is different, as are the agents through 
 whose means they act upon the different organs 
 of our senses, the eye, and the ear. 
 
 The greatest, and most important effort required 
 of invention in either of those arts, is the selection 
 of that which best relates, adorns, and elevates, 
 the subject chosen : or the separation of that 
 which is essential, which gives vitality to it, from 
 
ON INVENTION IN PAINTING. 195 
 
 the ordinary matter accompanying all mundane 
 things. 
 
 Under what regulation the painter or the poet 
 may select from among those visions of his im- 
 agination which are calculated to elevate, or to 
 give to his subject the air of ideal character, or 
 of refinement demanded by his fancy, remains a 
 matter of taste ; but one thing is clear, the basis 
 of his means for the fulfilment of his desire, 
 must be sought for on earth, and he must ele- 
 vate the matter as he may; with constant re- 
 ference to nature. A character understood by 
 human beings must be maintained in the vision ; 
 and however small the portion, it will be the 
 leading principle in the mind of the reader of 
 the poem, or the observer of the picture. 
 
 Though both the poet and the painter are 
 confined in their compositions to this principle 
 of reference to nature, the poet is infinitely the 
 most unrestrained of the two. The instrument 
 he employs, and the organ he addresses, require 
 far less of materiality, than is demanded of the 
 painter; and numberless are the instances in 
 which the privilege has been successfully in- 
 dulged. But perhaps the extreme of all ex- 
 amples of the poet's freedom from great restraint 
 in this respect, is to be found in Milton ; and 
 the judicious use he has frequently made of this 
 
 o 2 
 
196 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 legitimate power, added to the importance of 
 his subject, renders him the most sublime of all 
 poets. 
 
 His portentous description of the figure of 
 Death, is a powerful instance of his skill in em- 
 ploying this poetic privilege ; for whilst, suffi- 
 ciently for his purpose, it impresses the reader 
 with the idea of the existence of a sentient be- 
 ing, yet it leaves him at an utter loss for a 
 definite form attached to it ; and the image 
 becomes the more terrific in the imagination of 
 the reader. 
 
 Yet even in this unreal image, this great poet 
 connects the vision of his fancy with his know- 
 ledge of material form by minute descriptive 
 touches ; and by those alone are we first excited 
 to partake of the feeling he would inspire : 
 whilst the obscurity in which he has enveloped 
 the rest of the figure increases its power on the 
 mind. Having given by such means a natural 
 basis for the thought he would illustrate, he 
 then with security leaves the rest to the imagin- 
 ation of his reader. 
 
 Herein he has a vast advantage over the 
 painter, who cannot so treat the observer of his 
 picture ; but must employ the agency of other 
 natural objects, which may obscure, or give the 
 monstrous deformity, so powerfully alluded to, 
 but wisely left unrealised by the poet. 
 
ON INVENTION IN PAINTING. 197 
 
 Let us for a while, therefore, examine this 
 powerful piece of imagery, accepted from the 
 poet; it may enable us the better to estimate 
 the just province for the exercise of invention 
 by the painter, and the boundary which pre- 
 scribes its limits in the practice of his art. 
 
 Milton, has conducted Satan to the gates of 
 his " dark opprobrious den of shame;" before 
 those gates, " impaled with circling fire yet un- 
 consumed," are seated Sin, and Death. His 
 description of Sin, presents a combination of hu- 
 man female beauty with other natural and known 
 forms ; but of a loathsome character, and such 
 as are productive of evil. And this combination, 
 allegorical of the allurements of Sin, and the 
 miseries it inflicts, we find no difficulty in ac- 
 cepting. Of Death, the poet thus commences 
 his description ; — 
 
 " The other shape, 
 If shape it might be called, that shape had none 
 Distinguishable in member, joint, or limb ; 
 Or substance might be called, that shadow seemed; 
 For each seemed either." 
 
 This vague, and paradoxical language, leaves 
 us utterly at a loss for any ground whereon to 
 found a conception of the nature, or the powers 
 of the visionary being he would describe ; and 
 were the rest of its imagery of the same class, 
 we should leave it unregarded. But he now 
 
 o 3 
 
198 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 adds that, which identifies it with our natural 
 knowledge, and at once elicits in our minds sen- 
 timents congenial with his own. 
 
 Black it stood as Night, 
 
 And shook a dreadful dart ; what seemed his head, 
 
 The likeness of a kingly crown had on. 
 
 Satan was now at hand, and from his seat, 
 The monster moving onwards, came as fast 
 With horrid strides ; Hell trembled as he strode. 
 
 The touches of natural character which now 
 accompany this terrific imagery, those slight de- 
 grees of union with our knowledge of a being 
 endowed with intellect and with power, at once 
 lead us to accept the whole without further and 
 vain consideration. Our imagination kindles 
 with the poet's enthusiasm, and thus excited, we 
 continue to act with him through the remainder 
 of his glowing description ; which vague and 
 visionary, is aided in like manner, by touches 
 drawn from nature. 
 
 In the continuation of this description, and of 
 the threatened combat between these two dread 
 powers, Satan and Death ; Milton employs an- 
 other of those valuable privileges which attach 
 to poetry, viz., change of shape and of expres- 
 sion. Such ideas it can completely excite in the 
 mind of the reader, but they are out of the 
 reach of the painter, whose forms are fixed. 
 
ON INVENT/ON IN PAINTING. 199 
 
 So spake the grisly Terror; and in shape 
 So speaking and so threat'ning, grew tenfold 
 More dreadful and deform. 
 
 Thus wide is the range within which the 
 imagination and the invention of the poet may 
 be indulged; but all efforts to transfer such 
 imagery to canvass, and impart to it the dread 
 power of the impression made upon our minds 
 by this poetic effusion, have been found ineffi- 
 cient. That portion of the vision, which may 
 be said to be realised by the poet, may be, and 
 indeed has been, in our own time and country 
 equalled, and even surpassed in impressive 
 power ; but as for that which is visionary, and 
 which lends so much influence to the other, 
 the painter must fail. He can but disguise the 
 figure by other natural forms ; draperies must 
 clothe it, or clouds or vapours encompass it; 
 which, as they cannot be divested of their own 
 native power on the mind, will confuse the 
 vision ; and disturb that singleness of thought, to 
 which poetry, unincumbered by such necessities, 
 gives full effect : and which is so necessary for 
 the fulfilment of the purposes of poetic invention. 
 
 This brilliant example of the poet's art, some- 
 what trespassing on the extreme boundary even 
 of his privileges, and which none other than 
 Milton might safely employ, is well calculated 
 to show the difference which exists in the prac- 
 o 4 
 
200 
 
 LECTUBE V. 
 
 tice of the arts of poetry and of painting, as far 
 as relates to the use of invention. The spirit 
 of that power, which collects and selects, which 
 separates and combines materials suited to the 
 purposes of either art ; is alike operative for the 
 cultivation of each, throughout the whole visible 
 region of nature, or the whole of the character 
 and conduct of man. 
 
 The poet however, as it appears, has the ad- 
 vantage of pressing into his service invisible 
 agencies, which is denied to the painter; his 
 agencies must be the tangible, the evident produc- 
 tions of matter; and on these alone, and the 
 different degrees of illumination and imitation 
 under which he may choose to present them, 
 must he rest for support. 
 
 Before I quit this subject I will mention an- 
 other of the privileges of poetry in great measure 
 denied to painting ; viz., condensation of matter ; 
 embracing within a few lines many events, and 
 great extent of time. There is a remarkable 
 example of it given by the noble author of 
 Childe Harold, when, in the third canto of that 
 work, he makes the battle of Waterloo his theme, 
 with the fierce destruction of human life that ac- 
 companied it. 
 
 Last noon beheld them full of lusty life, 
 Last eve in beauty's circle proudly gay, 
 The midnight brought the signal sound of strife, 
 
ON INVENTION IN PAINTING. 201 
 
 The morn the marshalling in arms, — the day 
 Battle's magnificently stern array ! 
 The thunder clouds close o'er it, which when rent 
 The earth is covered thick with other clay, 
 Which her own clay shall cover, heaped and pent, 
 Rider and horse, — friend, foe, — in one red burial blent ! 
 
 The touches of expression contained in this 
 beautiful and powerful verse are little more than 
 hints, and not descriptions of the events preced- 
 ing and attending the great and decisive battle to 
 which it relates; they are sufficient for the poet's 
 purpose, and supply thoughts which convey the 
 reader through the whole course of those events 
 so rapidly, that we may almost say it is effected 
 at once. Such a privilege of combination paint- 
 ing enjoys but in a limited degree, as I will 
 shortly show ; whilst the poet may combine all 
 seasons and all time. Indeed there is no idea, 
 within the region of sense, to the explication of 
 which the power of language does not extend, 
 and the expression of it requires only suitable 
 imagination in the mind of the poet. The 
 painter, may conceive the same thoughts in vain ! 
 Elevated and noble and brilliant ideas may enter 
 his mind, he may think like a poet, but he 
 must choose from amongst the varied images 
 which are excited within him like a painter, in 
 conformity with the limits of his own art, or he 
 will labour in vain. 
 
LECTURE V. 
 
 It becomes therefore of exceedingly great 
 moment to a painter, that he know how to 
 choose those subjects for the display of his art, 
 whose whole purport may be effected by the 
 exercise of its legitimate powers ; by figures, 
 which can be circumscribed by form and per- 
 fected by colour ; the sentiments appertaining to 
 which are capable of being conveyed by action 
 and expression, and made defineable by circum- 
 stance. Another consideration should also weigh 
 with the painter. He ought not only to select 
 such subjects as may receive their full and 
 complete illustration by keeping within the pre- 
 scribed rule I have mentioned ; but also, to pre- 
 fer those, by which he may reasonably expect to 
 produce a feeling responsive with his own in 
 the mind of the observer. 
 
 Wisdom in selection, with truth of imitation, 
 is the basis of all that is good in art ; yet it is 
 necessary to guard that simple axiom from being 
 misunderstood. 
 
 Let no one suppose, that, by that expression, 
 I mean exact and precise imitation, or that I 
 intend to limit the power of the art, or the 
 imagination of the artist, to that which is imme- 
 diately before our eyes ; except in whatever re- 
 lates to character. But should an artist pos- 
 sessed of the most brilliant imagination, indulge 
 it in the most ample range of imagery, and 
 
ON INVENTION IN PAINTING. 203 
 
 revel in the delight which the most vivid ideal 
 scenes of pleasure or of terror will afford him ; 
 for all employment of the imagination is pro- 
 ductive of delight to the inventor ; to what 
 purpose will it be, if in his endeavours to 
 represent these sports of his fancy on canvass, 
 he fail to convey sympathetic emotion to 
 the minds of others? And, if he draw not 
 the illustration of his chosen subject, from 
 the representation of things with which they 
 are acquainted, if he employ ill-founded alle- 
 gory, or extravagant combinations of form and 
 effects ; how shall he do other than fail ! Can 
 any reasonable man be excited to pleasure by 
 that which he does not comprehend! or find 
 in his own mind an image responsive to that 
 presented to him, if he know not its source ! The 
 artist who thus indulges his taste and employs 
 his pencil in wild fantasies, emboldened by the 
 vigour of his imagination, and contemning less 
 adventurous examples ; may be so far deluded, 
 as to fancy that the fire with which he is excited 
 to warmth may spread its glowing influence to 
 others, and excite like zeal in them. 
 
 But the main object of painting renders it a 
 popular art ; or an art which ought to be ad- 
 dressed to the rational, the spiritual, and tasteful, 
 but not the visionary portion of mankind. 
 Though it be the product of genius ; of that 
 
204 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 power, which views with added energy, the or- 
 dinary conceptions of men, and lends the glow 
 of grandeur, of grace, of beauty and of expres- 
 sion, to things and circumstances ; yet its prin- 
 cipal, its main dependance is upon common 
 sense : and however we may flatter ourselves 
 that by a greater indulgence of imagination, a 
 more extreme refinement of our forms, or, by 
 more powerfully contrasting, or more softly 
 uniting our colours, we should establish our 
 claim to greater influence over the minds of 
 others ; if that exercise of imagination, that re- 
 finement of form, or those contrasts or unions of 
 colour, be not restrained within acknowledged 
 boundaries, the attempt will be vain ; as num- 
 berless examples have shown to us. 
 
 The best occupation of the painter is in de- 
 lighting and interesting and elevating the mind, 
 and not in bewildering it ; and therefore, no 
 artist who creates monsters, or engages his 
 talents in the display of subjects obscure or mys- 
 tic, has a right to be offended if the world does 
 not receive them with approbation. Though lie 
 may term the creations of his fancy improve- 
 ments upon the works of nature, or see within 
 the visions of his imagination latent hints of high- 
 formed intelligence, of moral instruction, or of 
 pious fervour ; his opinions and feelings are, in 
 this case, no authority to guide the judgments of 
 
ON INVENTION IN PAINTING. 205 
 
 others ; to them the figures may be still mon- 
 strous, and the images abstruse or absurd ! Nor 
 is there much strength exhibited in such proceed- 
 ing. " He," says Dr. Johnson, " who forsakes 
 the probable, may always find the marvellous." 
 And Sir Joshua Reynolds has observed, that 
 those inventions which either disdain or shrink 
 from reason, are more like the dreams of a dis- 
 tempered brain, than the exalted enthusiasm of 
 true genius.* 
 
 If, however, the subject chosen be of a super- 
 natural kind, employing the instrumentality of 
 imaginary but acknowledged agents ; then in- 
 deed, the fancy more than the judgment is 
 appealed to ; and in determining its value, each 
 man will be guided by his own power of imagin- 
 ation, and his peculiar taste dependent upon it. 
 
 But kindred eccentricities are rare ; and con- 
 sequently, the eccentric find few adorers. Each 
 man who lies under such baneful influence, and 
 so enters upon an unfrequented path to the tem- 
 ple of fame, must expect to find his course 
 rough and interrupted, with few associates to 
 cheer him on the way; and ought to esteem 
 himself fortunate, if he be not entirely overcome 
 by the difficulties he will have to encounter. 
 
 Such inventions then are the superflux of the 
 art of painting, and its bane. 
 
 * Discourse 7th. 
 
206 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 The truly great and good in art endures re- 
 visal, invites it indeed, grows in influence over 
 us, as we advance in knowledge ; continually 
 presents new delight to the observer, and in- 
 creases in our estimation as acquaintance with it 
 the more informs us of its value. As with truth 
 in morals, we feel its influence at first ; but as 
 our perception of its strength increases we attach 
 ourselves to it with redoubled ardour, it fixes it- 
 self on our memories more powerfully, and we 
 enjoy the recollection of it with the greater de- 
 gree of zest. 
 
 The reverse happens with works originating 
 in extravagance or conceit ! A picture fraught 
 with these qualities may at first sight attract by 
 its novelty, or influence by its vigour ; but the 
 fictitious qualities which charm us on a first in- 
 spection, speedily lose their influence as we fur- 
 ther contemplate the work and perceive their 
 fallacy : and as these defects act upon our minds 
 they produce dissatisfaction, till it end in con- 
 tempt or disgust. 
 
 " Shakespeare," says Blair, " pleases us most, 
 not by his grotesque thoughts, and mixtures of 
 tragedy and comedy ; not by his strained and 
 affected witticisms ; but by his animated and 
 masterly representations of characters, the live- 
 liness and truth of his descriptions, the force 
 of his sentiments, and his possessing, beyond 
 
ON INVENTION IN PAINTING. 207 
 
 all writers, the natural language of passion." 
 " Beauties," he adds, " which true criticism no 
 less teaches us to place in the highest rank, than 
 nature teaches us to feel." 
 
 When we have thus excluded all thought of 
 that matter to which the invention of the painter 
 ought not to be directed ; we shall find, that 
 there remains a sufficient mass of important ma- 
 terials within his reach, proper for the exercise 
 of his art ; and presenting sufficient attractions 
 to excite his enthusiasm ; and sufficient difficulty, 
 to require his utmost ardour, and engage all the 
 vigour of his intellect. 
 
 But, since the region within which the inven- 
 tion of the painter can most effectively employ 
 and direct his art, has a boundary so specific, 
 confined to those thoughts and objects which 
 will bear a positive and definite display, or obtain 
 perfect illustration by the materials his art em- 
 ploys ; it the more forcibly leads him to consider 
 the necessity of extending the sphere of his 
 natural knowledge ; of his becoming intimately 
 acquainted with all the stores of imagery it 
 best can furnish him. 
 
 No ingenuity can parry this necessity, or 
 create a substitute for it. No exercise of genius, 
 however brilliant, can abide the test of enquiry 
 into its truth if not founded on this knowledge, 
 which alone provides proper means for the exer- 
 
208 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 tions of genius. It is from the treasures of 
 memory that the imagination is supplied with 
 materials for invention ; and it is, as I have said, 
 only by reasoning from that which we know, and 
 combining ideas familiar to us, and derived from 
 natural causes, that we can create new and inter- 
 esting scenes. The season of life when we can 
 most effectively prepare for this, is youth. Then, 
 the varieties and the beauties of nature charm 
 by their novelty, and the pleasure which that 
 novelty excites, aids in fixing the images of the 
 objects which gratify us in our memories, in 
 store for future application. 
 
 All those objects or scenes, all those circum- 
 stances or combinations of nature which im- 
 press ideas of beauty, of grace, of tenderness, 
 of sublimity, or of terror, should be familiar to 
 the painter. Whatever can impart to his mind 
 the knowledge of the forms or the combinations 
 of colours which excite such sensations as are 
 the result of those ideas, should constantly be 
 objects of his research ; since such result is the 
 solid foundation of the best exercise of his art. 
 All with which moral philosophy or poetry can 
 inspire him ; all which can agitate, or calm the 
 mind, must be objects of reflection and emulation 
 to him ; and there is no place or society, which 
 will not supply food for his imagination and 
 invention, if he be earnestly intent upon qua- 
 
ON INVENTION IN PAINTING. 209 
 
 lifying himself to reap the fame due to merit in 
 his art. 
 
 Above all, he must be intent upon obtaining 
 the knowledge of man, both in his mental and 
 corporeal capacities, in all his varied stages, 
 under all possible circumstances, and through 
 all his diversified characters. He must observe 
 his actions and the expression of his features 
 in his unguarded moments, when indulging 
 the better feelings of his nature or when under 
 the influence of the ruder passions : and tracing 
 the sympathetic connection between his internal 
 feelings and their external tokens, learn to pour- 
 tray the appropriate form which distinguishes 
 each character ; which displays to view the va- 
 ried influence of virtue, or of vice ; of sentiment, 
 or of folly; or presents us with the images of 
 childhood, youth, or age ; of health and sick- 
 ness, beauty or deformity. 
 
 The spirit which Plutarch ascribes to Philo- 
 poemen, the Grecian general, has been quoted 
 by Sir Joshua Reynolds, in illustration of this 
 active quality of enthusiasm in a painter ; and 
 we may gather from his recommendation of such 
 a model, whence he himself drew the graces 
 and the charms of form, of colour, and of 
 combination, which render his works so replete 
 with thought, and so enriched by just and 
 beautiful expressions of character. 
 
 p 
 
210 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 This acquaintance with the works of nature, 
 should be accompanied by a knowledge of the 
 productions of art ; as the shortest mode of 
 obtaining a perception of its capacities, in- 
 formation of its means, and of overcoming the 
 difficulties of its practice. 
 
 If thus stored with knowledge, the basis of 
 invention, the able painter may apply it in modes 
 of almost infinite variety. It is true, that, to afford 
 pleasure to the eye, and thence, to the mind, 
 has been the most extensive employment of the 
 art of painting ; but there is another point of 
 higher import within its reach, and that is, 
 engaging the better feelings of our nature, and 
 so supplying moral instruction. This it at- 
 tains by adopting such subjects, and employing 
 such imagery as shall excite amiable, and exalted 
 sentiments ; and engage our mental faculties in 
 the contemplation of acts of affection, of virtue, 
 and of heroism.* 
 
 It is evidently, therefore, the most valuable 
 exercise of the art which employs it on such 
 subjects as call forth intellectual power, and ex- 
 cite useful and elevated reflections ; and such 
 
 * The imitations of drawings by Flaxman recently pub- 
 lished are admirable and refined examples of this high tone of 
 employment for the art of design ; combining the pure feeling 
 and well-directed simplicity of the earlier masters, with the 
 fulness and intensity of expression of M. Angelo. 
 
ON INVENTION IN PAINTING. 211 
 
 was the main end proposed when painting was 
 employed, as at its revival in Italy, to assist in 
 the service of the altar. 
 
 The professed object of the Roman church 
 in the use of pictures was to awaken the ima- 
 gination of the devotee, to fix his attention, to 
 exalt and to concentrate his ideas of the great 
 source of his present religious comforts and his 
 hopes of future happiness. And were it pos- 
 sible to limit their influence to those points, it is 
 not improbable, that they might have been re- 
 tained in our churches when zeal for reform led 
 to the establishment of Protestantism. Hence, 
 the exclusion of pictures from the churches of 
 the reformers, becomes an argument in proof of 
 the power of painting over the mind. They 
 felt it potent ; and that its influence, aided as it 
 had been by priestcraft, rested not with the 
 mere excitation to devotional feeling, but too 
 often spread onwards, till the picture, or the 
 ornamented shrine itself, became the point of 
 attraction ; and the reverence due to the Divine 
 Being, the only proper object for adoration, was 
 absorbed by the saint or the Madonna repre- 
 sented. 
 
 Paintings possessing such important influence 
 on the mind are of two classes. The one being 
 of subjects drawn from sacred sources, or the 
 most important events of history or of poetry ; 
 
 p 2 
 
212 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 requiring the most exalted taste and skill, the 
 grandest style of form and composition, and the 
 most impressive tones of colouring ; that it may 
 the more deeply impart the peculiar sentiments 
 intended to be conveyed by it, with a character, 
 and in a manner correspondent to the dignity of 
 the matter on which it is engaged. In subjects 
 of this nature, precise imitation is not required ; 
 nay, would be out of place. To excite the 
 mind to act for itself, and undisturbedly pro- 
 mote the full effect of the intended purpose, 
 must be the object of the painter : to cause the 
 image, not to occupy the mind for itself, but act 
 as the inspirer and interpreter of the sentiment 
 which belongs to the subject. Of this class of 
 subject, and of this style of treatment are the 
 labours of Michael Angelo in the Sistine chapel, 
 and of Raffaelle in the Vatican, and in the 
 Cartoons ; the works of Titian in his serious his- 
 torical subjects, of Bartolomeo, of Masaccio, of 
 Giotto, and many others of the old Italian 
 masters ; and of Lionardo da Vinci, although, 
 perhaps, his mode of treatment is more laboured 
 than is necessary or grand. We may add to 
 them many beautiful productions of our own 
 country, and particularly from the skilful labours 
 of West, the poetic pencil of Fuseli, and the 
 playful fancy of Romney. 
 
 The other class of moral subjects, or of those 
 
ON INVENTION IN PAINTING. 213 
 
 which influence the mind, employs the events 
 and the imagery of common life ; exciting emo- 
 tions, at once, amiable and agreeable, by the 
 display of parental or social affection and of pure 
 and innocent enjoyment; or of amusing scenes, 
 which engage the mental faculties, and are not 
 employed to stimulate the sensual inclinations of 
 men. 
 
 To obtain its end, this class of art often adopts 
 the agency of ridicule, satire, the more direct 
 exposition of the follies of fashion, the indul- 
 gencies of vice, or the more agreeable display of 
 virtuous conduct. Such an application of the 
 art, uniting the qualities of the poet and the 
 painter, was more peculiarly that of our own 
 Hogarth. The nature of the subjects he treated 
 often compelled him to employ materials low in 
 character ; yet in humour and in pathos, they 
 are rendered admirable by their application to 
 moral purposes. 
 
 In the illustration of subjects, drawn from 
 historical facts, the invention of the painter 
 ought not to be confined to the conception of 
 the matter they present, precisely in the order 
 in which the historian is bound to relate them. 
 The exactness of the historian, and his minute 
 attention to order in the arrangement of facts > 
 his care to avoid anachronism, to give to each 
 period of time the event which distinctly marked 
 
 p S 
 
214 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 it, may in a great degree be dispensed with by 
 the painter who treats the same subject ; and 
 who has only one moment of time for the dis- 
 play of all its interest. 
 
 He is therefore at liberty, or rather it is re- 
 quired of him, to bring together all those cir- 
 cumstances belonging to his subject, which he 
 conceives best calculated to render it most in- 
 teresting. Probability and possibility are his 
 only controllers ; and there is no other reason- 
 able bound to the exertions of his invention, 
 except, the natural limits of his art. It is the 
 same in the delineation of forms, or the arrange- 
 ment and employment of colours ; in each of 
 them, the laws of nature which relate to charac- 
 ter as allied to the subject, to harmony of colour, 
 and to unity of feeling, are, as I have said, the 
 only controllers of the painter. 
 
 The instances are numerous wherein this 
 privilege has been employed by artists. Thus 
 RarTaelle, in the Heliodorus, has made the high 
 priest officiating at the altar whilst the punish- 
 ment of the plunderer of the temple is executed 
 by the ministers of divine vengeance ; establish- 
 ing by this, the identity and sacredness of the 
 place. Thus, also, in the Attila, though I think 
 not so judiciously, he has combined the vision of 
 St. Peter and St. Paul to the ravager, forbidding 
 his farther approach to Rome, with his interview 
 with the Pope which effected that object; 
 
ON INVENTION IN PAINTING. 215 
 
 though they were events of different moments.* 
 I need scarcely call to your recollection the ad- 
 mirable application of this privilege, by Mr. West 
 in his picture of the death of General Wolfe ; by 
 which he has added so largely to the interest of 
 the subject.t Upon the same principle, Mr. 
 Copley conducted the picture of the death of 
 the Earl of Chatham. 
 
 Neither of those compositions are truly conso- 
 nant with the actual facts they represent : but 
 both combine circumstances, which, not being 
 too far removed from possible truth, tend to 
 enforce the interest of the subjects. As this in- 
 dulgence, however, is granted to the artist, for the 
 purpose only of enabling him to concentrate and 
 increase the power of expression, and give all 
 the interest of a tale at once ; we have a right to 
 expect him to be cautious in the use of it, and 
 confine it within proper bounds ; or to employ it 
 only as far as is absolutely necessary, and always 
 
 * Raffaelle however must be absolved from this anachro- 
 nism ;for there exists a design of his for this subject, in which 
 the Pope is seen coming in the distance. But when Leo X. 
 became possessed of the papal sovereignty, he evidently re- 
 quired of the painter to place him in the foreground of the 
 picture, as Julius II., his predecessor, had done in the He- 
 liodorus. 
 
 f There is a print from a picture by Mr. Pine, where 
 the fact is represented as it took place. The General died 
 when accompanied only by his surgeon and his orderly gre- 
 nadier. 
 
 p 4 
 
216 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 with an entire preservation of unity, in charac- 
 ter, and effect. 
 
 There are many other subjects, for the illus- 
 tration of which the ready inventions of in- 
 genious men have applied the power of the art 
 of painting ; and though they do not come spe- 
 cifically under either of those classes I have men- 
 tioned, yet they call for powerful perceptions of 
 truth and beauty of imitation. Such are por- 
 traits, landscapes, sea pieces ; combinations of 
 objects formed to show the capability of art, and 
 afford pleasure to the eye, and, not unfrequently, 
 sentiment to the mind. For these purposes, 
 selections of natural scenery and natural effects 
 afford an infinite variety, and demand varied 
 treatment. 
 
 The object of invention when employed in 
 painting as relative to the art itself, is, to ren- 
 der the subject clear and intelligible, whatever 
 may be its nature ; to discover the means by 
 which a full impression of its character may be 
 presented to the eye, adorned and elevated in 
 the highest degree compatible with that cha- 
 racter. 
 
 The choice of his subject, is the first import- 
 ant point for the attention of the painter : that 
 it be distinct in its nature ; that all the senti- 
 ments which belong to it may be expressed by 
 natural circumstances, or imaginary combina- 
 
ON INVENTION IN PAINTING. 21J 
 
 tions of natural objects ; that it be capable in 
 itself of exciting the mind to emotion, to some 
 one of the many feelings to which the human 
 being is liable ; and the nobler, and the more 
 pure the better. That it be of a kind, the 
 whole force of which is wrought up in one single 
 moment of time ; or may be so composed of 
 appropriate circumstances, as to produce that 
 effect ; and, if it be possible, that it may be made 
 to possess connecting links between the moment 
 of action represented, and those events which 
 led to, or may succeed it. 
 
 This purely mental operation is in its prin- 
 ciple alike necessary for the poet as the painter ; 
 but there are other claims for invention in the 
 latter derived exclusively from the necessities of 
 his own art. These consist in the selection of fit 
 means for the explanation of the subject by that 
 art ; the best mode of arranging the materials 
 chosen to produce the effect he desires, in lines 
 and in colours; and in discovering the best 
 mode of employing the materials of the palette, 
 for the purposes of imitation. 
 
 In all these points, singly, and combinedly, 
 the exercise of invention should have one deter- 
 minate object in view. 
 
 One sentiment only can occupy the mind at 
 once ; and though the emotions of that subtle 
 essence of our existence are rapid in their com- 
 
218 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 binations, yet it is most gratified when feeling 
 can be combined with simplicity. Hence those 
 compositions will have most power over it, which 
 direct its attention to one point and fix it there. 
 Whenever there is a combination of various 
 objects, each occupying the mind for itself; the 
 impression of the whole, becomes vague, and 
 comparatively uninteresting. 
 
 From the general character of the principal 
 pictures of the ancient Greeks, as they have 
 been described to us, this principle appears to 
 have been well known to them, and practised 
 by them. It is undoubtedly one great cause of 
 the deep impressions which single figures in 
 sculpture make upon us. 
 
 We have examples of the effect of each of 
 these species of pictures, in the ceiling of the 
 Sistine chapel. I allude to the pictures, of 
 Adam receiving life from his almighty Creator, 
 and of Adam and Eve at the foot of the tree of 
 knowledge. In the first, the one idea incul- 
 cated of animation imparted by the Divine pre- 
 sence, remains undisturbed ; or leads only to 
 that which adds importance to it. It is one, 
 from which our minds turn only to contemplate 
 the great Source of light and life, with all his 
 powerful attributes, and the entire dependence 
 of man upon his will ; which reconducts us 
 to the important blessing bestowed. In the 
 
ON INVENTION IN PAINTING. 219 
 
 other picture, how many are the considerations 
 to which it leads by the compound nature of 
 the materials composing the double action 
 which it represents ! it is indeed a combination 
 of two subjects, which occurred at different 
 periods, viz., the introduction of sin into the 
 world by our first parents, and its first evil 
 consequence ; and though there be an evident 
 moral union between them, yet, I think it cannot 
 be denied, that this picture exhibits the disad- 
 vantage of employing too much of matter at 
 once. The mind becomes disturbed with the 
 varying thoughts which arise on observing it ; 
 till weariness and confusion, rather than enjoy- 
 ment is excited : and probably such a combin- 
 ation would not have been resorted to by M. An- 
 gelo, had not the space he had to fill and the 
 explanation of his subject, conjoined to compel 
 his adopting it. 
 
 The only works which I can call to mind, in 
 which the introduction of two subjects at once, 
 adds force to the whole, are the Transfiguration, 
 and the Release of St. Peter from Prison, by 
 Raffaelle. 
 
 The acts represented in the former were 
 simultaneous, and exhibit at one moment, the 
 super-human character of the Redeemer, and his 
 relation to mankind ; his converse with heaven, 
 and his benevolence to man : and thus the union 
 
LECTURE V. 
 
 of the two actions, seems to have been requisite 
 for the full explanation of that mystical subject ; 
 and justifies the bold but judicious invention of 
 the painter. 
 
 In the Release of St. Peter by the angel, the 
 adoption of two points of time in the action of 
 the subject, though certainly against the strict 
 rules of the art, yet carries its apology in its ne- 
 cessity ; for, the developement of the cause why 
 Almighty power descends to unloose the bonds 
 of the imprisoned apostle, could not be made 
 fully to appear, but by the daring invention 
 which brings him conducted by the angel to the 
 open door of the prison. This however it must 
 be acknowledged is by far the least defensible of 
 the two ; since the imagination might have suf- 
 ficiently supplied the inference, had the painter 
 thought proper to trust to the first, or central 
 part alone. 
 
 In well-ordered pictures the same spirit of 
 union directs the invention of the painter in the 
 application of the principles of his art, as in 
 his selection : in his choice of composition, of 
 tone, and of colour : in his mode of execution, 
 and his arrangements of light and dark, in 
 colours, or in shades ; all ought to tend to one 
 end, the support of the character and purport of 
 the subject. 
 
 This important point in invention, unity, is 
 
ON INVENTION IN PAINTING. 221 
 
 easily maintained, where, as in the Adam of 
 M. Angelo, the composition consists of a few- 
 figures ; but in subjects demanding a variety 
 and number of figures for their more perfect 
 illustration, it is preserved with difficulty : and 
 yet to produce a good effect it is absolutely ne- 
 cessary that it should be preserved, or the work 
 will be inefficient. 
 
 The cartoons* around you, are the best exam- 
 ples of it, in composition, which I can point out 
 to you ; those particularly of St. Paul preaching 
 at Athens, the Death of Ananias, and the 
 Healing of the Lame Man at Lystra, which you 
 may at any time consider at your leisure. But 
 their peculiar excellencies in point of invention, 
 have been so admirably illustrated by Mr. Fuseli, 
 and Mr. Opie, that I shall refer you for further 
 information to their lectures ; which are, or ought 
 to be, in possession of every lover and student 
 of the painter's art ; and it has been a great point 
 with me in the composition of my own, to render 
 them an extension of the knowledge conveyed 
 by theirs ; or further illustrations of the points 
 which they have touched upon ; rather than re- 
 peating the same matter ; as far at least, as the 
 nature of my subject would admit. 
 
 * Copies of the Cartoons of Raffaelle made by Sir James 
 Thornhill, and presented to the Royal Academy by the late 
 Duke of Bedford. 
 
LECTURE V. 
 
 The choice of the subject, then, will govern 
 the choice of materials, and the mode of employ- 
 ing them ; and this justifies the observation I 
 have before made upon the importance of that 
 choice. 
 
 But in this point, no man can with propriety 
 be directed. Each will choose according to his 
 native disposition, and act wisely in so doing. 
 Our own school has an advantage arising from 
 our independent mode of conduct in this matter, 
 and from our practice ; though that practice 
 may, in some respects, be called licentious ! It 
 produces a vast variety of art amongst us, and 
 calls for an extensive exercise of the inventive 
 power. 
 
 It is not fair, it is not wise, to limit the efforts 
 of artists to that rule, which Dryden has laid 
 down for the exercise of invention in painting - y 
 " that it must always be done in conformity 
 with the examples which have been set us by the 
 ancients." Had such always been the governing 
 principle in the practice of the art, we should 
 not now have to rejoice in the works of many 
 whom we deservedly esteem ; whose labours at 
 first met with the reprehension of critics, but 
 are now treated with the respect they merit. Of 
 this the works of Wilson, and R eynolds, are a suf- 
 ficient proof. 
 
 It would be absurd in artists to abandon their 
 
ON INVENTION IN PAINTING. 223 
 
 just privilege of selecting from among the works 
 of nature those peculiarities, or those circum- 
 stances, the imitation of which they may feel 
 congenial to their own apprehension, and the 
 display of them, within the power of their art ! 
 
 Every man of genius, however, who is actu- 
 ated by that spirit of original taste, that spirit 
 which leads, like the genius of Rembrandt, to 
 the selection of effects for the exercise of his 
 pencil, previously unobserved or unattempted 
 by others, ought to recollect the danger of 
 being led too far by the peculiarity of his feel- 
 ing. He should remember, that the world are 
 unprepared to accept his labours, their taste in 
 art being founded upon works wrought for dif- 
 ferent purposes, and on a different application of 
 its principles. Hence, he must expect to find 
 opposition from the world at first, rather than 
 support : not so much from any ungenerous 
 feeling, or from a disposition anxious to decry ; 
 as from previous study of other adaptations of the 
 principles of painting, and a want of under- 
 standing its extensive capabilities ; which can be 
 known only to the practical artist. 
 
 I shall not, I hope, be regarded as the advo- 
 cate of a wanton and useless love of variety ; 
 much less, a contemner of those great and 
 glorious productions of the painter's art which 
 
LECTURE V. 
 
 the world has so long and so justly regarded as its 
 master works, and therefore, fit guides for us. 
 They are indeed, admirably suited for the fulfil- 
 ment of their intended purposes ; and it is in 
 extension of the foundation on which those 
 works have been formed, that I entertain the 
 sentiments I have expressed. Those works are 
 the product of a skilful observation of nature ; 
 and so consequently are the principles of art we 
 deduce from them. What sufficient reason then 
 can be assigned, why the art should not be 
 applied in imitation of all the possible varieties 
 of effect in nature, provided that imitation be 
 conducted with like truth? If this be not justly 
 founded, painters retain no power of extending 
 the boundaries of their art, either in principle, 
 or in practice ; and the most valuable exercise of 
 genius is denied to them. 
 
 Painting in its youth, guided by the simplicity 
 and feelings of youth, directed its energies to the 
 developement of simple truth, to explain, and to 
 impress it ; and rested satisfied with its effect. 
 Invention was generally employed by the early 
 painters, in its most natural, and direct course ; 
 and when they undertook to represent an his- 
 torical fact, their minds were engaged in seeking 
 the simplest mode of conveying the sentiment of 
 their subject. Selecting such figures, giving 
 them such actions, and combining them in such 
 
ON INVENTION IN PAINTING. 225 
 
 a manner, as would pourtray most significantly, 
 the circumstances of the tale, with reference to 
 its consequences ; exhibiting them with as good 
 imitation of nature, as their degree of talent per- 
 mitted. Such as I have shown to you was the 
 art of Cimabue and of Giotto, and most of the 
 early painters ; and certainly this is the most 
 direct, if not the most agreeable employment of 
 painting : that, by which an observer is simply 
 attracted to the contemplation of a subject, and 
 finds it unfolded to his understanding. Subse- 
 quently, in the search after improvement, artists, 
 unable to add much to the clearness with which 
 their predecessors presented the fact they pour- 
 trayed, endeavoured to improve the art ; and to 
 embellish their subjects by dignity and elevation of 
 thought, and refinement of taste in composition 
 and effect, and in beauty and grandeur of style. 
 When that was obtained, the restless research of 
 man after renown, the love of the fame due to 
 original genius, inspired others with the desire 
 of adding farther embellishment to the art, but 
 resorting to undue means they destroyed it. 
 
 Though the power of invention has shone 
 bright in the works of many great and renowned 
 masters in the Italian and other schools of the 
 art of painting, yet the noblest of all its efforts, 
 and consequently the fittest for our present con- 
 templation, arose from the genius of Michel 
 
 0. 
 
226 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 Angelo, as we see it displayed in the chapel of 
 Sixtus in the Vatican. We find its perfection in 
 the propriety and sublimity of the subject chosen ; 
 in the ingenuity the copiousness and unity of its 
 plan, and the intense depth of thought and feel- 
 ing it displays ; as well as in the elevated style 
 of its execution. 
 
 The energy with which Mr. Fuseli has treated 
 the power of invention manifested in this won- 
 ful production, seems almost to preclude any 
 farther attempt to illustrate it ; and if I enter at 
 some length into a description of the emotions 
 of my own mind, upon seeing this important 
 work, it is not that I aspire at any thing more 
 than to prove to you, how consideration justifies 
 the high conceptions of that superior artist and 
 critic ; and assist in fixing in your minds, those 
 exalted ideas of the power of the art you pro- 
 fess, with which his lectures ought to inspire 
 you. Led by his genius to a right apprehension 
 of the general principle of the subject, it appears 
 so justly organised, the parts so judiciously 
 chosen for the clear illustration of that subject, 
 that we cannot sufficiently wonder at its having 
 been left unelucidated, to so late a period. Yet 
 true it is, that Mr. Fuseli was the first who 
 penetrated the mist in which it was involved ; 
 and perceiving the sublime intent of its great 
 author, has given to the world a well-digested 
 
ON INVENTION IN PAINTING. 2^7 
 
 idea of the unity which governs the whole of its 
 extended compositions ; and shown it to be one 
 combined mass of separate subjects, operating 
 to one end ; in like manner, as the whole of the 
 scenes of the Paradise Lost were composed and 
 conducted by Milton. 
 
 In the adornment of this chapel, devoted to 
 the especial adoration of the Almighty, by him 
 who is regarded by thousands as his vicegerent 
 upon earth, M. Angelo has displayed the sys- 
 tem of the divine government of the world from 
 its creation, with that also of the elements that 
 surround and uphold it, to its final destruc- 
 tion : including the conduct and eternal fate of 
 man, as deduced from the sacred records and 
 understood by the Christian. In illustration of 
 this grand and important subject, he has repre- 
 sented in a series of pictures painted on the plat- 
 fond of the ceiling, The formation of the elements, 
 and of the earth ; The gift of animation to man ; 
 The acknowledgment of human dependence on his 
 Divine goodness; The introduction of sin into the 
 world at the tree of knowledge, and the conse- 
 quent condemnation of man to suffering and 
 sorrow ; The preservation of the worship of God 
 by the one only faithful, in the sacrifice of Noah ; 
 His consequent preservation from the deluge ; 
 and The relapse of man into sin, by the conduct 
 
 Q 2 
 
228 LECTURE V. 
 
 of Noah and his two sons. Hence, arose the ne- 
 cessity of a Redeemer and a Saviour to man ; and 
 hence the introduction on the vaultings below 
 of the greater prophets who foretold the com- 
 ing of that Saviour ; together with those sibyls, 
 who according to the legends of the Roman 
 Church, alluded to the same important event ; 
 and to the future exaltation, or punishment of 
 man. The triumph of David over Goliath, the 
 execution of Haman, and the heroic act of 
 Judith, represented in three of the angles of the 
 vaulting, show immediate acts of the power of 
 God ; who by the weak, confounded the strong, 
 and preserved the race of men from whom pro- 
 ceeded the Saviour* ; whilst the elevation of the 
 brazen serpent, represented in the fourth angle, 
 conveys, according to our theologists, a type of 
 the healing nature of his sufferings. The remain- 
 ing subjects tend to the illustration of the virtues 
 of humanity, and of that great point in our faith, 
 the union of the Old with the New Testament ; 
 
 * I have been told that the Roman church gives another 
 interpretation to the subjects of the pictures in the angles, 
 viz., as types of the performance of that promise made by 
 God to man, that the seed of the woman should bruise the 
 head of the serpent. That in the Judith, it is the woman (a 
 type of the virgin), who effects that end. In the David her seed. 
 That in the Esther we behold the elevation of the woman to ho- 
 nour ; and in the Brazen Serpent our rescue from everlasting 
 death by her Son. 
 
ON INVENTION IN PAINTING. 229 
 
 till the whole is perfected in the tremendous pic- 
 ture of the Last Judgment. 
 
 But if we except that picture to which I have 
 twice before alluded, the animation of Adam, 
 and the admirable choice of subjects for the il- 
 lustration of his main object, it is not in the 
 series of pictures on the ceiling, that I would 
 seek for the best illustration of the inventive 
 faculty of M. Angelo, as a painter. 
 
 Let us descend to the vaultings below, and 
 we shall find it there triumphant. In the com- 
 position of the Prophets and Sibyls, each ac- 
 companied by two genii, emblematic of the 
 knowledge of past and future events *, his inven- 
 tion was chiefly employed to exhibit the soul 
 within ; to render visible the abstract qualities 
 of the human mind, the sentiments, the feelings 
 which actuate it ; and it is by his having so ef- 
 fectively done this, that I feel he has added to 
 art, what no other painter, before or since has 
 effected in an equal degree. 
 
 * It does not appear that Mr. Fuseli was aware of the in- 
 tention of M. Angelo in accompanying his prophets by these 
 genii, since he says, when speaking of the Prophet Daniel, 
 that " he transcribes from a book upheld by a boy ." Nor have 
 I any authority on which to justify my conjecture, except 
 the very appropriate actions given to these figures. One of 
 them is always calm and behind ; the other in action, as in the 
 Isaiah, the Ezekiel, the Erythrean Sibyl, whose lamp he illu- 
 mines, &c, &c. 
 
 ft 3 
 
230 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 In all these figures, there is no trace of any- 
 other source of form or action, than nature itself ; 
 his poetic imagination enlarging in style the 
 ideas and the images he had gathered from it. 
 There is not the slightest degree of resemblance 
 of one to another amongst them ; they appear to 
 be creatures of different characters as of dif- 
 ferent forms and periods of life, who neither look 
 or think alike ; and are in the farthest degree 
 possible, apart in their composition from any- 
 thing like system ; except in the grandeur of 
 line, and of style, with which they are treated. 
 Grace and beauty do not appear to have been 
 the guide in their composition, but a research 
 after character and expression ; with a rejection 
 of all attention to the antique, except as far as 
 relates to the principles of motion and of gran- 
 deur. Yet they are not void altogether of those 
 agreeable qualities. The Delphic Sibyl is beau- 
 tiful, and moves not without grace, nor the 
 Erythrean : the Isaiah has even elegance in his 
 action ; whilst the Cumean Sibyl, the Jeremiah 
 and the Zachariah, are simply grand, and im- 
 posing. 
 
 In this there is a very sensible difference be- 
 tween the invention of M. Angel o, and of 
 Raffaelle, acting in a manner entirely different 
 upon the minds of others ; and in this kind of 
 subject, M. Angelo has completely the advantage 
 
ON INVENTION IN PAINTING. 231 
 
 over Raffaelle. On the other hand, the genius of 
 Raffaelle, not leading him so far into abstract 
 speculation, but fraught with abundant images 
 of that which is most exalted in human life, 
 entered into the true mode of illustrating history, 
 with far more engaging, and even impressive 
 power than M. Angelo. 
 
 As Raffaelle, in his inventive illustration of 
 facts, frequently conducts us, not only to the im- 
 mediate scene he represents, but also supplies us 
 with hints of what passed before, and will succeed, 
 as in the Cartoons of Ananias, and the Sacrifice 
 at Lystra; so M. Angelo, condensing expression 
 in action and in look, produces a like effect in 
 those single figures ; by actions so full, and com- 
 binations of form so ingenious, that we almost 
 see what they had been doing the moment before, 
 and fancy the result. Such is the power of ex- 
 pression in the Delphic Sibyl, the Ezekiel, the 
 Daniel, (who transcribes from a book upheld by 
 the Genius of foreknowledge,) and more particu- 
 larly in the Isaiah. That figure from an action of 
 repose, or of study of the book of past events, 
 or of knowledge, has turned abruptly to listen to 
 the inspiring dictates of a messenger of divine 
 authority ; or in the scheme of arrangement, the 
 Genius cognisant of future events : who, though 
 unseen by the prophet, is evidently engaged in 
 directing his mind to a distant object. What 
 
 q 4 
 
 f 
 
232 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 can be done by painting more effectually to con- 
 vey a thought, a perception of the mind, that 
 which has no actual existence, but in spirit? 
 We see inspiration personified ; and the idea 
 which first arises in our minds when we view 
 this image, is that of the important message de- 
 livered to the Jews (as holy writ informs us), by 
 that great prophet. 
 
 In the consideration of the merits of this work, 
 it must be recollected, that, excepting the small 
 portions of historical matter it contains in the 
 platfond and in the angles, it is altogether of a 
 poetical nature ; the creature of his own imagin- 
 ation ; an illustration of important matter drawn 
 from within ; embodying sentiment, addressing 
 our mental faculties, requiring the exercise of 
 our reasoning powers, as well as of our taste and 
 judgment in art. In the invention of it, he had 
 no assistance from circumstances ; no aid from 
 that congenial feeling, by which the represent- 
 ation of actions expressive of human enjoyment, 
 or of human sufferings, appeal to our sympathies. 
 Almost the whole is ideal ! Actions and forms 
 are chosen to impress us, in those grand figures 
 of which I have spoken with the idea of beings 
 of a superior order, endowed with extraordinary 
 intelligence, fitted for the important office of 
 agents of Almighty power and beneficence ; and 
 dull must be his mind, and dead to the higher, and 
 
ON INVENTION IN PAINTING. 
 
 233 
 
 the nobler class of feelings, arising from works 
 of imagination, who can enter that room, and 
 contemplate its ceiling, and not feel that such 
 beings of an exalted nature are before him, and 
 around him; and experience a full justification 
 of the language of Mr. Fuseli, when he said, 
 " We stand in awe of Michel Angelo." 
 
 From the remarks I have made you may un- 
 derstand what induced Sir Joshua Reynolds to 
 speak of M. Angelo, in so enthusiastic a manner 
 in his discourses. 
 
 I omit, for the present, speaking of the inven- 
 tion displayed by Michel Angelo in the astonish- 
 ing and terrific groups of the Last Judgment ; 
 or of those more engaging combinations of forms 
 and expressions which are seen in the Lunettes 
 and Abainos of the Chapel. 
 
 From works like these, we learn whence gran- 
 deur in painting is derived ; for the essential 
 qualities of beauty we must turn to others. But 
 were I to indulge in describing more of the 
 matter which presses forwards to my recollec- 
 tion, of the exercise of invention in the highest 
 class of the art, it would swell this lecture to too 
 inconvenient an extent. 
 
 I must rest contented, therefore, with refer- 
 ring you to the great labours of Raffaelle in the 
 Vatican; rivalling, in many points, and in some, 
 excelling the great work of which I have spoken : 
 
234 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 to the original works of Julio Romano at Man- 
 tua ; those of Titian, of Coreggio, of the Car- 
 racci, of Poussin, of Rubens, whose inventive 
 faculty extended through the whole region of 
 nature, or rather of its representation by art; and 
 of Rembrandt, for the pathos in many of his 
 works, fully entitles him to rank among these 
 illustrious names, and to the productions of 
 many other ingenious painters. Nor unworthy 
 of the tribute of praise and respect is that ad- 
 mirable example of ingenious invention left us 
 in the poetical work of Mr. Barry in the Adel- 
 phi, illustrative of the cultivation and future 
 condition of man ; which, though imperfect 
 in its execution and its colouring, drew from Dr. 
 Johnson a remark highly commendatory of the 
 painter : — " Whatever," he observed, " may 
 be said of the merits of the painting, it is evident 
 that the mind has done its duty." 
 
ON INVENTION IN PAINTING. 235 
 
 APPENDIX TO LECTURE V. 
 
 Read 1831, 
 instead of the eulogium on m. angelo. 
 
 The perfection of this system is to be found 
 in the works of RafFaelle and M. Angelo ; 
 but I shall not now repeat to you the 
 discussion which I have in former lectures 
 entered into, upon the peculiar power of in- 
 vention which inspired the mind of M. Angelo. 
 Other men, endowed with different qualities 
 of invention, demand regard ; and perhaps the 
 influence of the power they exhibited not being 
 of so abstruse a nature, but more immediately 
 resulting from the common circumstances of 
 life, may more easily be applied in the compo- 
 sition of such works as the taste of the present 
 time requires. I will therefore now direct 
 your attention to the beautiful and pure display 
 of the inventive faculty of a painter, in the 
 series of pictures by RafFaelle in the Vatican, 
 In those pictures, the representation of human 
 action and passion excites our minds to the 
 most exalted admiration of the artist, and our 
 
236 APPENDIX TO LECTURE V. 
 
 hearts to the most animated feeling; there 
 propriety without insipidity is the presiding 
 principle, and there enthusiastic fervour has 
 evidently been the inspirer of the imagery em- 
 ployed. 
 
 If invention be manifested in a manner less 
 imposing by the series of compositions painted 
 by RafFaelle in the chambers of the Vatican, 
 than by that of M. Angelo in its chapel ; being 
 less emphatic, more within the extreme boun- 
 dary of truth, and not presenting when under- 
 stood such evident and immediate unity of 
 design in its parts ; yet being also less abstruse 
 in its quality, having a nearer degree of affinity 
 to human feeling, it affords greater gratification 
 to the world at large in the separate pictures 
 which cover the walls. 
 
 The subject for the illustration of which 
 RafFaelle was summoned to Rome, by Pope 
 Julius II. was the establishment and mainte- 
 nance of the Christian Church ; and a subject 
 more proper for adoption in the residence of 
 the head of that Church cannot well be 
 imagined. But the combined symbolical, alle- 
 gorical, and historical mode adopted for its 
 display being extremely complex, and thereby 
 deprived of more than half the interest it 
 ought to possess, is consequently seldom pur- 
 sued. 
 
ON INVENTION IN PAINTING. 237 
 
 As far as I have been able to trace it from 
 inspections of the work, and with the help of the 
 very slight materials afforded by contemporary 
 authors, it appears that the series of pictures in 
 the chamber first painted, containing the Dispute 
 on the Sacrament, the School of Athens, the 
 Parnassus, and the Jurisprudence, are intended 
 to convey an idea of the church being founded 
 on the strong basis of religion and philosophy ; 
 on the blessing of God and the cultivation of 
 man : and in the other chamber where are the 
 Miracle of Bolsena, the Heliodorus, the Attila, 
 St. Peter released from Prison and other pic- 
 tures, as upheld by many important grants of 
 Divine favour interposed in its behalf. In the 
 School of Theology, or as it is more commonly 
 called, the Dispute on the Sacrament, the holy 
 and revered Doctors of the Church, assembled 
 near the sacred altar, and under the influence 
 of the Holy Spirit, (descending from the 
 heavenly hierarchy above), determine that im- 
 portant doctrine of the Roman church, one 
 great resting point of its system, Transubstan- 
 tiation. In the opposite picture the school of 
 Athens, or more properly the school of Philo- 
 sophy, we find a symbolical display of the great 
 support to religion derived from the wisdom of 
 man, the influence of cultivation. There, the 
 great heathen philosophers of former ages, are 
 
238 APPENDIX TO LECTURE V. 
 
 assembled; and Plato, and Aristotle discuss 
 the nature of the Divine Being, and the ador- 
 ation due to him, in the presence of a nume- 
 rous audience ; whilst the attainments of diverse 
 branches of science are displayed in other 
 portions of the composition : the whole being 
 intended to declare, that human acquirements 
 in the discovery of truth, prepared the minds 
 of men to receive the more perfect display of it 
 in the revelation of the Gospel. 
 
 Upon the same system of reasoning, the re- 
 finement of Poetry, which has borne so large 
 a share in polishing and perfecting mental ca- 
 pacity, was adopted and displayed by the as- 
 semblage of Poets on Parnassus ; where, under 
 Divine influence, (represented by Apollo and the 
 Muses,) Virgil and Ovid and Dante, listen to 
 the strains of Homer. In a fourth picture in the 
 same room we are referred to the united influ- 
 ence of all, by the union of the virtues Forti- 
 tude, Prudence, and Temperance ; and other 
 pictures, painted in the angles formed by the 
 arched tops of the larger ones, of groups, or of 
 single figures, assist to illustrate the ideas those 
 large pictures are intended to convey. 
 
 In the adjoining chamber, the subject of the 
 picture of Theology is supported by the miracle 
 of Bolsena, where drops of blood are seen, by 
 the priest who administers the sacrament to the 
 
ON INVENTION IN PAINTING. 239 
 
 Pope, to fall from the consecrated wafer. The 
 intervention of Almighty power in the establish- 
 ment of the church, is depicted by the miraculous 
 release from prison of its founder and first 
 Bishop, St. Peter : and two instances of its pre- 
 servation by Divine interference, extended both 
 to its spiritual and its temporal power, are record- 
 ed in the same room, by the pictures called the 
 Heliodorus and the Attila. The first symboli- 
 cally, by representing the punishment inflicted by 
 Divine agents upon sacrilege ; and supposed to 
 allude to the destruction of the foes of the 
 church, the powerful Barons who had endea- 
 voured to seize its property but were overcome 
 by the policy of Julius. The other, historically, 
 by a representation of the Arrest of Attila on 
 his way to Rome; first by a vision of St. Peter 
 and St. Paul, with drawn swords in their hands, 
 threatening him with destruction if he advanced 
 farther; and afterwards by treaty with Pope 
 Leo I. 
 
 Again, the picture of St. Leo causing by his 
 prayers the cessation of the fire, as seen in the 
 Incendio del Borgo, tends to inspire holy confi- 
 dence in the Head of the Church, as an immedi- 
 ate agent of heavenly power. The conversion 
 of the Emperor Constantine, seen in one of 
 the pictures, representing his vision of the 
 cross, and his triumph over Maxentius, increased 
 
240 
 
 APPENDIX TO LECTURE V. 
 
 and confirmed the growth of Christianity ; and it 
 was established and extended by other less im- 
 portant events, which are the subjects of other 
 pictures. 
 
 Such, appears to be the general scheme of 
 this series of designs from the hand of Raffaelle. 
 What degree of influence Raffaelle might have 
 had in the choice of the subjects it is not possible 
 to say ; and it is, I think, but too evident that 
 they are not the product of one mind ; as was 
 the work of M. Angelo, who would allow of no 
 interference. So that we must not look to the 
 general mode of treatment of the whole subject 
 as a testimony of the power of invention in the 
 painter, but rather to the mode of representation 
 adopted by him in the composition of the pic- 
 tures. We find him at first, under the influence 
 of others from whom he had obtained knowledge, 
 and employing early puerilities of art adopted 
 from his master Perugino. In the School of 
 Theology, this influence is evident, and he pro- 
 bably was obliged to adopt the conventional 
 mode in which such subjects had been treated by 
 the older masters ; but the beauty of conception 
 in the actions, the forms of drapery, and the ex- 
 pressions of the groups and single figures, leave 
 all preceding works far behind him. When we 
 consider that this picture is of a class which has 
 no specific subject, and has therefore no definite 
 
ON INVENTION IN PAINTING. 241 
 
 character, we must conclude, that the extraor- 
 dinary degree of interest it excites arises al- 
 together from the grandeur of many of the 
 characters, the beauty of the forms, and the in- 
 tensity of the feeling exhibited in the figures ; 
 some absorbed in meditation, some intent upon 
 books, others engaged in conversation ; and others, 
 as are the younger persons introduced, eagerly 
 listening to the discussions of their elders. 
 
 In the School of Philosophy, he had the same 
 difficulty to contend with as to subject, and 
 overcame it with still greater success. A more 
 independent mode of thought is evident in it, 
 the puerilities I have alluded to, are discarded, 
 and propriety and variety in beautiful composi- 
 tion are the distinguishing points of its character. 
 We naturally enquire, as with the former picture, 
 whence this anomalous work becomes so grati- 
 fying? why are we led to re- visit it again and 
 again, and still to find new pleasure, or a re- 
 newal of the old in contemplating it? It has 
 no historical interest, no particular lustre or 
 brilliancy of colour in its favour j it has no pe- 
 culiar intelligence of chiaro-oscuro ; it has no 
 female beauty, or even manly beauty in any con- 
 siderable degree to attract and beguile the ob- 
 server. It is simply a beautiful disposition of 
 beautiful and graceful forms, principally of dra- 
 peries, and of agreeable hues of colour. But„ 
 
 R 
 
242 APPENDIX TO LECTURE V. 
 
 it is peopled with intelligent beings, who are 
 engaged in a manner which shows them to be 
 of a superior order; the animated forms it pre- 
 sents have so much intelligence of countenance 
 and of expression, are so arranged in relation 
 to each other, or placed apart in attitudes 
 so appropriate to their acknowledged qualities 
 of mind, that our minds feel congenial senti- 
 ments with theirs ; we would desire to act, 
 if so circumstanced, as they do ; to think, as 
 they appear to think ; and herein, I believe, we 
 find the secret of its attraction. We are gratified 
 to find such justness of invention, and such 
 truth of imagery : and when we add the attrac- 
 tion caused by the beauty of form in the combi- 
 nations, and draperies of the figures, and their 
 union with the grand lines of the architecture, 
 we are led to examine and re-examine them with 
 increasing delight, as we more and more recog- 
 nise their propriety and truth. If other inven- 
 tions of more glowing or terrific imagery excite 
 more powerful emotions, their influence is neither 
 so durable, nor so valuable. The degree of 
 excellence in invention here depicted by Raf- 
 faelle arose from the mode of study pursued by 
 his predecessors from the time of Giotto, who is 
 the real author of this just and unaffected mode 
 of thinking and inventing pictures ; which being 
 upheld to the time of RafFaelle with various 
 
ON INVENTION IN PAINTING. 243 
 
 success, he happily found congenial with his 
 own mind and employed it ; and by the addition 
 of variety, and grace, brought it to perfection, 
 
 M. Angelo, with the same example before 
 him, chose to take another course ; and still 
 keeping the natural image of the mind of man in 
 view, as made visible in his actions, gave a more 
 complete ideal turn to the art ; and if he did 
 not, like RafFaelle, improve it in historical repre- 
 sentation, he provided a good and great substi- 
 tute ; where animation and expression reigning, 
 in spite of occasional caprice, is always the pre- 
 dominating quality. But how infinitely more 
 congenial to our minds, more satisfactory to our 
 judgment is Raffaelle's representation, in one of 
 the angles above the picture of the School of 
 Theology, of the fall of our first parents, than 
 that of M. Angelo in the Sistina ! and where- 
 fore ? M. Angelo's has far more beauty in the 
 figure of Eve, more energy in that of Adam, and 
 there is more activity in the Tempter, all impor- 
 tant points, which well disposed must have given 
 the preference to his picture. Yet few unpre- 
 judiced persons can willingly do so ! We feel 
 directly on regarding the picture, that the ac- 
 tions do not arise from the natural impulse of 
 the subject : they are of the painter, and are 
 more composed, than felt, by him. They there- 
 fore fail to move us. On the other hand we 
 
 R 2 
 
244 
 
 APPENDIX TO LECTURE V. 
 
 feel the actions invented by Raffaelle to be such 
 as would naturally arise from the circumstances 
 of the subject. The woman, overcome by the 
 glozing agent of evil, takes the fruit from the 
 tree of knowledge ; and with an action direct 
 and simple presents it to her husband; he re- 
 ceives it in a manner well invented for the pur- 
 pose of contrast, and with earnestness strength- 
 ening the simplicity of its expression. 
 
 This direct and constant attention given by 
 Raffaelle to the natural claims of his subject, led 
 M. Fuseli, to observe, that " propriety rocked 
 his cradle." It is spread over all his works in the 
 Vatican, as well as in the Cartoons around you ; 
 and if he was tempted to swerve from it, in the 
 introduction of Julius II. into the Jewish 
 Temple, during the scene where we see the 
 punishment of Heliodorus, we must conclude 
 that his better judgment was overpowered by 
 the influence of courtly adulation in those who 
 surrounded him. In that picture, where (not- 
 withstanding this anachronism) we see an ad- 
 mirable display of human feeling, we also see a 
 vivid instance of the energy of the invention of 
 Raffaelle, in the peculiar province of a painter, in 
 those superhuman beings who descend to scourge 
 the intruder from the sacred precincts, or over- 
 whelm him with their power ; and particularly 
 in the two young men who accompany the 
 
ON INVENTION IN PAINTING. 24<5 
 
 figure on horseback, whose energy and activity, 
 can only be compared to " the swift-winged 
 arrows of light/' 
 
 The supposition I have ventured to express, 
 that the introduction of Julius, was the product 
 of courtly adulation, is supported by that of 
 Leo X. into the picture of Attila, with far more 
 evil effect ; since it deprives the principal person 
 of the scene, Attila, of the importance which 
 properly belonged to him. There is a design 
 existing for this picture, made by Raffaelle before 
 the death of Julius, in which its subject appears 
 to be the vision of St. Peter and St. Paul to the 
 rude monarch. A group of horsemen and other 
 figures occupy the space in advance of him, and 
 the Pope with his attendants are seen coming at 
 a distance. Thus, unity of effect in the compo- 
 sition was preserved. But Julius died ere the 
 picture was begun, and Leo X., desirous of see- 
 ing the decorations of the stanze completed, was, 
 probably, also desirous of enjoying that eternity 
 of fame given to his predecessor by his intro- 
 duction into the Heliodorus. The Pope, there- 
 fore, Leo I., was transplanted from the back- 
 ground to the front of the picture, and placed 
 under the protection of the visionary Apostles, 
 with the head of Leo X. upon his shoulders ; 
 and with him two of his Cardinals and other 
 attendants, all portraits of then existing persons. 
 
 R 3 
 
246 APPENDIX TO LECTURE V. 
 
 Thus, the unity of the subject is destroyed; 
 Attila, continuing en wrapt in wonder and awe 
 at the celestial vision, as in the original design, 
 and paying no attention whatever to the Pope 
 who is addressing him. By this, as by many 
 other instances, it is apparent that if the Church 
 of Rome has been the reviver and nourisher of 
 art, in modern times ; it has in return enjoyed a 
 full share of importance from it, and of influence 
 over its practice ; and many things objectionable 
 in the paintings of the time, must be attributed 
 to that influence. In this particular case, we 
 cannot doubt, that Raffaelle found himself com- 
 pelled to bend to it, and to sacrifice the feelings 
 of the painter, exhibited elsewhere so pure, so 
 powerful, and so just, to the policy of the 
 courtier. 
 
LECTURE VI 
 
 ON DESIGN. 
 
 1828. 
 
 r 4 
 
249 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 
 ON DESIGN. 
 
 I now proceed to discuss the principles of the 
 art of painting, and shall first treat of Design as 
 the basis of the whole. 
 
 No efficient image is presented to the mind 
 by the materials employed in the art of painting ; 
 they require modification, by union with, or by 
 opposition to each other, ere they can produce 
 to us ideas of sensible imagery ; and it is by 
 the well-ordering or regulating of those required 
 unions or contrasts, either of lines or of co- 
 lours, and the disposal of them in forms best 
 adapted for the production of character, of ex- 
 pression, or of beauty, that those rules have 
 been devised which are called the principles 
 of the art of painting. 
 
 They may be divided into two classes ; first, 
 its elementary principles, or those which regard 
 the immediate use of the materials of the art ; 
 as design, composition, colouring, and chiaro-os- 
 curo ; and, secondly, its governing or directing 
 
250 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 
 principles, consisting in the regulations by which 
 its elementary ones are best employed ; that is, 
 best apportioned and arranged, for the fulfil- 
 ment of the purposes intended. These latter 
 have been deduced from experience. They 
 are the product of the labours of intelligent 
 artists, employed in extracting from Nature the 
 knowledge of her most engaging or most affect- 
 ing combinations of the three great visual agents 
 of effect upon our minds, form, light and shade, 
 and colour. 
 
 But though these principles have been made 
 manifest to us in a very considerable degree 
 by the exertions of able men, and fine ex- 
 amples of their truth, and beauty, and power, 
 are transmitted to us in their works ; yet, such 
 is the amazing extent of the variety under which 
 natural combinations act upon our senses, that 
 they still are the subjects of the empire of taste ; 
 which, not content with more exactness of imi- 
 tation in painting, superadds refinement. 
 
 Whenever, therefore, I speak of the superior 
 or governing principles of the art, by which 
 those that are elementary are directed, I desire 
 to be understood, as only pointing out how they 
 may be advantageously employed ! but not, as 
 attempting to confine their application, precisely, 
 to any given arrangement ; or prescribing a 
 boundary to the controlling and subtle power, 
 
ON DESIGN. 
 
 251 
 
 which we denominate taste ; the feeling and 
 comprehension of truth, in art as well as in na- 
 ture ! The ready agent for the production and 
 the enjoyment of that which is beautiful ! That 
 keen and elevated sense of perfection in the 
 mind of an ingenious artist, which continually 
 directs him in the refinement and improvement 
 of beauty, or of character, till expression be per- 
 fected; be it of whatsoever it may! 
 
 The elementary principles of the art are more 
 tangible, if I may so say ; and we may speak of 
 them with far less of uncertainty. Perhaps we 
 may say, that the application of them, for the 
 mere purpose of the imitation of natural objects, 
 may be scientifically acquired. 
 
 But the highest aim of the art of painting, that 
 to which I desire to direct your attention, is not 
 founded on imitation alone, as ordinarily under- 
 stood. The aim of an artist ought to be, to ex- 
 cite the mind of man, not only to that pleasure 
 which ingenious imitation affords, but to deeper 
 emotion ; and when the art is conducted to that 
 true point of its perfection, it then alone be- 
 comes entitled to the appellation of a liberal art. 
 Thus employed, its value is, indeed, of an ex- 
 alted rank in the scale of human enjoyments : 
 by its means we may be said to possess an ex- 
 tended scale of knowledge, and enjoy a length- 
 ened period of existence; whilst in its lower 
 
LECTURE VI. 
 
 state, or that of mere imitation, its greatest 
 claim to respect, is but in proportion to its 
 utility, in affording pleasure to the eye, without 
 further object or end ; or as the humble attend- 
 ant and assistant of science. 
 
 Imitation is, indeed, the natural source of the 
 art, and was, for a time, its only object ; but as 
 the views of men became enlarged in their ap- 
 plication of it, and they were induced to attempt 
 the representation of ideal scenes, it became 
 necessary for them to investigate the principles, 
 by which nature operates upon our minds in her 
 most impressive or most enchanting scenery. 
 Hence, it is far better for the minds of sensible 
 men, engaged in the practice of the art, to com. 
 mence with a system, which experience may cor- 
 rect; than to wander in the mazes of uncertainty, 
 from which they may never escape. 
 
 By system in painting, I mean a combination 
 of principles, or rules for the practice of the art, 
 derived from the accumulations of experience ; 
 pointing out the necessities of practice, and the 
 readiest modes of overcoming them. In fact, 
 those governing principles of the art of which 
 I have before spoken. 
 
 It is by a system so framed, that when we 
 undertake to imitate in painting the works of 
 nature, we endeavour to correct their general, or 
 ordinary appearance. There is, however, but 
 
ON DESIGN. 
 
 %55 
 
 one foundation for such a system, upon which 
 we ought to confide ; and that is, a constant recur- 
 rence to nature herself; or, a constant observ- 
 ation of the great varieties in each class of her 
 productions, till by a perfect knowledge of them 
 we become capable of selecting the best for our 
 guide. The necessity of thus recurring to na- 
 ture for the improvement of her productions, has 
 been beautifully, and effectively, though some- 
 what enigmatically, defined by Shakspeare, who 
 says : — 
 
 " Nature is made better by no mean, 
 But nature makes that mean : so o'er that art, 
 Which we say adds to nature, is an art 
 That nature makes. The art itself, is nature." * 
 
 I said, in my last lecture, that design or drawing, 
 the first in order of the Elementary Principles of 
 Painting, was the immediate agent of invention ; 
 the medium by which an artificial image becomes 
 significant of a real one. 
 
 This principle of the art, in the sense in which 
 I now employ it, is a pure intellectual invention 
 of man, without a prototype in nature; producing 
 an arbitrary sign of an idea conceived in the 
 mind of the external form of a thing, but having 
 no actual existence itself. 
 
 * He is speaking of the improvement of the richness and 
 beauty of flowers, and tells us that it cannot be done, without 
 employing the means presented by nature. 
 
254 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 
 The effect which natural objects produce upon 
 our sense of vision, is that of a number of parts, 
 or distinct masses of form and colour, and not of 
 lines. But when we endeavour to represent by 
 painting those objects which are before us or 
 which invention supplies to our minds, the 
 first, and the simplest means we resort to is this 
 fiction ; by which we separate the form of each 
 object from those that surround it, marking its 
 boundary, the extreme extent of its dimensions 
 in every direction, as impressed on our vision ; 
 and this is termed drawing its outline. 
 
 By association of ideas in our minds such an 
 outline, when correctly drawn, and aided by a 
 few other lines, marking within it other charac- 
 teristic forms of the figure it surrounds, excites 
 in our imaginations a perfect image of its subject. 
 That image will, indeed, be more or less perfect, 
 according to the degree of information, or force 
 of imagination, in the beholder ; but as he has no 
 other means of comparison than with the know- 
 ledge and the reasoning power of his own mind, 
 its impression must be considered as complete. 
 Fill it with colour, attempt to give it light and 
 shade and the appearance of real substance, and 
 the figure it creates becomes subject to other 
 comparisons, which, if each portion of the art be 
 not perfectly effected must necessarily diminish 
 its force. 
 
ON DESIGN. 
 
 255 
 
 Its simplicity, therefore, is the basis of its 
 power. 
 
 I need but refer you for illustration of the 
 truth of this to that interesting and beautiful 
 series of designs from Homer, Dante, iEschylus, 
 and Hesiod, by our late esteemed and lamented 
 Professor of Sculpture, Mr. Flaxman. In re- 
 garding many of those excellent designs, our 
 minds are so filled with figure, action, and 
 expression, that we shrink with fear at the idea 
 of any attempt at further completion of them, 
 by light, and shade, and colour ; lest the undis- 
 turbed, and therefore entire impression they 
 create, should be destroyed. 
 
 How valuable a portion then of the art of 
 painting is design, which, in laying a found- 
 ation for the display of the entire power of that 
 art, so nearly attains its utmost influence over 
 us! It is the only principle of the art which 
 in itself possesses such a degree of power ; 
 colour, and light and shade, being of no effect 
 without it, and composition chiefly dependent 
 upon it. 
 
 When we give due consideration to this, we 
 cannot be surprised that the great Florentine 
 painters attached the utmost consequence to it, 
 and made it their principal study ; their object 
 being not merely to please the eye, but to im- 
 press sentiment on the mind : or that the Caracci, 
 
256 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 
 when endeavouring to combine all the peculiar 
 merits of the various schools wherein the different 
 principles of the art obtained support, still gave 
 the preference to drawing. " Drawing," said 
 Annibal, " is the beginning, the middle, and the 
 end of the art." Of the truth of this observation, 
 taking it with a liberal view, experience con- 
 vinces me more and more ; if character, if 
 expression, if beauty and grace, be the best and 
 most proper objects of the art of painting. 
 
 The basis of effect in design is correctness ; 
 from knowledge it derives character and expres- 
 sion ; style, beauty, and grace, are superadded to 
 it by taste ! 
 
 Possession of skill in design is one of the 
 most enviable enjoyments of the painter ; and to 
 be capable of drawing a line at once correct and 
 free, and fitted to its purpose, is to possess an in- 
 strument of power over all the attributes of the 
 art of painting. It gives freedom and command 
 of hand, from whence arise all the beauties of 
 execution. It enables a painter to dispose every 
 touch of his pencil with understanding, with 
 clearness, and with energy; it exhibits know- 
 ledge, and aids in preserving clearness of colour : 
 above all, it is the sure guide to the attainment 
 of that vivid expression of character, the most 
 engaging quality of a picture. All who have 
 practised the art of painting must be aware of 
 
ON DESIGN. 
 
 257 
 
 the vast advantage arising from the possession of 
 such power. 
 
 You may judge of the estimation in which it 
 was held by the ancients, from the story (which is a 
 well-attested fact) of the contest between Apelles 
 and Protogenes. To draw a line, to exhibit 
 command of hand, either by delicacy or grace in 
 guiding a point, had become the test of genius 
 in a painter ; and the example thus afforded was 
 preserved to the days of Pliny, who saw it at 
 Rome, a cherished monument of the talents 
 of the Grecian painters. 
 
 Such was the importance attached to design by 
 the schools of Italy, that it was cultivated even to 
 excess in the lower period of their existence. 
 That excess, however, proves nothing adverse to 
 the principle itself ; it rather exhibits the sense 
 entertained by the Italian painters of the strong 
 claim its inherent excellence has upon our atten- 
 tion, and should operate as a guide to the true 
 use of it. 
 
 I wish to impress this strongly upon your minds. 
 Our school, our national school of painting, is 
 perhaps too much dependent upon the attractive 
 and engrossing influence of colouring, and of 
 chiaro-oscuro ; and from what I have observed in 
 our schools and in our exhibitions, it is likely still 
 to continue so, if we fail in our endeavours to elicit 
 in the minds of the students a sense of the value 
 
258 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 
 of lines. The liberal principles upon which this 
 Institution is conducted, permit each student to 
 follow in his studies, the dictates of his own 
 taste. Without being at all desirous of violating 
 the freedom thus sanctioned, I feel it incumbent 
 upon me to say, that I regret to find so few young- 
 artists who seem to think of outline for itself, as 
 it well deserves to be thought of ; or of the 
 value of being able to draw a distinct character of 
 form by it ! Form is most generally produced, 
 as light and shade corrects the figure it creates, 
 upon an unformed and imperfect basis. Thus 
 the figure is modelled as it were, not drawn ; and 
 in separate portions, instead of an intelligent, 
 and well-understood boundary being created at 
 first, to receive the completion afforded by 
 shadow. 
 
 By this mode we have, indeed, the gratifi- 
 cation of seeing a number of ingenious figures 
 produced. As the end is pleasing, and the 
 manner delusive, we can scarcely wonder that it 
 should be resorted to by those who are uncon- 
 scious of the risk they encounter ; who know 
 not, perhaps, that in thus separately imitating the 
 parts, they are in danger of losing sight of the 
 whole ; that they would obtain the knowledge of 
 the human figure as sought by the painter much 
 quicker, and far more effectively, were they to 
 draw its varied forms and actions correctly by 
 
ON DESIGN. 
 
 259 
 
 lines ; and that at the same time they would with 
 more certainty obtain those important qualities 
 of an artist, correctness of eye and steadiness 
 and command of hand. 
 
 No principle of the art of painting merits, nor 
 indeed requires, more attention than design ; and 
 none so well rewards the time bestowed upon it. I 
 cannot, therefore, too earnestly direct your atten- 
 tion to it whilst youth is in your favour, and whilst 
 you enjoy the advantages afforded by the schools 
 of this Institution for the cultivation of it. 
 
 The instrument of the mind, in realising by 
 painting the ideas it has conceived, is the hand ; 
 and a careful cultivation of its powers by con- 
 tinued practice is therefore absolutely necessary, 
 in order that the mind may not be impeded in 
 its operations. It flags in its energy, if it have 
 not a ready and a correct agent to obey its dic- 
 tates. You have all, I doubt not, seen many a 
 spirited sketch beaming with intelligence when 
 the idea which formed its basis was freely, though 
 slightly sketched, evaporate to dulness when 
 finished, and principally, because the hand of 
 the artist was not duly qualified to satisfy his 
 mind in the execution of the work at once. On 
 these occasions, repeated and imperfect essays 
 engage the mind in the correction of trifles, and 
 attract its attention from the essence of the 
 matter. 
 
 s °Z 
 
260 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 
 This is one of the evils which follow the want of 
 attention to the mechanical part of the art, draw- 
 ing, or execution. 
 
 He who seeks those honours which attach to 
 the reputation of a great painter, ought to main- 
 tain every estimable quality of the art in as high 
 a degree of perfection as his power permits. It is 
 not enough to ensure to him the highest praise, 
 that, by fretting his canvass, labouring to satisfy 
 feeling, undirected by principle and unskilful in 
 touch, he at length produces an effect which at 
 a given distance becomes agreeable. Though it 
 be true, that power of effect combined with pro- 
 priety is the main point in the completion of a pic- 
 ture, yet it is by much the most estimable when 
 wrought with a master hand ; when painted with 
 a certainty and freedom of style indicative of 
 intelligence in the mind of the artist ; and most 
 highly will he be esteemed, who thus unites 
 mechanical skill with the mental power which 
 directs and controls it ; presenting a work of art 
 valuable in both points. 
 
 The same principle acts in poetry, and other 
 works of literature. How exceedingly is our en- 
 joyment of ingenious thoughts increased, when 
 they are conveyed to us in unconstrained and 
 beautiful language ! 
 
 Through those periods of civil cultivation in 
 Greece, when the minds of the people were so 
 
ON DESIGN. 
 
 261 
 
 far only advanced, that real personal character 
 was preserved and freely exhibited, the arts pro- 
 ceeded though slowly, yet surely, in their career ; 
 and under the most favourable auspices for pro- 
 curing the knowledge of true form in the human 
 figure. In attending the Gymnasia, and in wit- 
 nessing warlike exercises, in the dress and the 
 manners of the people, their artists had constant 
 opportunities of studying varieties of figure and of 
 expression, in look and in action, of men under 
 various kinds and degrees of excitation ; exulting 
 in hope, alive to the glory of victory, or subdued 
 by the shame of defeat. Joy, fear, rage, despair, 
 must have been continually displayed before 
 them, united to all the pleasing blandishments of 
 youth and beauty, or the impressive charac- 
 teristic forms of strength, and agility. 
 
 Thus powerfully nourished, the talents of the 
 Grecian artists, ripened to that perfection in the 
 knowledge of the beauty of man, which fitted 
 them for the bright periods of Pericles and 
 Alexander. 
 
 Our Professor of Sculpture has shown to us 
 how they advanced from the rudest attempts 
 at imitation of an individual model, to the 
 completion of that beautiful, and select form 
 which we find in many of the Elgin marbles, in 
 the Torso, the Laocoon, the Gladiator, &c, and 
 when engaged in the representation of their 
 
 s 3 
 
262 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 
 Deities, to the most perfect purity of form of 
 which the human figure seems capable with- 
 out entirely losing its vital character, its loco- 
 motive power. Such we see it united with 
 grace and grandeur in the Apollo, with elegance 
 in the Venus, with strength in the Hercules, 
 and with varied powers in others, which I need 
 not mention. 
 
 The great value of the study of the human 
 form as presented to us by these admirable 
 remnants of antiquity, consists principally in the 
 opportunity they afford us of acquiring an ele- 
 vated idea of its true beauty, and the knowledge 
 of the best mode of extracting from nature her- 
 self improvement upon her own productions, by 
 an union of beautiful shapes selected from the 
 mass. In failing to take advantage of so fa- 
 vourable a circumstance as our possession of 
 these exquisite works, and declining to obtain 
 through them knowledge so essential to the 
 progress of art, seeking it for ourselves from the 
 endless variety of nature, we should but lengthen 
 our labours ; but by using them as the basis of 
 our studies, we have the advantage of mechanical 
 practice acting upon established theoretical prin- 
 ciples ; by which, without the trouble of re- 
 search, we almost insensibly become acquainted 
 with the theory itself which produced such ex- 
 cellent works. 
 
ON DESIGN. 
 
 263 
 
 Forms, such as we behold in those statues, 
 throughout the whole of a figure, and which 
 were imitated by the painters, we can have no 
 reason to conclude were often, if ever, seen by 
 the Greeks among their fellow men ; but every 
 portion, such as they have represented them, 
 they may have seen ; and being, by comparison, 
 made sensible of their perfection, and guided by 
 a refinement of taste generated in progression 
 through centuries of culture, they combined 
 those admirable portions of many to produce the 
 most beautiful whole ; as the only means they 
 had of embodying in the human form the ima- 
 ginary perfections of their divinities. 
 
 This principle, we know by historical record, 
 governed the sculptor, Polycletus, when he made 
 his statue called the Rule ; and was the guide of 
 Zeuxis when he painted his Venus for the in- 
 habitants of Crotona, or his Helen for those of 
 Agrigentum ; and is frequently mentioned by 
 ancient authors as the well-known governing 
 principle of artists. It is the first essay of that 
 system of art to which I have alluded, and in 
 illustration of which I made the quotation from 
 Shakspeare, so truly and pithily describing it. 
 
 That this is a fair and legitimate, and even 
 necessary mode of forming a system of art, few 
 will deny. 
 
 The great Author of nature has ordained a 
 
 s 4 
 
26 1 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 
 varying and never-ceasing change of form 
 throughout creation , and that infinite variety 
 of feature and of expression which we behold 
 among mankind, has its source in a departure 
 from the purity of primitive, or generic and 
 essential form. Hence, each individual variety, 
 more or less, partakes of deformity, and must of 
 necessity do so. Strictly speaking, there can be 
 but two specific forms of the human figure per- 
 fectly beautiful, as male and female. Every 
 change whicfe. stamps peculiar feature, or cha- 
 racter, the approach of age, or the attack of 
 disease, is a deterioration of that form, inasmuch 
 as it is a departure from it ; and upon the same 
 principle we may speak of all classes of objects, 
 animate or inanimate. 
 
 But this severe view of the matter is merely 
 given to show the basis of excellence in design, 
 when artists seek to impress on their works the 
 stamp of beauty. Custom has long entitled us 
 to say that there is beauty, that is, a peculiar 
 degree of beauty, in every class, in every race, 
 and in every age of man ; and thus authorised, 
 we have an equal right to speak of the beauty 
 of the Hercules as of the Apollo, of an old man, 
 as of one in the prime of manhood. Propriety 
 of character, then, becomes the source of beauty. 
 
 Though nature be thus potent as our guide, if 
 we rest contented with the mere surface it pre- 
 
ON DESIGN. 
 
 sents, and do not penetrate into the most se- 
 cluded retreats of its perfections ; if we seek not 
 to draw refreshment from the fountain of that 
 excellence which is bestowed on all the produc- 
 tions of nature in part, but confided in totality 
 to few ; if we take the changeable portions of 
 its labours for the immutable ; we must deceive 
 ourselves. Beauty, and perfection which con- 
 stitutes beauty, is that immutable portion ; and 
 we, who can at best but imperfectly rival the 
 appearance of the meanest of the productions of 
 nature, can present it to view but in one un- 
 changeable character, are compelled, in order to 
 ensure the greatest degree of success in our 
 attempts at rivalry with her, to seek the display 
 of each object under the most favourable cir- 
 cumstances ; that is, to obtain and to exhibit 
 the knowledge of the most perfect, or the most 
 beautiful form, appropriate to the peculiar qua- 
 lities of that object. 
 
 It is not necessary for me here to discuss the 
 question, whether, as philosophers have generally 
 asserted, our perception of beauty arises from 
 association of ideas, and be therefore unfounded, 
 as, if this be true it must, upon any stable prin- 
 ciple, but changeable as time and circumstance ; 
 or whether its basis may be found in the or- 
 ganisation of the eye, as allied to a native prin- 
 
266 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 
 ciple in the mind, imparted to men in varied 
 degrees, and improvable by cultivation. 
 
 I must not be thought to treat this mysterious 
 problem as unworthy of our regard, when I say, 
 that we may pursue our labours beneficially 
 without entering into so subtle a disquisition. 
 
 We have no need to adopt either of these 
 principles to their full extent. It is sufficient 
 for our immediate purpose, that, assisted as we 
 are by a variety of means, we know and feel 
 that there is a specific character in things which 
 we call beautiful ; and that, in minor matters, in 
 things where essential character of another kind 
 finds a faint existence, to us, and for us, there is 
 a resident beauty ; principally the result of well- 
 regulated proportions. We recognise in it the 
 division of a line, upon which the beauty of 
 architecture entirely depends ; we seek for it in 
 the turn of a line, from whence arises the pleasure 
 we enjoy in looking at the Greek vases ; we find 
 it in the combinations of lines, of forms, and of 
 colours, as displayed in flowers ; it is the object of 
 our research as we vary such combinations in our 
 pictures ; as we regulate their proportions, or 
 their quantities, and adjust their order and ar- 
 rangement. Most frequently we are not sensible 
 of seeking it with any other view than to gratify 
 our sense of vision, and by that, the aspirings of 
 
ON DESIGN. 
 
 267 
 
 our minds after perfection ; though it is true, 
 that it is most engaging when associated with 
 character or expression in the thing or being 
 represented. 
 
 For the ear, proportions and combinations of 
 sound producing beautiful, or rather delightful 
 music, have been mathematically demonstrated ; 
 and assisted by that demonstration, conjoined to 
 his experience, Beethoven when deaf, composed 
 symphonies which continue to delight the musical 
 world. 
 
 Nothing of the kind has yet been done for the 
 certain production of forms agreeable to the eye ; 
 and we are yet left to imbibe our knowledge of the 
 most pleasing and impressive directions and divi- 
 sions of lines, and compounds of forms and of co- 
 lours, from the feelings of our own minds, or as 
 instructed by the works of the greatest painters. 
 Those among us, who by nature or by education 
 are endowed with the most refined taste, find it at 
 once ; others arrive at the perception of it slowly ; 
 and some there are who never attain a glimpse 
 of it. Yet, it is evidently to our advantage, as 
 we know it to be consonant to the progress of 
 taste in the fine arts, to believe, that we may 
 improve our sense of beauty, and increase our 
 store of that principle which decides upon 
 beauty, which is taste ; by assiduous cultivation , 
 
268 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 
 by continual reflection upon the forms in which 
 it has long been acknowledged to reside, and by 
 study of those works of art which are most grate- 
 ful to the eyes of cultivated and tasteful artists. 
 
 I have already referred you to the statues of 
 the Greeks for the attainment of the knowledge 
 of beauty in the human form, and of that sys- 
 tematic mode employed by their authors in in- 
 vestigating the works of nature, which led them 
 to the understanding of truth. 
 
 But though the sculpture thus produced pre- 
 sents to us the most perfect examples of the 
 human form, the application of them to the 
 purposes of painting is attended with consider- 
 able difficulty. They have diverted the attention 
 of the modern schools of painting on the Con- 
 tinent from the just exercise of the more exten- 
 sive powers of that art; confined its scope, and 
 rendered it dependent on sculpture, till it be- 
 came a mere imitator of it ; not in the forms of 
 figures only, but in those of the draperies that 
 invest them. 
 
 The painter, while cultivating his taste in 
 design by the study of those beautiful works, 
 should remember the different objects of the 
 arts of sculpture and of painting, as well as the 
 different degrees of capability in the materials 
 they employ. 
 
ON DESIGN. 
 
 269 
 
 I may say, as, indeed, the Professor of Sculp- 
 ture has said before me, that the limits of the 
 imitative power of sculpture are far within those 
 of painting. The hard, and in measure intractable 
 materials of which its productions are composed, 
 necessarily prescribe those limits ; and present 
 peculiarities of effect uncongenial to the more 
 exact and extensive purposes of imitation which 
 are permitted to the painter ; or rather, indeed, 
 are required of him. When employed in figures 
 representative of the heathen divinities, its forms 
 are applicable to them alone ; and can only be 
 closely imitated with propriety by the painter in 
 subjects poetical or classical, where those di- 
 vinities are introduced. But the spirit, which 
 directed the Greek sculptors in their selections 
 from nature, is fitted for the purposes of both 
 arts ; and their having so admirably employed 
 it, renders their statues and bas-reliefs the 
 fittest objects for the study and cultivation of 
 taste in form. 
 
 By these works we become acquainted with 
 what has been termed style in Design, and more 
 particularly the Grand style, or an appropriate 
 selection and application of the most beautiful 
 form. This style adds beauty to character, and 
 grace to motion ; and, rejecting the superfluities 
 of taste, employs its best qualities to strengthen 
 
270 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 
 the expression of natural and refined character 
 in all things. 
 
 The knowledge of those select forms, and the 
 power of drawing them acquired, the next object 
 for attention is the comprehension of that spirit 
 which dictated the selection. By comparing the 
 forms of the antique with those usually presented 
 by nature in the living figure, you will the most 
 readily surmount this difficulty. It is that living 
 figure, however, which painters are called upon 
 to represent, with all its moving powers, and 
 ever- varying union of part with part ; it must, 
 therefore, be the main object of your study. A 
 constant reference to this privilege, or this ne- 
 cessity of the art of painting, will enable you 
 safely to conduct your studies from the antique 
 statues ; and, while the benefit to your taste 
 derivable from them may be obtained, you may 
 avoid the coldness, the hardness, and fixedness 
 of form, which is too often apparent in the works 
 of those painters, who, neglecting the shrine of 
 nature, have worshipped with too confined and 
 partial devotion the divinities of the Greeks ; 
 and who have paid the forfeit for so doing in the 
 disregard of mankind. 
 
 It seems almost idle to lay down rules for the 
 application and direction of lines in design, un- 
 less as general principles to be employed under 
 
ON DESIGN. 
 
 ^71 
 
 the regulation of propriety ; since all kinds and 
 their combinations are rendered agreeable by an 
 appropriate use of them. 
 
 Thus, we may say, as a general regulating 
 principle, that acute or right angles, ought, as 
 much as possible, to be avoided ; that when 
 formed by the limbs of figures, they are un- 
 favourable to grace and beauty ; but they are 
 frequently available for expression. Of parallel 
 lines the same may be said ; yet RafFaelle has 
 frequently and beautifully employed figures in 
 parallel directions, to enforce expression in the 
 most direct manner ; and even introduced pa- 
 rallel lines in their draperies. The eye, however, 
 generally speaking, demands variety for its gra- 
 tification ; hence, a long straight line produces 
 of itself no sense of beauty ; but, when divided 
 into well-regulated proportions, or quantities in 
 its extent, that sense is elicited ; variety being 
 superinduced upon its uniformity. On the other 
 hand, if those quantities are not well regulated, 
 deformity or ugliness will be generated. Straight- 
 ness in the contours of limbs, or of folds of 
 drapery, produces meanness of character; and 
 flowing lines fulness and beauty ; when the cur- 
 vatures which create fulness are enlarged, great- 
 ness and grandeur are the result ; and when 
 carried to excess, their product is grossness, even 
 
LECTURE VI. 
 
 to deformity. From these varieties Style in de- 
 sign takes its different appellations. 
 
 It was among the painters in the school of 
 Florence that design was most assiduously cul- 
 tivated with attention to refinement of form. 
 Others have employed it, as did the Venetians, 
 the Flemings, and the Dutch, in more direct imi- 
 tation of the ordinary productions of nature ; 
 and others again, as Coreggio and Rubens, to 
 suit their own peculiar taste in colour and chiaro- 
 oscuro. 
 
 Though I am fully conscious of the ability 
 with which these different styles of design have 
 been adopted and executed, yet I feel it to be 
 incumbent upon me, here, constantly to direct 
 your attention to the purest and the best, as it is 
 seen in the works of the Florentines. If, in 
 your future exertions, you choose to adopt a style 
 more ornamental, the knowledge of that, sanc- 
 tioned, as it has been, by the highest authorities, 
 from the Greeks downwards, cannot fail to be 
 useful to you. 
 
 The best works, by the most important among 
 the founders of the Italian school of painting, after 
 the restoration of the art, exhibit the principle of 
 simplicity and rotundity of form to a considerable 
 degree. Afterwards, it rather lost in influence, 
 till Masaccio appeared ; the grander principle 
 of imitation merging in that produced by the 
 
ON DESIGN. 
 
 273 
 
 less philosophic mode of viewing nature. From 
 the time of Masaccio, aided by the discovery of 
 the ancient works of sculpture and painting, a 
 higher and a purer taste prevailed ; and design 
 was cultivated and exhibited, as we see it in the 
 grand works of painting produced in the six- 
 teenth century. 
 
 It is delightful, and it may be the most useful 
 mode of cultivating your knowledge of the best 
 principles of style in design, to trace its growth 
 under the influence of the taste and skill dis- 
 played in the paintings of RafFaelle ; the progress 
 of no other artist of renown being so perfectly 
 defined. 
 
 We perceive it in his course, not from mean- 
 ness, for he was never mean in design ; but from 
 timid gentleness and adherence in a great degree 
 to his particular model in figure and in drapery ; 
 to that fulness and freedom, and grandeur of 
 line, which for its peculiar degree of excellence 
 we term style. You may see its progress in the 
 prints from his pictures. The increase of style 
 in his design is traceable from his first visit to 
 Florence. His tractable spirit, governed by 
 good sense, and alive to truth and beauty, by 
 degrees was induced to abandon the confined 
 yet not vulgar style of his master, Perugino. He 
 increased the flow of his line, and no longer 
 introduced into his backgrounds those small and 
 
 T 
 
LECTURE VI. 
 
 unimportant objects which are found in his early 
 works. 
 
 The paintings of Fra Bartolomeo, and the 
 cartoons of Da Vinci and Michel Angelo, we may 
 reasonably suppose produced in a great degree 
 this change ; so that, when he was called upon to 
 paint in the Vatican, he was prepared to enter 
 upon that important work with well-cultivated 
 and well-directed powers. The, elevated view of 
 art and of its due quality of imitation, the 
 knowledge of which he had then imbibed, led 
 him gradually onwards to aggrandise his line, 
 and give fulness while he maintained simplicity 
 of form ; and before he had the opportunity of 
 seeing the Capella Sistina, he had painted the 
 Dispute on the Sacrament, the School of 
 Athens, the Parnassus, and the Jurisprudence, 
 and begun upon the Heliodorus ; and in all of 
 them, in their different periods, had evidently, 
 and gradually, and greatly improved in style of 
 design. In the latter of these pictures we find 
 the perfection of his own native taste in design, 
 as drawn from various sources. In the Jurispru- 
 dence it is chaste and pure in its character, and 
 perfectly in unison with antique female form ; 
 and in the group of females in the Heliodorus 
 he evidently sought, through nature, to realise the 
 beauties of the ideal style of the ancients. There 
 is a gentle undulation in his line, which gives ful- 
 
ON DESIGN. 
 
 275 
 
 ness and rotundity of form entirely correspondent 
 to that of the marbles ; and the proportions are 
 always admirably maintained in their scale, by 
 which we are led to forget that that scale is 
 short. It wants somewhat of that elegance which 
 may be found in the best Greek statues, and was 
 carried to excess by Parmigiano ; but, if regu- 
 lated by the excellent sense of Raffaelle, might 
 not perhaps have been an unfavourable addition 
 to the grace of his actions and the beauty of his 
 style. 
 
 This improvement, then, we may principally 
 attribute to his study of the remnants of anti- 
 quity. The Galatea, the series from the story 
 of Cupid and Psyche in the Farnesina, and the 
 allegorical figures in the Vatican, all exhibit the 
 application of taste drawn from this source ; but, 
 as Mengs has observed with great appearance 
 of truth, he drew his information chiefly from 
 bas-reliefs, the proportions of his figures partak- 
 ing of the character seen in those works, rather 
 than in that of the statues. He scrupled not, it 
 seems very clear, to borrow from all around him ; 
 from his contemporaries, as well as from those 
 who had preceded him ; growing more powerful 
 in the application of his native taste, as much 
 from such judicious conduct as by the force 
 of his own reflections. At length he saw, and 
 powerfully felt the immense advance in style of 
 t 2 
 
276 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 
 design made by Michel Angelo, and thanked God 
 that he was born in the same age with so extra- 
 ordinary a man ; so at least say his biographers. 
 The character of gradual progress to enlarged 
 style which his own studies had taught him, 
 immediately ceased ; and he at once attempted to 
 unite the grandeur of style of Angelo to his own 
 pure composition. 
 
 This union is first particularly observable, in 
 the group where Heliodorus is suffering under 
 the lash of those terribly animated superhuman 
 beings, the instruments of divine vengeance, 
 inflicting the punishment due to his sacrilegious 
 impiety. A comparison of the forms in that por- 
 tion of the picture, with those of the beautiful 
 group of women in the middle ground on the 
 other side, bears decisive testimony to the truth 
 of this remark. The difference of the general 
 style of design may be seen in the print, but is 
 much more observable in the painting ; where it 
 is accompanied by a bravura of execution, not 
 in unison with the other parts, nor found in the 
 previous works of this admirable artist. 
 
 In this point, enlargement of style seems at 
 first to have led him to an exaggerated degree 
 of freedom of execution, even to coarseness ; and 
 to neglect that beauty and elegance which he 
 had previously sought. So difficult is it for any 
 man, however highly endowed, to labour with 
 
ON DESIGN. 
 
 the spirit of another when the native bent of his 
 own mind is different in quality, and his early 
 studies have not prepared him for such an exer- 
 cise of its power ! 
 
 But over this excess of freedom, the good 
 sense and exquisite taste of Raffaelle prevailed ; 
 and his attempt at the union of an enlarged prin- 
 ciple of style in design, with his own just feeling 
 of propriety in composition, has left the finest 
 examples of beautiful art for our delight and 
 contemplation.* 
 
 It was not in the forms of the naked figure 
 only that Raffaelle applied this increase of style 
 in design. We see it also in his drapery ; but 
 without any abandonment of that taste in the 
 general employment of its foldings, which he had 
 derived from his early studies, had seen in the 
 pictures of his master, Pietro Perugino, and 
 found confirmed by the sound judgment of Fra 
 Bartolomeo. Still, the flow of its outline in his 
 latter works is of a larger character than in the 
 School of Athens, or the Parnassus ; and creating 
 more breadth of form. Such you see it in the 
 figure of St. Paul before Felix, and in that of St. 
 Paul preaching at Athens, and its style is more 
 evident if you compare it with that of the figure 
 
 * This is nowhere better exhibited than in the picture of 
 the Madonna del Sisto, at Dresden. 
 
 T 3 
 
278 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 
 by Masaccio, from whence its action was taken.* 
 Indeed, it is most perfectly visible throughout 
 the cartoons now before you ; which cannot in 
 this respect be too much studied. 
 
 What is then this quality in design, which such 
 a man as Raffaelle sought so eagerly to combine 
 with his own extraordinary perceptions of the 
 beauty of art ; as capable of increasing the unri- 
 valled lustre of his works in other points ? 
 
 Wherein the peculiar excellence of that style 
 resides which so great a painter thought worthy 
 of his emulation, must be an important object for 
 our consideration. 
 
 It is the glory of Michel Angelo ! To obtain 
 it, he frequently proceeded to the confines of 
 affectation in action, and excess in line. Indeed, 
 it must be acknowledged, that he not unfre- 
 quently passed the bounds prescribed by pro- 
 priety. It was not beauty which he sought, as 
 commonly understood, that, is more perfectly dis- 
 played in the antique statues, though his statue 
 of Bacchus possesses it in a high degree. His 
 great principle seems to have been to obtain the 
 character of motion, as designative of life, by 
 variety and fulness of line, and by contrast ; and 
 this, when added to beauty, infinitely increases 
 
 * St. Paul exhorting St. Peter to firmness while suffering 
 imprisonment for his faith in Jesus Christ; painted in the 
 church of the Carmelites, at Florence. 
 
ON DESIGN. 
 
 279 
 
 its power. For that purpose was his precept 
 given to Marcus da Sienna, his pupil, as related 
 by Lomazzo ; that he " should always make his 
 figure pyramidal, serpentlike, and multiplied by 
 one, two, three:" and this oracle of the great 
 master was evidently the overwrought guide of 
 his successors, till they lost the true spirit of its 
 object, in the mere application of its words. 
 
 This principle of motion, he is said to have 
 confirmed in his own mind, if not found it, by 
 study from the Torso, which, according to Va- 
 sari, and Condivi, and after them Lanzi, he re- 
 peatedly drew ; and it so pervades the picture 
 of the Last Judgment, that we are fully justified 
 in believing the report. 
 
 To produce one undisturbed impression on 
 the mind, largeness in the flow of his line cre- 
 ating breadth of form, was his medium ; reject- 
 ing all unessential parts, though not, with the 
 severity of the Greek sculptors, inattentive to 
 minor ones, in the markings of the bones and 
 tendons of his figures. Even in his sculpture of 
 allegorical figures, the Night and Morning on 
 the tombs of the Medici, he is not found an im- 
 plicit follower of the forms of the antique : but, 
 impelled by his desire to convey motion, has 
 given to them less abstract ideas of form. 
 
 Though he fondly displayed his anatomical 
 knowledge in his naked figures, it is not done 
 
 t 4 
 
280 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 
 with that coarse character of dissected forms, 
 which draughtsmen, and his mistaken imitators, 
 have given to us. I have not unfrequently 
 seen living models so formed as exactly to pre- 
 sent the style of design of Michel Angelo, 
 such as he selected from nature as best suited 
 to his grand and elevated views of the art* ; 
 and it was not by extravagant departure from 
 nature, as many conclude, that he formed his 
 principles ; but by careful selection from it en- 
 nobling style in design, without destroying truth 
 of imitation in its general character.? The 
 line which Raffaelle chose, when at his best, 
 was more gentle than Angelo' s ; less convex, 
 and with less of occasional acuteness ; the 
 muscles not so full, nor so much in action ; and 
 the parts of the joints less distinctly marked. 
 Hence, the sensation it creates is more agree- 
 able, but less forcible in expression. 
 
 Raffaelle in his youth, in pursuance of the 
 decencies required by the church at that period, 
 engaged in painting subjects, where a display of 
 draperies, rather than of the human figure, was 
 required, does not appear to have been perfectly 
 
 * The prize-fighter Jones, once a model in the Royal Aca- 
 demy, was one of them. 
 
 t In the collection of the late Sir Thomas Lawrence there 
 are many careful drawings by Michel Angelo ; studies, from 
 nature, of figures introduced into the picture of the Last 
 Judgment. 
 
ON DESIGN. 
 
 281 
 
 versed in it : whereas, Michel Angelo from his 
 earliest engagement in the arts of sculpture and 
 painting, made it his principal study. 
 
 The style therefore of the design of RafFaelle 
 in that particular, is less learned and less free 
 than that of Angelo ; whose style, on the other 
 hand, is of too lofty a character for common use. 
 The forms produced by his convex lines are ap- 
 plicable to few purposes in their full extent ; but 
 to all, in the spirit which guided him. 
 
 No greater mistake can be committed, than to 
 take his line for a guide at all times ; except, 
 neglecting to cultivate that deep consideration 
 of expression in action and in look, which he 
 obtained by it ; and by which his figures are, to 
 me at least, rendered infinitely more impressive, 
 than by his style alone ; which has in general 
 been the only theme of his admirers. 
 
 In the general movements of the figures of 
 Michel Angelo, he was careful to give distinct 
 character to the actions of the various parts of the 
 body and its members. In the unity of action 
 which reigns throughout his best figures, each 
 portion of the trunk has its peculiar share well 
 defined. The thorax moves upon the abdomen 
 without dragging it onwards, the neck on the 
 shoulders, the head upon the neck ; and each 
 joint of the limbs is admirably adjusted, in re- 
 gard to the same kind of separate, yet united 
 
282 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 
 line of action. It is this, if I mistake not, 
 which is the main-spring of the energy found in 
 his design ; where the eye, in its rapid glance, 
 starts, as it were, from each division, with in- 
 creasing animation as it courses over the whole ; 
 and finds these varying forms and actions uniting 
 to one end. When this is not done, but the 
 various parts are made to glide imperceptibly 
 into each other, more beauty, it is true, is ac- 
 quired ; but tameness and languor impress their 
 power over it. His great support in adopting 
 this effective system, was doubtless his vast 
 knowledge of the anatomical structure of the 
 human figure ; which enabled him to overcome 
 with ease, the most difficult foreshortenings. The 
 proportions of his figures are rendered grand in 
 their scale by the smallness of their heads and 
 of their hands and feet ; and the fulness of line 
 with which the muscles and the knittings of the 
 bones are delineated, adds to that grandeur. 
 
 If I am right, the basis of this style of design 
 is applicable to imitations of all things ; and 
 worthy of our most serious study. But the 
 boundary which unites it to excess, shows us 
 a fearful abyss adjoining, to which it insen- 
 sibly leads the unskilful, or the unwary; and 
 the danger which accompanies the attempt to 
 imitate and apply his style, without the know- 
 ledge and the sense which guided him in the 
 
ON DESIGN. 
 
 283 
 
 use of it, is powerfully evinced by the absurd 
 and bombastic productions of his immediate suc- 
 cessors and imitators. 
 
 But he that would excel must dare : only let 
 an ardent desire for the discovery of truth and 
 beauty be the guide ; for that alone can conduct 
 an artist through the labyrinth of research in 
 safety. 
 
 The grand principle of design thus created by 
 Michel Angelo, received the homage not only of 
 RafFaelle, but also of all the great painters of the 
 Florentine, Venetian, and Bolognese schools. 
 Certainly at least, a simultaneous improvement 
 of style arose in the Venetian school, such as 
 we see it in some of the finest works of Titian, 
 — the Peter Martyr, the David and Goliath, the 
 Abraham and Isaac, and others. We find it 
 displayed in the works of Tintoretto ; but con- 
 siderably and judiciously moderated in its flow, 
 to suit the character of his subjects ; and happily 
 blended with the gentler beauties of antique 
 form, which he most most assiduously studied. 
 It was powerfully revived by the Caracci, with 
 more careful attention to positive correctness than 
 was always given by Michel Angelo ; as we see in 
 the Farnese Gallery. In their best scholar, Guido, 
 it was controlled by a research after beauty ; 
 and when beauty and grace are the objects de- 
 sired, then a certain degree of gentleness, and a 
 
284 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 
 less exuberant flow of line is required ; of which 
 the general form of RafFaelle is an example. 
 
 In the school of Germany, it led to monstrous 
 excess ; which, reduced, formed the style of 
 Rubens ; and upheld by his glowing imagination 
 has given us these admirable works which mani- 
 fest so powerfully the value of design, or of 
 drawing, as to its influence in the execution of a 
 picture ; and in the works of no painter is de- 
 sign made more available to that end than in his ; 
 unless perhaps it be found in the best pictures 
 of Tintoretto. 
 
 After what I have said upon this subject, I 
 know not how to conclude this lecture, better than 
 by repeating a part of my preparatory address to 
 you. I therein stated, in illustration of the 
 general utility of the grand style, that it is the 
 same principle of selection, of enlargement, and 
 simplification in design, which leads us to prefer 
 the landscapes of Titian, of Poussin, of Claude, 
 and of Wilson ; to those of Both and Berghem, of 
 Hobbima or Ruysdael. In the pictures of Claude 
 we see it most clearly. His forms are no less dis- 
 tinct from those ordinarily found in nature, than 
 are the representations of the human figure 
 found in the antique statues, or in the works of 
 Michel Angelo ; but are as select as theirs, and as 
 fitly adapted to the purposes for which they are 
 chosen. 
 
ON DESIGN. 
 
 28.5 
 
 The influence of style in design extending 
 through the lower walks of art gives superiority, in 
 the Dutch and Flemish schools, to the works of 
 Metzu, Terbourg, and Jan Stein, over those of 
 Ostade, Mieris, and Gerard Douw. So that, when 
 I select for my theme the highest in the noblest 
 class of art, you may each apply my remarks in 
 well-regulated degrees to the improvement of 
 your own immediate classes of subjects. In 
 portraiture, it is well known to be a controlling 
 principle with the best painters ; and the world 
 may well be assured of its truth, while possessed 
 of the labours of Sir Joshua Reynolds ; in which 
 grandeur, grace, and truth, contend for the 
 mastery. 
 
 The attainment of style inculcated in this 
 lecture from the examples given to us by the 
 older artists, naturally leads to the consideration 
 of the best mode of attaining knowledge in 
 painting, by studying pictures. I shall therefore 
 add a few observations on that subject. 
 
 It is doubtless very delightful to indulge in 
 the rapturous feelings, and the enthusiastic lan- 
 guage, excited by the great and the admirable 
 in art ; and whilst it exhibits capability of com- 
 prehending its beauty, it seems, also, to promise 
 the enjoyment of power to produce it. 
 
286 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 
 But the capacity to separate truth from all 
 that disguises it, and portray it for ourselves, 
 is the invaluable gift of a few ; whilst the native 
 consciousness within us, of its existence, en- 
 abling us at once to acknowledge and enjoy it 
 when displayed, is widely imparted to the mass 
 of mankind. Hence it is a more common and 
 generally found to be a more agreeable task, to 
 indulge in the pleasurable sensations imparted 
 by fine works of art, and far more easy to talk of 
 them than to search out the latent principles 
 whence the pleasure they afford is derived. 
 
 To learn, the fervour of enjoyment must sub- 
 side, and calm reflection, the result of earnest 
 enquiry, take place in our minds ; we must bring 
 reason to our aid, ere we can comprehend the 
 mode by which the powerful or the pleasing 
 effect that moved us has been produced. The 
 actor feels not, whilst he studies his part, the 
 passion which he intends to display. " What's 
 Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba!" He is 
 thinking of the proper emphasis, the proper 
 action, the proper turn of features for his adop- 
 tion, to produce the semblance of the passion by 
 which it may be supposed he is influenced ; and 
 all this necessary preoccupation of his mind ex- 
 cludes the passion itself. 
 
 Just so, the student in painting who aims at 
 excellence will divest himself of the immediate 
 
ON DESIGN. 
 
 287 
 
 influence excited by his admiration of a work of 
 art, and apply his mind to the consideration of 
 those combinations of forms, or of colours, of 
 actions, and of expressions, which have been pro- 
 ductive of the emotion he feels ; whether it arise 
 from sentiment or from beauty, from the power 
 of the art, or the skill of the artist. I speak for 
 those, and they are not a few, who mistakenly 
 seem to think when they feel themselves excited 
 to enthusiastic fervour by a picture, and speak 
 of it with corresponding energy and a glowing 
 imagination, that they exhibit a knowledge of 
 art, and manifest the proof of genius. It is 
 but a step in advance ! It is, indeed, the firm 
 basis of the true connoisseur; a testimony of 
 his capacity to feel justly the effect of a fine 
 work. It may be sufficient for the critic, but 
 it will never make a painter ; and it is a fatal 
 error to an artist, if he rest content with it : an 
 error, by which many fair hopes have been de- 
 stroyed ; and by which talents, that might have 
 produced admirable results, have been perverted 
 and betrayed their possessor. 
 
 It was by the control of reason over en- 
 thusiasm that the art attained the perfection 
 which has been exhibited to us ; and it is that 
 man only who so regulates his mind, that he 
 can cast aside the warmer emotion, in just time 
 for the more useful and ultimately more grateful 
 
288 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 
 pleasure of enquiry, who, in turn, reaps the be- 
 nefit of becoming able to excite it in others. 
 It is perhaps to the mistaken notion in the world, 
 that art is almost altogether the product of 
 fervid feeling, unaided by sober judgment, that 
 are owing many of the unsound opinions of art 
 and artists, which have abounded, and do still 
 abound, in the world. 
 
 Many will, I fear, deem these observations 
 founded on a cold calculation. But it must 
 be seen, that I do not exclude a capability of 
 warm and enthusiastic sensation from the ca- 
 talogue of the virtues of a painter ; and if I 
 thought that I should destroy, or weaken, the 
 warmth of feeling in a youthful mind devoted to 
 the art, I would not thus treat the subject. No, 
 I proceed to say that he who feels it not, will 
 never be an artist, can never attain a conscious- 
 ness of that which renders the art estimable. 
 He must enthusiastically feel, or he can never 
 enjoy the beauties of art ; he must enjoy them, 
 or he can never endure the labours of practice 
 necessary for the attainment of power to produce 
 them ; and he must practise laboriously, and 
 reason calmly while he labours under the in- 
 fluence of his zeal, or his desire to become a 
 great artist will be vain. 
 
LECTURE 
 
 ON COMPOSITION IN 
 
 VII. 
 
 PAINTING. 
 
 1829. 
 
 u 
 
291 
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 composition. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 From Invention, and Design which realises the 
 forms supplied by invention, we next proceed to 
 Composition. 
 
 This influential principle of the art of painting 
 includes, not only the proper introduction and 
 combination of figures, with the management of 
 forms and characters relative to the subject 
 chosen, but of those also, which will enable the 
 painter, without losing sight of propriety, to 
 employ the most beautiful arrangements of 
 colours, and of chiaro-oscuro ; alike efficient to 
 maintain those forms and characters, and agree- 
 ably to diversify the surface of his picture. 
 
 Such combinations cannot be skilfully effected 
 by a fortuitous mode of proceeding. Some solid 
 principles must be adopted to guide an artist 
 through such a labyrinth of difficulties, and 
 enable him to produce a composition, effective 
 for all his purposes, but void of evident artifice ; 
 the apparent result of a natural and perfect 
 
 u 2 
 
LECTURE VII. 
 
 vision of the original prototype. But so subtle is 
 this degree of perfection in composition, and so 
 difficult of attainment, that it is only by many 
 essays, frequently imperfect, and inefficient, that a 
 learner becomes acquainted with the nature of 
 the difficulties that attend it. So true it is, that the 
 real beauties of the art are unostentatious ; and the 
 more perfect any work of art is, the more easy 
 of imitation does it appear to the unpractised. 
 
 Mr. Alison, in his Essay on Taste, has justly 
 observed, that " if the fine arts are in reality 
 arts of imitation, their principles must be sought 
 in the subjects which they imitate." Nothing 
 can be more self- evidently true. Art has not, 
 nor can have, any other proper basis than 
 nature ; at once the source, the end, and test of 
 art. Being imitative of natural effects, it must 
 seek its regulator, in the principles upon which 
 the operations of nature are presented to our 
 view. It is mistaken and injurious art, under 
 the affectation of style or some other vain pre- 
 tence misleading the observer and confusing 
 his understanding, which proceeds upon any 
 other basis. 
 
 The evil which such a perverted and senseless 
 employment of talent has caused, has led many 
 to declaim against System in the practice of the 
 art of painting as injurious to it. But that is 
 just only when system is ill founded. 
 
ON COMPOSITION. 
 
 We cannot look at any refined work of art 
 which effectively displays sentiment, and not 
 perceive that the artist was actuated by some 
 fixed principles, or system, in the composition 
 and execution of it, as best fitted to answer his 
 purpose. We see it in the statues of the Greeks, 
 and in the remnants, imperfect as they are, of 
 their paintings ; and we cannot but believe the 
 testimonies we gather from various sources, of its 
 being the result of experience, the offspring of 
 long cultivation alone.* 
 
 What is the foundation of refined art in paint- 
 ing but selection from among the most beautiful 
 and most impressive forms and colours for the 
 production of an intended effect ? But selection 
 cannot be performed without system. An artist 
 must be conscious of what he requires, he must 
 have some view of the highest and the best 
 qualities of things, ere he can think of seeking, 
 much less of representing them ; and the thoughts 
 they inspire, when he has methodised them, be- 
 come his system ; guide him in his observations 
 throughout the works of nature, and direct him 
 in the representation of them. 
 
 I touched slightly on this point, System, in my 
 
 * Sir Joshua Reynolds has borne this testimony of himself, 
 that he had a habit of investigation, and a disposition to re- 
 duce all that he observed, and felt in his own mind, to method 
 and system. 
 
 u 3 
 
294 
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 last lecture, as applicable to the practice of de- 
 sign ; I now recur to it, as the most useful agent 
 for that study of nature on which the beauty 
 and the excellence of the art depends. Yet it 
 must be recollected that the formation and pos- 
 session of System in painting, even when justly 
 formed, requires the utmost care in the applica- 
 tion of it. 
 
 With the greatest painters, it emanated from na- 
 ture, and to her always reverted. The injurious 
 class of system is derived from art, is the system 
 of schools ; which, instead of referring to nature, 
 would if possible guide her course: and looks 
 back, not to her, as an instructor, but to pre- 
 ceding works of art. And that which has cast a 
 doubt upon the utility of system, is not the want 
 of truth in the opinion of its necessity ; but of 
 wisdom in the pursuit of it. 
 
 Hence that weakness which academies of 
 art have been too justly accused of engender- 
 ing, but of which we trust our own is free. 
 Here, you are taught to regard no specific work 
 or class of art, as your only or infallible guide, 
 and are at liberty to follow the dictates of your 
 own inclinations ; and, studying all, to combine, 
 if you can, the beauties of each. Hence, we 
 have the advantage of seeing upon the walls of 
 our exhibition rooms so extended a range of 
 
ON COMPOSITION. 
 
 295 
 
 subjects, and such diversified modes of treatment 
 of them. 
 
 But there is danger in this very liberty, lest 
 the indulgence should weaken the character of 
 each branch of the art among us, from the want 
 of an appropriate guiding principle. To enter- 
 tain a just sense of this principle, this systematic 
 mode of proceeding in historical painting, you 
 must not only study pictures, but more espe- 
 cially consider the causes of the varied effects 
 produced upon your minds by peculiar occur- 
 rences in nature. Are you sensible of beauty, 
 whence (should be your enquiry) does the sensa- 
 tion arise ? What are the peculiar forms or co- 
 lours which contribute most to produce it? 
 Does the awful, the terrific, the horrible, assail 
 you, from what peculiarities in the circumstances 
 before you are the sensations you experience 
 derived ? Does pity, does compassion, take pos- 
 session of your minds, what are the external 
 tokens of the distress or of the suffering which 
 excites you ? Each must have its peculiar cha- 
 racter, each its distinguishing line of expression ; 
 and the greater the extreme of your sympathy, 
 the more decided must be the peculiarity which 
 causes it, and which separates the expression of 
 each passion or feeling from the other. 
 
 All combinations of natural forms, or of na- 
 tural colours, productive of powerful effects upon 
 
 u 4f 
 
296 
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 us, and specific in their nature, must be capable 
 of specific distinction ; since of each there must 
 be the extreme leading point ; and if there 
 be danger to the practice of the art in such a 
 systematic consideration of its object, the de- 
 lineation of the works of nature ; it consists, not 
 in the thing itself, but in a mistaken application 
 of it. We may say, with Akenside, when speak- 
 ing of style of expression in poetry ; that, 
 
 " like the unchanging sun, 
 
 It clears and improves whate'er it shines upon ; 
 It gilds all objects, but it alters none.'* 
 
 System, then, in painting, and in the consi- 
 deration of the objects upon which it is em- 
 ployed, is not only, not injurious, but necessary ; 
 and it is they only who have no system, who, 
 blindly struggling with taste, till by accident 
 they meet with that which will suit their purpose, 
 never become strong in art ; who never can, like 
 Sir Joshua Reynolds and other able men, be- 
 come stronger as they grow older ; and that from 
 the very force of a well-regulated principle of 
 action in their professional labours ; or, in other 
 words, from system, framed as the knowledge of 
 their wants increased. 
 
 There is no evil, but the greatest utility, de- 
 rivable to the art of music, from the well-under- 
 stood system of chords and discords in sounds ; 
 
ON COMPOSITION. 
 
 297 
 
 and some composers apply it with natural pathos 
 and powerful control over our feelings, and 
 thus exhibits its value ; while others, with more 
 technical knowledge than judgment, misuse it 
 by a rich but common-place exhibition of their 
 acquirements, equally void of sense and senti- 
 ment. 
 
 Is the system on which they act the cause of 
 excellence in the one and of error in the other ? 
 Or may we not rather say, that the one applies 
 the system, following the just dictates of feel- 
 ing, and of judgment; the other, the vague 
 suggestions of fancy ? I need not say which is 
 the most worthy of estimation. 
 
 To produce fine composition of historical mat- 
 ter in painting, requires a considerable degree of 
 such a systematic consideration of the natural 
 causes of peculiar effects, as that of which I have 
 spoken. 
 
 When an intelligent painter undertakes to 
 portray an historical fact, his first object will 
 undoubtedly be, to convey to the observer an im- 
 pressive image of his subject, with its dependen- 
 cies ; as far as they can be conveyed, by a clear and 
 enthusiastic appeal through the means of vision, 
 to the common sense and feelings of mankind. 
 But the artist of refined taste who is conscious 
 of the power of his art, will not rest contented 
 with so meagre an application of it, however 
 
298 
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 clear his representation of the subject maybe. 
 He will not only attempt to display the fact in- 
 telligibly, but he will seek for the means which 
 art affords, and cultivated art requires, for its 
 best illustration. The most beautiful, as well as 
 the most intelligible composition will be his aim ; 
 that, 
 
 " which heightens to his eye 
 
 The bloom of nature, and before him turns 
 The gayest, happiest, attitude of things ; " 
 
 Akenside. 
 
 that which will attract an observer's attention, 
 and excite his enthusiasm, as well as the approval 
 of his understanding. 
 
 This is consistent with that nobleness of in- 
 vention which we have seen realised in painting 
 and in sculpture: from whence we know that 
 there is an art of animating and dignifying the 
 figure with intellectual grandeur, of impressing 
 the appearance of philosophic wisdom, or of he- 
 roic virtue. But this can only be effected by 
 him who enlarges the sphere of his understand- 
 ing by variety of natural knowledge, and warms 
 his imagination by the study of the best produc- 
 tions of ancient and modern poetry. 
 
 Composition implies order, arrangement ; it 
 poises and gives firmness to the figure supplied 
 by invention, adjusts its degree of motion by 
 concentrating or extending its sphere of action, 
 
ON COMPOSITION. 
 
 299 
 
 in relation to itself or in unison with others : 
 combining the consideration of the space to be 
 occupied, with that of the story, or the passion 
 to be displayed, or the sentiment to be excited. 
 
 There are two kinds of composition in histori- 
 cal painting. One is the offspring of the sentiment 
 or feeling inspired by the subject; and its aim is 
 to illustrate that subject, in the clearest and the 
 most engaging manner ; but making its beauty 
 subservient to its strength. The other, is merely 
 technical, the interest it excites being depend- 
 ent on the skill of the artist ; the beauty of 
 art, is the paramount object of it, and the sub- 
 ject is considered but as a vehicle for its display. 
 The first, is the firm foundation on which rests 
 the glory of the composition of the Florentine 
 school at its most perfect period ; the other, of 
 the less stable charms of the school of Venice, 
 after the time of Titian : it is that also of Par- 
 ma, to a great degree, and frequently of the Bo- 
 lognese school. Each sacrificed the principle 
 of the other to attain its own end. They please 
 by different means, and will be enjoyed in turn 
 by those who search in the various schools of 
 painting for the beauties of each ; and each of- 
 fends those who narrowly have resolved, either 
 to be pleased with that alone which is beautiful 
 to the eye, or with that which gratifies the mind, 
 regardless of beauty. 
 
300 
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 As invention exhibits the genius of an artist, 
 composition, with design, informs us of his taste. 
 
 The purest taste, and the most perfect, is 
 doubtless that which presents us with truth dis- 
 played with sense, and beauty. But there is a com- 
 mon acceptation of that term taste, in which it is 
 now best understood, which relates more imme- 
 diately to the application of the principles of 
 painting, than to nature ; referring to a certain 
 sense of beauty in controlling the use of the 
 materials of the art, in form, in colour, and in 
 chiaro-oscuro. 
 
 When this taste is indulged undirected by 
 judgment, it leads to exaggeration in each de- 
 partment of art, for the purpose of producing the 
 picturesque ; and that class of composition is 
 created which is entitled the ornamental. But 
 those who prefer, like the lower Venetian mas- 
 ters, this mode of exciting interest, must be 
 content with the uncertain and unsubstantial 
 praise to which it is entitled. Uncertain, for it 
 must depend upon an union of taste between 
 the painter and the observer ; which, if peculiar, 
 can scarcely be very widely diffused : and un- 
 substantial, because it must always be associated 
 with the fluctuating empire of fashion ; and the 
 inventive faculty of an artist, when employed in 
 the service of fashion, is for ever liable to error. 
 Truth and beauty, are stable and unchangeable ; 
 
ON COMPOSITION. 
 
 301 
 
 fashion for ever varying ; calling that beautiful or 
 tasteful to-day, which, to-morrow, it may term 
 trifling, extravagant, or common-place. 
 
 It must be the occupation, then, of those who 
 desire to obtain the knowledge of that which is 
 truly grand and impressive in art, and to practise 
 under its influence, steadfastly to reject all allure- 
 ments but those of truth ; and be guided by that 
 alone which really moves the mind to sympathy, 
 which excites to the admiration of beauty, or 
 touches with the emphasis of passion. 
 
 This can only be the case with those pictures 
 whose authors have taken the guidance of a good 
 understanding and a pure taste. They must 
 ever have a strong hold on the mind of man, the 
 principles of whose nature are unchangeable. 
 
 Here, then, we have the true basis of the 
 most valuable kind of composition ; that, which 
 attaches itself to the subject to be represented. 
 
 If the invention of the painter have been 
 employed to this good end in the discovery of 
 materials for a picture, then the same judicious 
 influence will control his enthusiasm in com- 
 posing them ; will instruct him to choose those 
 only which his subject specifically demands, and 
 reject all that is superfluous ; and will direct him 
 to place each figure, in the situation, as well as 
 to give it the expression, befitting the portion of 
 interest attached to it in the scene. 
 
302 
 
 LECTURE VH. 
 
 Afterwards, invention takes another course ; 
 calls the judgment more closely to its aid, and 
 turns for support to those technical regulations 
 of the art of painting by which beauty is pro- 
 duced, and expression rendered most forcible : 
 and here taste, in its ordinary acceptation, be- 
 comes an important ally. 
 
 In this stage of the progress of painting, art 
 becomes artifice, without degradation. Such 
 artifice, a painter is obliged to employ : his in- 
 genuity is for ever put to the test, to compensate 
 for deficiencies, to curtail redundancies, to dis- 
 guise unfavourable circumstances ; to ameliorate, 
 in short, all those inconveniences which may 
 arise from the nature of his materials ; and his 
 whole occupation, when engaged on the surface 
 of his picture, consists in displaying those ma- 
 terials most efficiently. 
 
 This is a portion of that system of art of 
 which I have spoken ; which directs him who 
 aims at perfection, to press into his service the 
 extreme influence of the privilege of selection 
 for the amendment of form in itself, or in its com- 
 binations ; rendering all forms subservient, under 
 just control, to the purposes of his art. But I 
 would observe, that he can never be esteemed a 
 truly great artist, whose imagination will not 
 furnish him, from the great storehouse of Nature 
 and the excellent among the productions of art, 
 
ON COMPOSITION. 
 
 303 
 
 with such combinations as he may require, with- 
 out violating the principles of either. He can- 
 not be considered as duly qualified for the most 
 exalted practice of the art of painting, who feels 
 compelled to adopt falsehood for truth, however 
 ingeniously he may be able to disguise it. 
 
 The soul of composition is expression ; de- 
 riving its power from the sympathy it excites 
 in the minds of others. It has recently been 
 well said, by an anonymous writer, that " the 
 feelings which exist in the poet, (he might have 
 added, and the painter,) are those that exist, with 
 more or less developement, in every human soul. 
 The imagination, he adds, which shudders at the 
 Hell of Dante, is the same faculty, weaker in 
 degree, which called that picture into being." 
 
 There are established principles in the nature 
 of man, by which, unconscious of their influence 
 his actions are controlled, both when alone or 
 in communion with others, according to the cir- 
 cumstances which surround him and engage his 
 attention. When many men act together under 
 circumstances of a tranquil nature, or are merely 
 observant of a fact which does not excite to 
 warm emotions, but rather produces serious or 
 solemn sensations ; we see the sentiment apper- 
 taining to the scene displayed in the parallelism 
 of their positions, and the simple and slight 
 movements of their limbs. In conformity with 
 
304 
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 the principle thus established by nature, has that 
 powerful and beautiful portrayer of human nar 
 ture, Raffaelle, our purest guide when whatever 
 relates to propriety is the theme ; thus he has 
 employed the influence of simple forms in his 
 cartoon of the Delivery of the Keys to St. Peter, 
 to produce solemnity, the natural effect of that 
 scene. It is the same in his group of the Apo- 
 stles in the Ananias, and also among the figures 
 distributing and receiving alms ; whilst he has 
 resorted to the adverse system of angular forms 
 and abrupt contrasts, to portray distress and 
 convulsion in the dying man, and astonishment 
 and dismay in the figures that immediately sur- 
 round him. Again, the simple forms and paral- 
 lelism of position producing the seriousness be- 
 coming those engaged in the intended sacrifice 
 to Paul and Barnabas at Lystra, are disturbed 
 only, by the varieties of form and the contrasts 
 indicative of the commotion excited by the dis- 
 tress of St. Paul, and explanatory of the miracle 
 he has performed. 
 
 The anomalous pictures of saints and angels 
 surrounding and adoring the Virgin and Child, 
 painted for holy altars, and intended to excite 
 devotional feelings, were founded and constantly 
 composed on this principle, until it was super- 
 seded by the rage for the picturesque : and you 
 may see, in the magnificent work of that kind by 
 
ON COMPOSITION. 
 
 305 
 
 Rubens, painted to adorn the high altar of the 
 church of St. Augustin at Antwerp, how totally 
 the sentiment, the true basis of such pictures, was 
 destroyed by the change. By the employment 
 of rich and flowing lines, and many and strong 
 contrasts, Rubens has deprived that picture of 
 the solemnity which a combination of such per- 
 sons should display. Sir Joshua Reynolds, in his 
 journey through Flanders, has placed it in un- 
 favourable opposition, in point of sentiment, to 
 a picture by Titian in the church of the Frari at 
 Venice *, with many admirable remarks ; and I 
 will lay before you, for comparison with it, the 
 picture by RafFaelle at Dresden, La Madonna 
 del Sisto. You will at once see, that if the one be 
 an assemblage of forms admirably calculated to 
 display the power of the painter, and produce a 
 rich and splendid scene ; the other, no less 
 manifests the power of his art, when judiciously 
 applied, to excite devotional feelings. 
 
 If you compare, also, the simple grand forms 
 of the Prophets and Sibyls by Michel Angelo, 
 with the angular forms of the Evangelists by Do- 
 menichino, you will perceive the dignified power 
 of the former from their simpler combinations; 
 on which the mind undisturbedly dwells in deep 
 emotion, till the sentiment intended be per- 
 
 * Over the altar of the family of Pisano. 
 X 
 
306 
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 fected. While, in the other, the eye finds no re- 
 pose, and consequently, the mind derives no 
 satisfactory or sympathetic emotion from them. 
 
 Omitting to act upon this principle, of order 
 and dignified simplicity, in the group of the Dis- 
 ciples in the Transfiguration, it appears to me, 
 that RafFaelle has not maintained the sentiment 
 appertaining to their character, or of the scene 
 in which they are engaged ; but, it adds simpli- 
 city and consequent grandeur to the upper part. 
 Again, what effectual power does the employ- 
 ment of contrast and angular forms present, in 
 his picture of the Resurrection of the Saviour ; 
 expressive of all the astonishment and alarm, 
 which so extraordinary an event must have ex- 
 cited ! 
 
 I would also venture to remark upon another 
 very important work, the Last Supper, by Lio- 
 nardi da Vinci, that its great author has, perhaps, 
 yielded too much to the fervour of excitation in 
 the subject ; and that its sacred, and solemn, 
 and impressive character might have been en- 
 hanced, if less action among the Apostles, and 
 consequently less of contrast, had been intro- 
 duced in it. 
 
 It is, however, in the works of Tintoretto and 
 the later members of the Venetian school, that 
 we may find the most powerful illustration of the 
 ill effects caused by neglect of the principle to 
 
ON COMPOSITION. 
 
 307 
 
 which I allude. Their serious subjects are over- 
 whelmed in the force of contrasts, from their love 
 of the picturesque. The same important subject, 
 as that I have mentioned of the picture by L. da 
 Vinci, when in the hands of Tintoretto in the 
 Scuolo di S. Rocco, becomes grotesque, exhibits 
 the irregularities of bacchanalian orgies ; and the 
 solemn and deeply impressive history of the re- 
 suscitation of Lazarus selected for another of the 
 same series of pictures, is lost in the display of 
 the materials the painter chose for its represent- 
 ation. 
 
 If, pursuing the same system of reasoning, we 
 examine the influence of other natural circum- 
 stances as they act upon men, be they grave or 
 gay, alluring or repulsive, calculated to impress 
 terror or enchant with delight, the principles of 
 composition required in treating them, will be 
 found to arise from the actions which they gene- 
 rate, of the individuals excited by their influence. 
 
 What can be more appropriate, more duly 
 springing from the nature of a subject, than the 
 grand, and flowing, and graceful lines which 
 characterise the composition by Rubens in the 
 Luxembourg gallery, of the crowning of Mary of 
 Medicis ? What more descriptive of the violence 
 and fury of a battle, than the angular forms and 
 abrupt contrasts of the Battle of the Standard by 
 Da Vinci ; and of those skilful arrangements 
 
 x 2 
 
308 
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 which were adopted from it, or made in rivalry 
 with it, in the splendid compositions of the 
 hunting scenes of Rubens ? or the bustle and vi- 
 vacity produced by the infinite variety of con- 
 trasts, which almost intoxicate our sense of 
 vision, in that vigorous and astonishing effort of 
 his glowing pencil the Fall of the Damned, at 
 Munich ? or that other admirable picture so 
 strong in contrast of subject, the Fete Fla- 
 mande, now in the Louvre ? 
 
 The historical portion of these lectures will 
 have conveyed to your minds an idea of the 
 growth of composition, from little better than 
 apposition, or figures placed side by side, to 
 perfection in variety of form, combined with 
 grandeur and depth of parts. Such we see it, 
 " in mazes intricate, involved, yet regular when 
 most irregular they seem, 5 ' in the works of the 
 great masters of the fifteenth and sixteenth cen- 
 turies ; where we find the most extraordinary 
 combinations of form effected with that unity, 
 propriety, and perspicuity, which good compo- 
 sition requires. 
 
 It is also worthy of remark, while tracing this 
 subject, that through the whole of the early 
 periods of the art, conventional heads of certain 
 characters, and conventional compositions of 
 actions for certain figures, were frequently re- 
 peated unchanged in what related to grouping ; 
 
ON COMPOSITION. 
 
 309 
 
 but amended, according to the growth of taste, 
 in the form of the individual figures. 
 
 Thus, we find the arrangement of the upper 
 part of the Transfiguration in an illuminated MS. 
 as far back as the eleventh century, repeated by 
 Giotto on the door of a wardrobe in the Santa 
 Croce at Florence in the beginning of the four- 
 teenth. That of the same portion of the School 
 of Theology by Raffaelle, employed by Guido da 
 Sienna in the thirteenth century, (as may be seen 
 in a picture by him now in the museum at Sienna) 
 was repeated by Fra Angelico da Fiesole, in the 
 fourteenth, by Fra Bartolomeo in the cloister of 
 the hospital at Florence in the fifteenth; and 
 thence transplanted by Raffaelle to the Vatican, 
 as the accepted mode of representing the Heaven 
 of Heavens : a type sanctified by usage, and 
 therefore, to be given without any alteration ex- 
 cept in the actions of the individual figures. 
 The action also of the Saviour adopted by Michel 
 Angelo in his picture of the Last Judgment, which 
 by many has been severely criticised and con- 
 demned, Mr. Fuseli amongst them, is the sanc- 
 tioned product of the early periods ; from which, 
 probably, he did not feel himself at liberty to 
 depart. It is to be seen in a picture of the Last 
 Judgment byLorenzetti, at Sienna ; and in many 
 subsequent pictures. There also is a picture of 
 St. Peter in Prison, and on the side of it the 
 
 x 3 
 
310 
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 angel conducting him thence, treated precisely in 
 the same manner as by Raffaelle in the Vatican ; 
 and we have the prototype of the class of com- 
 position he employed in the Parnassus and the 
 School of Athens, in a work of Galaton, a Greek 
 painter ; who, according to iElian, represented 
 the later poets of his country listening to the 
 strains of Homer. 
 
 Thus also, the clothing of most of the sacred 
 and scriptural characters was employed conven- 
 tionally through a great lapse of time. To this 
 necessity we probably owe much of the con- 
 tinued formality of religious subjects, even to 
 late periods. These bonds, however, were 
 loosened in other subjects, as they became ad- 
 mitted within the pale of the art ; and even the 
 necessity incurred by the growth of taste, gave 
 beauty to the simplicity of the early religious 
 works ; such as we see in the product of the 
 taste and genius of Raffaelle. 
 
 In the formation of groups employed in his- 
 torical or poetical display, well-founded com- 
 position, will, of course, scorn a servile depend- 
 ence upon the rules of art. But its general form, 
 created by the character of the subject and the 
 necessities it imposes, being determined, the 
 painter will then do well to take the geometric 
 form most nearly allied to it, and make that form 
 his regulator. Such a guide gives point to com- 
 
ON COMPOSITION. 
 
 311 
 
 position, and renders it more efficient, by the 
 rare combination it displays of feeling, taste, and 
 science. 
 
 We can scarcely doubt, that the best com- 
 posers, from the Greeks downwards, were thus 
 guided, both in their grouping and in their 
 single figures; since their compositions are almost 
 always found to partake of some geometric form ; 
 of which, however, the unlearned perceive only 
 the effect, while the initiated artist comprehends 
 the cause. 
 
 The triangle in varied directions, the cone and 
 its sections, the circle and its segments, the 
 square, the lozenge, and the parallelogram, all 
 have assisted in the regulation of composition 
 with varied powers. The basis of arrangement 
 in the cartoon of the Death of Ananias is a 
 circle, though perspective has reduced it to an 
 oval ; a semicircle, of which St. Paul is the 
 centre, regulates the composition of the Preach- 
 ing of that saint at Athens. 
 
 The pyramidal form reigns in various groups 
 of those compositions; and was evidently the 
 regulating principle of the Transfiguration. 
 
 With these instances before you, it will be 
 unnecessary for me to give further illustrations 
 on this point; you may apply these thoughts 
 for yourselves, whenever you engage in the 
 study and examination of fine works. But it 
 x 1 
 
312 
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 must always be recollected, that this adoption 
 of scientific form defeats its own object, if left 
 too apparent : and while the useful principle it 
 affords is maintained in a general manner, an 
 imitation of that variety of form, of action, and 
 position of figure which nature so constantly 
 dictates, must disguise and seclude it from the 
 notice of the common observer. 
 
 Composition, when extensive, requires atten- 
 tion to the ground-plan of the scene of action. 
 Hence perspective becomes of infinite import- 
 ance in it, that each figure may have its proper 
 station awarded to it with relation to others ; 
 and room for itself, in accordance with the cha- 
 racter of its own action. Raffaelle, Rubens, 
 Poussin, and indeed all the best composers, were 
 admirably attentive to this important point. 
 
 It is likewise of absolute importance that the 
 figures do not interfere with each other, that 
 each be distinctly and intelligibly clear, however 
 small be the portion of it which is seen ; and 
 that the whole act together in line and in form, 
 to make the mass agreeable ; as seen in that 
 magic circle which surrounds St. Paul preaching 
 at Athens : and, above all, that there be no un- 
 certainty as to the principal object of the pic- 
 ture ; but that it be made conspicuous, as the 
 centre from which all emanates. This may be 
 effected by various means ; by form, by station, 
 
ON COMPOSITION. 
 
 313 
 
 by mass, by light, by dark ; and by the subor- 
 dinate parts evidently tending, and conducting 
 the eye of the spectator, towards it. 
 
 In this respect Raffaelle has varied his plans, 
 in the cartoons before you. In the Delivery of 
 the Keys to St. Peter, the Saviour, the principal 
 person, is alone, and near the side of the pic- 
 ture ; but we are made sensible of his import- 
 ance, not only by his being separate and by his 
 commanding action, but by the submissive pos- 
 ture of St. Peter, advanced before the group of 
 the disciples and connecting it with the figure 
 of the Saviour ; and by the combined actions of 
 those disciples themselves, almost all directed 
 towards their Lord. It is the same in the Mi- 
 racle at Lystra, though not conveying so entire a 
 sense of unity in the subject; while in the Ely- 
 mas, where the subject conducted the painter to 
 the same principle of composition, " cause and 
 effect conjoined," so immediately strike our 
 senses, that we do not hesitate a moment in 
 comprehending all that is intended. 
 
 These are all compositions of form, and not 
 dependent on any other principle of the art for 
 their power over us, and thus skilfully con- 
 ducted, display their purposes ; nevertheless, as 
 a general rule in composition, the effect is the 
 most perfect, because the most acceptable to the 
 eye, when the principal objects are so placed as 
 
314 
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 to become the centre of vision, as well as the 
 centre of form ; that is, when they have posses- 
 sion, as in the Ananias, of the most conspicuous 
 place in the picture; which is in or near the 
 central line. 
 
 That simplicity, regularity, and uniformity, to 
 a certain degree, in balancing the groups and 
 the sides of a picture, thus supporting the main 
 object in the centre, is a source of grandeur in 
 composition, is proved by many powerful pro- 
 ductions of the art. In shorter terms, that the 
 scheme most available for that particular pur- 
 pose, is symmetry in the whole, with proportion 
 and variety in the parts. 
 
 It is however to the fearless, yet skilful em- 
 ployment of variety in composition, caused by 
 following the impulse given by the subject, that 
 the pictures of Raffaelle owe that simple air of 
 truth, that appearance of artlessness, which per- 
 suades us, as Mr. Fuseli has observed, " that 
 his figures have been less composed by skill, 
 than grouped by nature ; and that the fact must 
 have happened, as we see it represented." 
 
 We may justly apply to that great painter the 
 sentiment of the language which Pope has so 
 wisely written of Shakspeare. " The poetry of 
 Shakspeare," he says, 4 6 was inspiration indeed: 
 he is not so much an imitator, as an instrument 
 of nature ; and it is not so just to say, that he 
 
ON COMPOSITION. 
 
 315 
 
 speaks from her, as that she speaks through him. 
 He hits that particular point, on which the bent 
 of each argument turns, or the force of each 
 motion depends." 
 
 Rarely, or never, do we find in the most stu- 
 died works of RafFaelle, or in his most extended 
 compositions, any admixture of heterogeneous 
 matter, or of figures which appear introduced 
 merely to fill a place, or compose a form ; and 
 when we contemplate his pictures, we find our 
 attention drawn towards the principal object, 
 wherever situated. 
 
 This proceeds from his invention and compo- 
 sition having acted upon each other to one end. 
 As invention supplied the means, his taste in 
 composition, excited by the same enthusiastic 
 sense of propriety which produced those means, 
 so arranged them as best to promote the object 
 for which they were selected. 
 
 This indeed was effected by the early masters, 
 but not with like variety, vivacity, interest, or 
 beauty. 
 
 The vigour of genius, as a native power of 
 the mind, seems not capable of much enlarge- 
 ment, though study may extend its sphere of 
 action ; but taste is a much more improvable 
 quality. The power of the genius of Giotto, I 
 conceive to have been scarce less than that of 
 RafFaelle ; and as far as the examples he enjoyed 
 
316 
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 to guide his taste, he in that point also appears 
 nearly to approach him. The feeling which he 
 exhibited, the emanation of his genius, was as 
 full, and was as directly applied ; but the art of 
 painting had attained an immense store of ma- 
 terials for its display, ere Raffaelle arose to em- 
 ploy and improve them ; and to exhibit, by their 
 help in great measure, the vast extent of both 
 his genius and his taste. 
 
 The composition of Michel Angelo is of a bolder 
 character ; more fitted to convey poetic interest, 
 but less calculated for historical purposes. His 
 perfect knowledge of the human figure, and of 
 perspective, enabled him to foreshorten both the 
 body and the limbs, in every direction, with the 
 greatest ease and truth, and by those means to 
 produce his grand cartoon for the great hall at 
 Florence, and those struggling groups of men 
 and fiends, in his picture of the Last Judgment, 
 which fill us with astonishment and terror. 
 
 But it may perhaps be observed, that his com- 
 position is generally of a character more com- 
 pletely allied to sculpture than to painting , 
 that it is employed principally on groups of 
 figures, and not extending through the minor 
 points of a picture ; and it does not therefore 
 yield sufficient variety, where the picturesque is 
 demanded. 
 
 Having already acknowledged the great supe- 
 
ON COMPOSITION. 
 
 317 
 
 riority of these two extraordinary men ; of the 
 one in grandeur and dignity of design, and po- 
 etical composition of the human figure, and of 
 the other in pure historical composition, I have 
 presented them to you as the most proper ob- 
 jects for your study : yet, as the full scope of the 
 art is not, nor ought to be, limited, but has, by 
 other men and in other countries, added strength 
 to its agency, by uniting various qualities un- 
 known to them, and necessary for you to be ac- 
 quainted with, I shall no longer dwell on their 
 productions, I now, therefore, turn to those 
 who, having employed their thoughts on other 
 points necessary for complete pictures, have by 
 that means rendered their works, if not more 
 grateful to the mind, more fascinating to the eye. 
 
 The composition of Rubens, founded origin- 
 ally upon the wild extravagancies of the Ger- 
 man school, the works of Goltzius, of Spranger, 
 and others ; and afterwards modified from ob- 
 servation of the great works of the masters of the 
 Italian schools ; possesses a character entirely his 
 own. 
 
 The copy, at the lower end of the room # , of 
 the Descent from the Cross by Rubens, presents 
 to you the composition of one of the purest and 
 most beautiful of his sacred works. Full of the 
 
 * In the Royal Academy. 
 
318 
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 enthusiasm of his genius, it embraces all that is 
 requisite for a picture in his own style ; though in 
 painting it he has chastened the exuberance of 
 that style, while he maintained its richness. Com- 
 pare it with the Raising of the Cross ; how 
 more agreeable its flow of line ! and less strong 
 its contrasts ! how much less gross its forms ! 
 how far less violent its expressions ! But its va- 
 riety, its fulness, its effective unity productive of 
 one end, (I speak now only of its composition,) 
 renders it one of the great master-pieces of the 
 art. Still, notwithstanding all its wonderful 
 power, there is no denying that the richness of its 
 effect upon the eye, absorbs too large a portion of 
 the attention due to so solemn and overwhelm- 
 ing a subject: a lower and a lurid tone of illumin- 
 ation, might, perhaps, have overpowered the effect 
 of the rich flow of line and colour which it 
 presents, and strengthened its due influence on 
 the mind. 
 
 But it is in the bacchanalian scenes of re- 
 velry, and in the battle-pieces painted by Ru- 
 bens ; in his huntings, his merry-makings, his 
 scenes of courtly and of common life, that 
 we more fully recognise the skill and propriety of 
 his compositions ; and no less, indeed, in the 
 tremendous overwhelming of the Rebel Host of 
 Heaven ; and yet, still more, in the greatest of 
 all his works, the Fall of the Damned ; where 
 
ON COMPOSITION. 
 
 319 
 
 you may find variety, depth, intricacy, and intel- 
 ligence of composition, fitted to receive the most 
 powerful and beautiful chiaro-oscuro and colour. 
 
 In the paintings of Coreggio we find an ap- 
 plication of composition, also very different in 
 every respect from that of Raffaelle or Michel 
 Angelo ; which, not losing sight of the subject, still 
 is more directly productive of the picturesque, or 
 of agreeable and beautiful diversities of light and 
 dark ; the fittest vehicles for a successful ex- 
 hibition of the charms of colouring. Because it 
 thus becomes subservient to the purposes of a 
 lower employment of the art, and is rather 
 adapted to exhibit the beauty resident in itself 
 than to convey great pathos, or to relate a fact, 
 its author has been ranked by competent autho- 
 rity as a machinist, or one who employs the art 
 for itself alone. But it must be confessed that he 
 was the greatest of all those who have merited 
 that appellation ; and some of the figures most 
 perfect in expression and most graceful in action, 
 which have been produced by the art of paint- 
 ing, are found in the pictures of Coreggio. Such 
 is that of the Magdalen in his picture at Parma, 
 of St. Jerome showing his translation of the Bible 
 to the infant Saviour ; and of the little picture of 
 the Magdalen reading, at Dresden. His prin- 
 cipal object, as far as relates to composition, 
 appears to have been the attainment of breadth, 
 
320 
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 as necessary to that union of colour and of chiaro- 
 oscuro, which had till then been unknown upon 
 a scale at all comparable with his. Figures 
 thrown into positions relative to their illumin- 
 ation, which afforded broad lights and shades, 
 and extended and flowing lines of drapery, were 
 his agents ; causing large divisions of spaces and 
 great masses of shade, supporting and beautifully 
 relieving equally extended masses of light, and 
 generally producing agreeable and graceful forms. 
 
 The composition of Titian, in his best works, 
 is of a far more true and dignified character. 
 We shall look in vain for a composition more 
 completely uniting truth and grandeur of line 
 and of form in picturesque effect, than his large 
 picture of the Death of St. Peter Martyr; or 
 that of David with the Dead Body of Goliath ; 
 the latter conveying, most beautifully and poeti- 
 cally, the sentiment of grateful piety which 
 animated the breast of the youthful hero. 
 
 Tintoretto, again, presents us with another 
 class of composition, fitted for a purpose different 
 from either, or rather more immediately fitted 
 for his own ; which was, an ostentatious display 
 of the power of art. It seems to have been em- 
 ployed by him merely to fill the space he had to 
 occupy, agreeably ; and in that technical portion 
 of the art his works are master-pieces of instruc- 
 tion. But whether the neglect of propriety, or 
 
ON COMPOSITION. 
 
 321 
 
 the want of common sense, which they too fre- 
 quently exhibit, , predominate, I will not take 
 upon me to decide. 
 
 From the works of these great artists, com- 
 bined with all they could abstract of the style of 
 the mighty master, Michel Angelo, the Caracci 
 formed their principles of design and composi- 
 tion. By this union they exhibited their skill 
 in the technicalities of the art ; in arrangement of 
 forms for the production of variety and depth of 
 composition, in the art of giving relief to their 
 figures by contrivances of light and shade ; and 
 for these things more particularly I recommend 
 their works to your study. 
 
 I might refer you, for examples of the main 
 points of skilful composition, to the works of 
 other able painters, but it would be only to 
 exemplify the same principles ; and the time 
 allotted to these lectures is too short to permit 
 of it. 
 
 Thus far I have treated of the principal fea- 
 tures of composition, requiring the purest efforts 
 of enthusiasm and of genius ! The secondary, 
 and the more subordinate portions of it, present 
 a different theme for observation. They arise 
 from considerations of a nature different from 
 those on which the first are founded, and their 
 introduction serves to a different end, 
 
 I have said that the refined and cultivated 
 
 Y 
 
322 
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 painter will not be content with displaying his 
 subject intelligibly, but will also seek for the 
 means his art affords, and good art requires, of 
 rendering it attractive. To this purpose, the 
 technical employment of composition in the 
 subordinate parts is directed ; not only to 
 strengthen the force of action in the figures, 
 but likewise to adjust and regulate the quan- 
 tities or proportions of forms and of spaces 
 throughout the surface employed ; to improve 
 the general form of grouping in the parts, and 
 in the whole ; provide the grounds of relief for 
 the principal objects, and present proper surfaces 
 for expanse of light and shade, and colour. 
 
 One main point in the perfection of compo- 
 sition relative to form, technically speaking, and 
 without reference to subject, consists in that 
 proportional division of the surface employed, 
 which at once presents to the eye an agreeable 
 combination of forms and spaces. " Proportioned 
 quantities," says Lomazzo, " is the matter of 
 painting ; and form is the regulator of those 
 quantities ; and it extends throughout the whole 
 surface of a picture." 
 
 Such is the language of an author, who, living 
 at a time when the art was highly cultivated and 
 employed, must have received his tenets from 
 the best authorities. What I mean by propor- 
 tional quantities, or divisions of the surface, will 
 
ON COMPOSITION. 
 
 323 
 
 be easily comprehended in its principle, though 
 there may doubts arise in many minds as to the 
 practical application of it. There are, however, 
 some points upon which all agree ; such as, the 
 impropriety of having many equal parts, or parts 
 equal in quantity, or many similar forms ; or of 
 having the forms of diverse parts so range with 
 each other, that they may not easily be separated. 
 On such points, there can be no doubt : experi- 
 ence has taught us how much delight our eyes 
 receive from variety and distinctness of form ; 
 but the exact proportion of parts which is requi- 
 site is not so easily determinable. 
 
 The more I have considered the subject, and 
 the more I find myself compelled by practice, 
 the more I am satisfied that its basis is deter- 
 minable by numbers. I say, the basis upon which 
 it rests ; for I conceive, that the nearer an artist 
 approaches to some arithmetical proportion in, 
 or between, his masses, or his forms and spaces, 
 among themselves, or each to the other, the 
 more acceptable will his compositions be ; not 
 only to those initiated in the art, but also to the 
 common observer. 
 
 There is no one having much practice in 
 painting, who can be insensible to the pleasing 
 sensations arising in his mind as he corrects his 
 labours, as proportion is improved, or as colours 
 are better arranged ; not only in proportions of 
 
 Y 2 
 
324 
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 figures, over which there may be some control 
 through preconceived notions or feelings ; but 
 in the proportional parts of his picture generally 
 and combinedly, to which no previous consider- 
 ations lead : and which seem to be derived only 
 from their physical effect upon the eye. And 
 when it is done, so as to please the eye of an in- 
 genious artist, and rendered as complete as his 
 taste will guide him ; he will find, if he examine 
 his work, that he has brought the parts of his 
 composition nearer to a given ratio, in their pro- 
 portions with each other.* Such mechanical 
 
 * If any are inclined to think that such a systematic mode 
 of producing the beautiful in composition, is derogatory to the 
 free exercise of the painter's imagination, and limiting within 
 narrow bounds the employment of his genius ; let them re- 
 collect the immense capability of extent in such proportional 
 combinations. Ample scope exists for the exercise of taste, 
 both in selection, and union ; and it may easily be perceived 
 that the limitation the principle implies, is far out of reach of 
 the utmost powers of fancy. Good music is not easily 
 producible, because musical combinations are exactly under- 
 stood, and mathematically demonstrated. As in music, so also 
 in painting, there must be taste to select, taste to arrange and 
 to combine, as well as knowledge and judgment ; or beauti- 
 ful combinations will never be formed on any extensive or 
 perfect scale : and be the mystery of the beautiful in design 
 solved ever so perfectly, and demonstrated, as that of music 
 is, to a certain degree ; the taste to employ the system ef- 
 fectually, will be still rarely displayed, unless the nature of 
 man be changed. 
 
 Besides, it may not be always necessary to keep the princi- 
 
ON COMPOSITION. 
 
 325 
 
 modes of producing the beautiful in composition, 
 I know, are not the offspring of feeling, but the 
 product of experience. They do not aid senti- 
 ment, they do not elevate to the pathetic ; they 
 appertain to the mere technicalities of the art 
 of painting. The most perfect praise they 
 merit, and the highest benefit they can confer, 
 is, that, by the judicious application of them, 
 they render a work, which possesses the higher 
 and more estimable qualities, more grateful to 
 the eye, and consequently more attractive to an 
 observer : and pictures fraught with excellence 
 of the highest kind, wanting in these useful prin- 
 ciples of composition, are not unfrequently over- 
 looked. 
 
 This also must be added, to excite caution 
 in the use of them, — that, in the lower periods of 
 the art in Italy and in France, great evil arose 
 from too great reliance being placed upon an 
 excessive application of them ; when artifice, at- 
 
 ple precisely in view, and to invent under its immediate con- 
 trol. A mind well instructed, will frequently work without 
 immediate reference to it ; as we speak without reference to 
 the rules of grammar, but rather under the general influence 
 which the knowledge of them has excited within us. It 
 is dangerous to trust too far to the indulgence of fancy ; and 
 those who do so, may find occasion to regret that they have 
 not sometimes recollected the original foundation upon which 
 their labours were begun. 
 
 Y S 
 
326 
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 tempting to fill the void of art, usurped the 
 station of feeling : of which the ingenious works 
 of Pietro Cortona, and many other machinists, 
 are sufficient proofs. 
 
 For the arrangement in position of subordinate 
 parts, our venerable President of the Royal Aca- 
 demy, Mr. West, used to observe, (and he un- 
 doubtedly was great authority upon this subject,) 
 that continuity was the governing principle ; 
 continuity of form, continuity of light and dark, 
 and continuity of colour. By this he meant, 
 that, unless for some specific purpose, no form, 
 or light, or dark, or colour, should suddenly 
 cease to appear ; but have evident relation to 
 some other, which, if not absolutely continuing 
 it, might lead the eye gradually from it : a prin- 
 ciple he not only taught, but admirably exem- 
 plified in his pictures. 
 
 You may see another important principle of 
 composition perfectly illustrated in the Death of 
 Ananias ; for I again recur, for illustration, to 
 these fine works which are so fortunately around 
 us ; I allude to the combination of lines for the 
 production of beauty in the whole. In that com- 
 position, the forms of the dying man are allied to 
 those of the figures on each side of him ; those 
 in front being beautifully varied by degrees, 
 till, as they become distant from him in the group, 
 they are lost in the almost upright lines of the 
 
ON COMPOSITION. 
 
 327 
 
 man and woman receiving alms ; who, with the 
 two Apostles distributing those alms, complete 
 the pyramidal shape of that group. On the 
 other side of the picture, behind Ananias, the 
 two figures bending over him terminate, with 
 abrupt contrast, their union with the remainder 
 of that group ; thereby exhibiting powerfully, 
 the momentary character of the subject ; and 
 also the utility of occasional violations of a ge- 
 neral rule, when expression demands it. Yet 
 the lover of grace and beauty, has not left entire 
 abruptness even there ; for the angular forms of 
 the man with extended arms, are repeated in the 
 figure of Sapphira. 
 
 However true it be, that the natural impulse 
 of the subject may have led to this arrangement ; 
 it was composition, and that the most artful, 
 which gave it such refinement and such union in 
 the parts. 
 
 I might extend these remarks through the 
 works of all the best composers, and particularly 
 in those of Rubens, but it is not requisite : one 
 example may serve to elicit in your minds a 
 sense of the necessity and utility of this import- 
 ant principle ; and you can examine for your- 
 selves the mode in which it is applied by the 
 best and the greatest masters, in the numerous 
 prints provided for your instruction in the library 
 of the Academy. 
 
 y 4 
 
328 
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 It is by the ingenious management of this 
 spirit of continuity, and of union, with occa- 
 sional contrasts for the more fully attracting the 
 eye to the most beautiful, or the most impressive 
 forms, that backgrounds must be adjusted. The 
 chief object of the painter, therefore, while 
 composing backgrounds, ought to be, to find 
 such materials as will, in form, combine, or con- 
 trast, with the principal object; producing masses, 
 with its lights and shades, to relieve the figure 
 in the most agreeable manner, and at the same 
 time connect it with its ground. The diffi- 
 culty of this portion of our art is acknowledged 
 by all. The painter has comparatively little 
 guidance from nature in conducting it : ima- 
 gination and taste, a sense of the requisites of 
 art, to aid sentiment, and to produce grace and 
 beauty, are its basis. Hence it has been so often, 
 even with the best, the great point of failure : 
 and very many are the compositions of figures, 
 beautiful in line, and interesting in sentiment, 
 which are deprived of the attention due to them, 
 for want of correspondent beauty in the forms 
 and colours of the backgrounds surrounding 
 them.* 
 
 * For the illustration of this point, the employment of 
 drapery has been constantly resorted to by the best com- 
 posers. The divisions of its folds, and the direction of lines 
 
ON COMPOSITION. 
 
 329 
 
 What those shapes which best produce beauty, 
 grace, or grandeur should be, taste must decide ; 
 for no rules can reach the varieties which are re- 
 quired under different circumstances ; sometimes 
 for contrast, at others for union ; now to relieve, 
 now to absorb the outline of the figure, or its 
 lights and shades ; to produce extension of light, 
 or to compress it, according to the nature or 
 quality of the subject. 
 
 The most effective pictures, have been those 
 where the least matter contends with the princi- 
 pal objects, and wherein the forms which divide 
 the portion of the surface unoccupied by the 
 figures, produce agreeable shapes. This creates 
 style in composition, or, the application of 
 that principle of simplifying and enlarging form 
 which is employed in design. Or it might be 
 said, that style in design compels an artist to 
 produce style in composition ; from the mere 
 necessity it induces, of supporting its own cha- 
 racter. If figures are drawn in a grand style, 
 
 in them, are instruments of great power to strengthen and 
 give activity to the motion of figures, as well as to pro- 
 duce variety and continuity of line and form, and add beauty. 
 That subtle and mysterious principle, beauty ! whose influence 
 all acknowledge, but whose elements few can develope ! 
 whose secret source is hidden from common gaze, though 
 its blandishments, when displayed, captivate the most un- 
 learned ! 
 
330 
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 the painter will not be content with the accompa- 
 nyment of poor and insipid shapes around them. 
 Their incongruity will be too apparent, and he 
 will not rest contented with such disagreement 
 in the parts, producing a want of unity in the 
 whole. Such simple modes of relief were em- 
 ployed, if we may credit the reports of authors, 
 by the Greek painters ; such also are those of 
 Michel Angelo, those of the best period of Raf- 
 faelle, of Titian, and of Corregio, and are cer- 
 tainly most efficient in historical composition. 
 
LECTURE VIII. 
 
 ON COLOURING. 
 
 1829. 
 
333 
 
 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 on colouring. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 When by design and composition, the forms of 
 human figures or of varied objects are produced 
 and arranged for the purposes of painting, there 
 is still wanting light and shade and colour, to 
 render perfect the imitation of natural objects 
 and effects, and the entire display of the power 
 of the art. 
 
 As light and shade forms so important a part 
 of Chiaro-oscuro, I shall reserve the discussion of 
 it, till I treat of that important principle of paint- 
 ing, which I intend to do in my next Lecture ; 
 and proceed now, to consider the theory and 
 practice of colouring. 
 
 This beautiful and delightful quality in pic- 
 tures, in which, (so engaging are its charms,) is 
 frequently thought to consist almost all the 
 beauty and power of the art of painting, is in 
 fact of less importance than design or chiaro- 
 oscuro, and can effect little without them; 
 
334 
 
 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 whilst they are able to elicit great emotion in 
 the mind independent of colour; as we find 
 when regarding prints and drawings. Yet such 
 are its fascinations, that the delight it affords 
 often allures the gravest minds ; and withdraws 
 the attention of artists from the study of more 
 important matter. Whilst thus, however, I 
 speak of colouring, I must add, that much, in 
 my opinion, has been said and written of it, 
 undervaluing its share in the production of ex- 
 pression or of sentiment, which is not well 
 founded ; except as it relates to the indiscrimin- 
 ate use of fine colours. But no one who under- 
 stands fine colouring, regards it as dependent 
 upon fine colours ; they are much more fre- 
 quently adverse to it. When colours are ju- 
 diciously selected and applied, they render im- 
 portant assistance to the effect of design ; not 
 only giving the appearance of reality and life to 
 its productions, but also, adding beauty ; and in 
 many cases, increasing expression. Indeed, 
 there are many things essentially requisite to 
 produce sentiment in a picture, almost entirely 
 dependent upon it. 
 
 Through what other medium, can the glow of 
 health, or the languor of sickness, be so well 
 expressed ? The beauty of the atmosphere, the 
 dawn of the morning, the splendour of the 
 evening, the sober character of twilight and the 
 
ON COLOURING. 
 
 335 
 
 gloom of night, each powerfully eliciting pe- 
 culiar feelings in our minds, can by no other 
 means be truly conveyed to our perceptions: 
 and the beauty of flowers, the grace and the 
 ornament of the earth, owe almost all their in- 
 fluence to colour. 
 
 It is not, however, these natural circumstances 
 or objects alone, which require a judicious appli- 
 cation of colours ; appropriate tone and cha- 
 racter of colouring appertain to each class of 
 subject drawn from history, or from fancy; 
 from the gayest to the most impressive. To re- 
 present the crucifixion of the Saviour with gay 
 prismatic colours, would be absurd ; as it would 
 also be to give dull unengaging hues to the fete 
 champetre ; the first, being naturally productive, 
 in our minds, of the most serious, as the other, 
 of the most pleasing sensations : but by the adop- 
 tion of appropriate hues and tones of colour, the 
 peculiar mental gratification which the represent- 
 ation of each affords us, by design, or drawing, 
 may be increased. Thus employed, colouring 
 becomes (whatever the lovers of the severe in 
 Italian art may say of it,) a very important 
 object for the study of the painter. 
 
 Colouring, is naturally divided into its theory, 
 and its practice. I shall first treat of its theory. 
 
 The utmost strength of the painter's pallet con- 
 sists in colours termed light, or dark, warm, or 
 
836 
 
 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 cold ; each of these classes being capable of va- 
 rious modifications as to strength or weakness, 
 from the deepest tone to the brightest and to 
 the most faint, which the admixture of white 
 can produce. To this range of colours must be 
 added, the extremes of white and black : and by 
 the various combinations of which these simple 
 materials are capable, both in unison and in con- 
 trast, are produced enchanting works, exciting 
 within us sensations similar to those which we 
 derive from the scenes of real life. 
 
 The principles of colouring, are the rules by 
 which these combinations are best regulated, for 
 the production of the desired effects ; and have 
 been collected partly, from considerations of the 
 theory of the influence of colours upon our 
 vision ; and partly, from the experience of able 
 painters, and the examples they have left to us. 
 
 Colouring, as applied by the painter, extends 
 its influence through all the parts of a picture ; 
 alike in the shades, where none of the prismatic 
 colours can exist, as in the lights which ge- 
 nerate those colours. To him, therefore, the 
 whole surface of every picture, however illu- 
 mined, is colour ; that of the shade producing 
 the half tint throughout a picture, being equally, 
 if not more important, than the hues of the 
 prismatic colours themselves. 
 
 The imitation of the local, or real colour of an 
 
ON COLOURING. 
 
 337 
 
 object, presents no difficulty for him to contend 
 with. The struggle he has to maintain, is prin- 
 cipally with that colour as it recedes from light 
 and descends to shade ; assuming in its progress 
 many hues of diminished lustre, which vary with 
 surrounding circumstances. 
 
 While I endeavour to explain to you my view 
 of the theoretical principles of colouring in paint- 
 ing, I entreat you to confine your attention, as 
 much as possible, to colours alone, independent 
 of form. The shortest, and most efficient mode 
 of learning any thing well, is by reducing it in 
 the first place to its component parts, independ- 
 ent of its effects ; and when those parts are un- 
 derstood, combinations of them may be made 
 with comparative ease and security. 
 
 A considerable degree of difficulty arises in the 
 discussion of this subject, from the want of a 
 clear and distinct application of the terms we 
 commonly employ when speaking of it, Hue, 
 and tone, and tint, are often confounded ; and 
 contrast, is employed to signify, not only two 
 colours placed together which have no affinity, 
 or an imperfect degree of it, and consequently 
 produce discordant effects upon the eye ; but 
 also, those appositions of colours which are the 
 source of harmony ; and produce an agreeable 
 sensation to the eye, when placed beside each 
 other. 
 
 z 
 
338 
 
 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 It would render the matter much more clear 
 to us, if, confining the word contrast to its 
 strictest sense, we applied it only to the ap- 
 position of discordant colours ; and termed the 
 other varieties harmonies, or concords, to borrow 
 another term from music. As to the word hue, 
 I would confine it to the signification of the 
 peculiar quality of each colour; that which 
 distinguishes one from another ; as red from 
 blue, and blue from yellow, &c, throughout 
 all their varieties and combinations. By tint, 
 I mean the degrees of gradation of any one 
 colour, from its extreme degree of intensity, 
 to its faintest: and tone, I would attach only, to 
 the effect produced by the degree and colour of 
 the illumination, and the shadows it produces; 
 and as this nomenclature suits my purpose, I 
 shall therefore employ it. 
 
 Though colouring be multifarious in its qua- 
 lities, extensive in its unions and effects, and 
 difficult in its application, yet the principles on 
 which it chiefly depends are simple. 
 
 If we take a round object, and expose it 
 to a direct ray of light, having placed it out 
 of the reach of reflection from the atmosphere, 
 or any illumined body ; we shall find its surface 
 presenting to our view three points relative to 
 colour. Its actual or proper colour, where the 
 
ON COLOURING. 
 
 339 
 
 light falls upon it ; its shade where deprived of 
 light ; and the intermediate portion of it, which 
 constitutes, in the language of the painter, its 
 half tint ; and which becomes gradually deprived 
 of colour as it approaches to the deeper shadow. 
 
 Light, then, is the cause of colour ; and a 
 regulation of nature hitherto inexplicable to us ; 
 giving to different bodies the power of sepa- 
 rating the component parts of the rays of light, 
 and reflecting to our eyes some peculiar portions 
 of them only ; absorbing, or at least not reflecting 
 the others, is the cause of the rich variety of 
 hues we see around us. 
 
 Hence it follows, that the more fully illu- 
 mined any coloured body may be by the com- 
 mon light of day, the more vividly will its colour 
 be exhibited : and, on the reverse, the less the 
 degree of illumination it receives, the more 
 faint or dull will be the power of its colour ; 
 till at length, where no ray of light can fall 
 upon its surface, it will be deprived of its colour 
 entirely, and become black. 
 
 If, however, the coloured body be exposed 
 to the intense light of the sun's direct ray, there 
 is then formed another point for the consider- 
 ation of the painter ; which is, that in that 
 portion of the plane of the coloured surface, 
 which lies, with respect to the eye, at an angle 
 
 z 2 
 
340 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 equal to that at which the rays of the sun de- 
 scend upon the body, at that point, which is 
 the seat of what we term the high light, there 
 is reflected a certain quantity of the perfect 
 light of the sun, or white ; which destroys the 
 colour in proportion to its own degree of in- 
 tensity, by rendering it whiter than the general 
 actual hue surrounding this bright light. This 
 is rendered intelligible by referring to half- 
 polished substances, as silk, or satin, but it takes 
 place more or less in all. 
 
 But for the present, I wish you to dismiss 
 this consideration from your minds, and revert 
 to the first proposition ; viz. that coloured sub- 
 stances obtain their hues from light, and lose 
 them when deprived of it. Connect this propo- 
 sition with another, viz. that shade, abstractedly 
 considered, is always alike in tone ; and you will 
 then perceive, that the same tone of darkness, 
 whatever be its degree, pervades all colours as 
 they recede from light, to their complete union 
 and total loss in shadow. 
 
 We may arrive at the same conclusion by a 
 more technical mode of proceeding ; and, for the 
 purpose of explaining it, I lay before you the 
 ingenious diagram given in a work published 
 many years ago, by Moses Harris, under the 
 title of " The Natural System of Colours." In 
 the circular portion of his diagram, the pris- 
 
ON COLOURING. 
 
 341 
 
 matic colours, red, blue, and yellow, are united, 
 consonant with the system of the rainbow, by 
 orange, green, and purple ; and all are graduated 
 from the centre outwards, that is, from their 
 utmost intensity, to the faintest tint approaching 
 to white ; and those tints are marked by 
 a scale of strength, say twenty-five ; supposing 
 the five marked circular spaces to contain five 
 degrees each. 
 
 Green 
 
 By the central part of the diagram it appears, 
 very clearly, that the union of the three primi- 
 
 z 3 
 
342 LECTURE VJII. 
 
 tive colours (as he well terms them), red, blue, 
 and yellow, in the pigments we employ, is pro- 
 ductive of black ; or a hue in which there is a 
 total privation of all colour, and which therefore 
 assumes the perfect character of shade.* 
 
 Now, if the union of the three primitive 
 colours in their utmost degree of intensity be 
 productive of perfect shade ; it must be ap- 
 parent, that their union in fainter but equal 
 degrees of tint must be productive of the same 
 negative colour, or tone ; in a degree consonant 
 to that of the tints of the colours employed : 
 proving that which I before stated ; viz. that 
 all shade, in every degree, is alike in tone ; 
 and will produce the like effect on every co- 
 loured object subjected to it. 
 
 These two points then, truth of imitation of 
 an actual colour, and unity of shade, I conceive 
 to be the firm, though simple basis of true 
 colouring in its primitive purity and simplicity; 
 that is, when considered without regard to re- 
 flections. And yet operating even then, when 
 reflections are admitted ; for reflection, being 
 light transmitted through another medium, but 
 produces another colour upon the surface of the 
 body where it reaches ; and its gradations to the 
 
 * In curious contradistinction to the effect of aerial pris- 
 matic colours, the production of their union being white 
 light ! Nevertheless, in one point they agree, viz. that each 
 is a negation of colour. 
 
ON COLOURING. 
 
 343 
 
 shadowed parts where it cannot reach, are sub- 
 ject to the same law. 
 
 Thus much for the consideration of any single 
 colour, and its varieties, in union with shade. 
 Our next object is, the union of the different 
 colours with each other. It appears from num- 
 berless observations, that the human eye is so 
 constituted with regard to colour, that though 
 it derives pleasure from viewing each of the 
 three primary colours alone, yet, if two of them 
 are introduced to its view together, it then 
 requires for its entire gratification the presence 
 of the third also ; and that want causes a phy- 
 sical sensation in the eye itself, which without 
 mental agency, and in a manner unknown to us, 
 produces the third. 
 
 For, let those two colours be united, and the 
 compound colour formed by their union be 
 exposed to the eye for a time, and then suddenly 
 removed from before it ; the form of the figure 
 in which the compound colour was exhibited, 
 will remain present to the view, but tinged of 
 the colour omitted. That is, if the compound 
 be purple, the spectrum will be yellow ; if 
 orange, blue ; and if green, red ; and even while 
 the original colours are singly before the eyes, 
 if regarded very attentively, each of them will 
 be seen surrounded by the compound of the 
 other two. 
 
 z 4 
 
344 
 
 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 This points out, I conceive, the physical 
 source of that pleasure which we derive from 
 well-arranged colouring, and of those sensations, 
 of gratification or of dissatisfaction, which must 
 have been frequently experienced by every 
 painter as he produced, or neglected, the re- 
 quisite unions of colours. But whether I have 
 assigned the real cause of it, or no, the fact 
 is certain, that there are sensations of pleasure 
 and of displeasure arising to our sense of 
 vision, accordingly as colours are arranged or 
 assorted. 
 
 We universally acknowledge great delight in 
 regarding the rainbow : in the order or succes- 
 sion of its colours, as well as in their delicate and 
 even imperceptible degrees of union; and no one 
 has yet discovered an arrangement of them, 
 more gratifying to our eyes, or to our under- 
 standing. 
 
 When the three primary colours are placed 
 before us, our eyes accept the vision with a cer- 
 tain degree of pleasure : but they are most grati- 
 fied when the intermediate colours are properly 
 introduced, and the whole scale of the colours 
 which constitute a ray of light is presented to 
 them. 
 
 This arrangement, then, seems the most 
 proper for adoption by the painter, as producing 
 the most pleasing concord of colours ; and we 
 
ON COLOURING. 
 
 345 
 
 may safely conclude, therefore, that such an 
 arrangement of colours is the best adapted to our 
 vision, and produces just that order, which is 
 most acceptable to our eyes. 
 
 In this we have one principle of harmony in 
 colouring, the harmony of arrangement. It may, 
 perhaps, be said that this is rather more accord- 
 ant with melody in music than with harmony ; 
 still it enters into those combinations for which, 
 in colouring, we have no other name than har- 
 mony. Consonance, or harmony of hue, consists 
 in those colours being brought together, which, 
 though they may not be placed exactly in the 
 regular order seen in the rainbow, or in the 
 chromatic scale, yet act in accordance with each 
 other upon the eye, and produce no uneasy sen- 
 sation within it ; but rather afford it pleasure. 
 
 There are two gradations in this portion of 
 harmony of colouring. There is, first, as I have 
 just said, a certain degree of accordance between 
 the three primary colours, when arranged beside 
 each other. But, secondly, a more perfect 
 accord ensues, when any two of them are united, 
 and the compound placed beside the third ; both 
 evidently depending upon the relation they bear 
 to the prismatic colours in a ray of light. 
 
 The experiment I have before mentioned, 
 showing the colours assumed by ocular spectra, 
 when other colours are removed from before the 
 
346 
 
 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 eye, proves, I think, this point satisfactorily. It 
 is to the eye that colours address their power, 
 and it may fairly be assumed that whatever 
 colour is produced by the eye during the pre- 
 sence of another colour, but seen most clearly 
 when that first presented to it is removed, must 
 have been required by it to perfect its pleasure ; 
 and therefore, that such colour must be the har- 
 monising one with the original colour, or that 
 which forms an union with the other agreeable 
 to the eye. 
 
 This we find accordant with experience. The 
 primitive colour which harmonises best with 
 purple is yellow ; with green, red, with orange, 
 blue. And again, that these are the colours 
 which most perfectly associate, is proved, it 
 appears to me, by their union in any degree of 
 tint, producing a negative colour ; and in their 
 extreme intensity, black ; which the union of no 
 two other colours will do, except such com- 
 pounds as have prismatic relations similar to 
 theirs. 
 
 Another point requisite to produce harmony 
 of hue, is, that the colours employed to pro- 
 duce it be of the same degree of strength in the 
 scale. To explain this, I will refer to Mr. 
 Harris's diagram. 
 
 Suppose we take a red at the fifth degree of 
 intensity, and a green at the twentieth, or a 
 
ON COLOURING. 
 
 347 
 
 purple at its extreme degree of power, and a 
 yellow at the fifteenth ; it will not require much 
 argument to prove their want of perfect accord- 
 ance ; but if you take either of these unions of 
 harmonising colours at the same degree, say the 
 tenth or the fifteenth, the eye accepts their union 
 as agreeable. 
 
 I have thus endeavoured to explain to you 
 the nature of the second principle of harmony 
 in painting ; there is still a third wanting to 
 render it complete. That is, unity of tone, pro- 
 duced by the colours being all wrought under 
 the influence of the same illumination ; by which 
 I mean, a light equal in its degree of intensity, 
 and of hue. 
 
 On these three points then, depends that 
 agreeable accordance of effect in the colouring 
 of a picture, which we term harmony, viz. in 
 the order of their arrangement, the employment 
 of those accordant in their nature, that is, equal 
 in their scale of hue or of tint, and their being 
 seen under a like degree of illumination ; unity 
 of shade being implied of course. 
 
 I still speak without reference to reflections, 
 feeling it to be very desirable for the perfect un- 
 derstanding of so subtle a question, that it be 
 reduced in the first instance to as simple a pro- 
 position as possible. The next point for con- 
 sideration upon this subject, is contrast of colour. 
 
348 
 
 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 A principle, in my view of it opposed to har- 
 mony, but creative of richness and vivacity in 
 the effect of a picture ; and without which the 
 monotony of harmony, if I may so speak, would 
 be dull. " 
 
 Contrast in its proper etymological accept- 
 ation, signifies opposition, or discordancy among 
 things ; and in that sense I prefer employing it, 
 and confining it specifically to those oppositions 
 of colours which are discordant to the eye. As 
 now commonly employed relative to colouring, 
 it has no specific meaning, except, as another 
 term for variety; for we speak of pleasing 
 and displeasing contrasts of colours, instead of 
 displeasing contrasts, and pleasing unions, or 
 harmonies ; which is the natural course of 
 terms. 
 
 If you will consent to this novel mode of con- 
 sidering contrasts, I think it will make our 
 course more clear ; and that is the only degree 
 of consequence I attach to it. 
 
 I have already spoken of the colours whose 
 effects upon the eye unite agreeably, and when 
 placed beside each other, produce harmony ; as 
 yellow and purple, blue and orange, red and 
 green, in equal degrees of the scale throughout 
 all their varieties ; and you will find in the dia- 
 gram of Mr. Harris all those colours which thus 
 unite, stand opposite each other in the circular 
 
ON COLOURING. 
 
 349 
 
 portion of it, and therefore have been mis-called 
 contrasts. 
 
 There remains for the real and effectual con- 
 trasts, all those colours which do not accord, and 
 which will not, when any two of them are com- 
 pounded, produce the true negative tint. 
 
 The colours most strongly contrasting with 
 each other, are any two of the three primitives, 
 or those which stand triangular-wise in the dia- 
 gram, as red, and blue, &c. As they not only 
 have distinct qualities, but also, have no point of 
 union, except for the production of other co- 
 lours, and when presented to the eye together, 
 they produce an uneasy sensation within it. It 
 is the same with orange and purple, or orange 
 and green*, though the contrasts they form to 
 each other, are less powerful than those of any 
 two of the primary colours ; and all further com- 
 pounds of them, partake less and less of that 
 character. The contrasts thus formed, will be 
 found consonant in their effect, throughout every 
 degree of the scale. 
 
 I have thus endeavoured to explain to you my 
 ideas of the principles whereon depend the means 
 productive of good colouring, when employed 
 by the man of genius. Those means are, truth, 
 
 * There being too large a portion of yellow in combination 
 with the red and the blue employed, to produce the effect of 
 a perfect ray of light. 
 
350 
 
 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 in imitation of the actual hues of the objects to 
 be represented ; unity in their shade, and conse- 
 quently in their half tint ; harmony of arrange- 
 ment and of hue, and I now introduce contrast 
 and reflection to enrich and invigorate them. 
 These regulations govern throughout every por- 
 tion of the scale of colours, from their faintest to 
 their deepest tint, from the degree employed in 
 the sky and the most distant parts of a land- 
 scape, to those employed on its foreground ; 
 and to the still stronger colours to which the 
 portrait or the historical painter resorts ; or 
 the more directly primitive hues, by which are 
 represented the choicest productions of the 
 garden. 
 
 To a certain length then in the order of pro- 
 ceeding in what relates to colouring, science 
 thus conducts us ; and if the science be founded 
 upon the unchangeable principles of nature, its 
 dictates must be obeyed. We cannot trifle with 
 the dictates of nature, with impunity : but the 
 painter may learn from her endless varieties of cir- 
 cumstance, or of accident, to adorn his imitations 
 of the ordinary products of her laws, by the aid 
 of those varieties; selecting those most fit for 
 his purpose, and most agreeable to his taste; 
 and thus like the poet, " he may accommodate 
 the shews of things, to the desires of the 
 mind." 
 
ON COLOURING. 
 
 351 
 
 There still remains free for his unbiassed ex- 
 ertions, that portion of the ingenious and de- 
 lightful qualities of his art, which science un- 
 aided by taste, can never attain ; and without 
 which, neither would the art itself be worthy 
 of the title universally bestowed upon it, of 
 a liberal art; nor its most successful profes- 
 sors, to be considered as men of superior 
 genius. 
 
 The painter, still has absolute control over 
 many essential points in colouring. What sci- 
 entific principle can guide him in his choice of 
 the hue of colours most appropriate to his sub- 
 ject; or regulate the degree or the colour of 
 illumination productive of the general tone ; or 
 the quantum of reflection best calculated to give 
 the requisite degree of warmth to the shadows, 
 and add richness to the mass ; or direct him to 
 use the harmonies of colour, or to employ the 
 contrasts, or any, of all the intermediate degrees 
 of union ; or in the slightest degree aid him in 
 these particulars ? None ! These things are all 
 subject to his will, to his judgment, to his taste; 
 and these are they which display feeling, which 
 impart sentiment, which mark the man, and dig- 
 nify the art ! Science useful as it is in other 
 respects, here fails to assist him ; but when ima- 
 gination and taste have supplied him with ma- 
 terials, and judgment has sanctioned the choice 
 
352 
 
 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 of them, science then becomes a useful aid for 
 their adjustment. 
 
 I trust I have said enough to convince you, 
 that the general theoretical principles of colour- 
 ing are simple, and may without much difficulty 
 be comprehended. But the practical employ- 
 ment of colours, the application of them in 
 painting, with the brilliancy or the depth, or 
 the rich variety of nature ; with tone appropriate 
 to historical or other subjects ; being in great 
 part a matter of taste, is not so easily reducible 
 to rules, nor easy of discussion. 
 
 Had we materials for colouring, equally pure 
 in their nature with those of the prism, and 
 which would as perfectly blend together, pic- 
 tures the most perfect might be produced by 
 them, with the simple addition of white ; and 
 we should then require no more than that num- 
 ber of efficient colours which Pliny assigns to 
 the practice of the ancients. But unluckily, the 
 chemical properties of the pigments we are com- 
 pelled to use, forbid any such advantage to the 
 painter; and the tale of Pliny, from his own 
 enumeration of the materials employed by the 
 Greeks, must either be regarded as a mistake, 
 or as having relation to imperfect pictures ; or 
 rather to pictures coloured upon a low and 
 broken scale. I need only say that blue is 
 omitted in his list, to lead you to a like con- 
 
ON COLOURING. 
 
 353 
 
 elusion. His colours, are white, yellow, red, 
 and black ; or blue black at best. 
 
 The materials now employed are numerous ; th e 
 products of earths, of vegetables, or of minerals. 
 They are all however, modifications in their hues 
 of the three primitive colours, red,blue, and yellow. 
 
 To those primitive colours therefore, the 
 whole list has reference ; both in their hues as 
 pigments, and in their application. 
 
 The chief object requisite in the use of them, 
 is to preserve purity of hue ; that is, to be care- 
 ful not to make such compounds, as either che- 
 mically produce change, or simply weaken or 
 render dull the reality of colour: as would be 
 the effect for instance, if the slightest degree of 
 brown were introduced into purple ; or red into 
 pure green ; or of blue or black, into red. To 
 the preservation of this purity in the hues of co- 
 lours, we owe the clearest, the brightest, and 
 the richest colouring ; and consequently the ne- 
 glect of it, causes dulness and monotony. 
 
 The fewer the colours that are compounded 
 together, the less danger there is, of their native 
 purity being destroyed; and the less they are 
 disturbed by the action of the brush in laying 
 them on, the clearer will be the result. 
 
 In addition to the primitive colours and 
 their compounds, we are possessed of two 
 other colouring substances, viz. white and 
 
 A A 
 
354 
 
 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 black. Philosophy denies to them the quality 
 of colour ; the one being the reflection of 
 white light, the combined effect of the pris- 
 matic colours, and the other a negation of them ; 
 but to the painter, they are essential and import- 
 ant colours ; giving weakness, or force, and con- 
 trast to the others, according to his will. 
 
 The power of white by itself, is limited to its 
 contrasts with other colours, and it advances or 
 retreats in effect, accordingly as those contrasts 
 are strong or weak ; a circumstance of infinite 
 advantage to those who know how to make a 
 proper use of it, like Rubens, Titian, Claude, 
 Sir Joshua Reynolds, and Mr. West ; and apper- 
 taining to no other material we possess. Owing 
 to this quality in white, it only requires care that 
 the masses of light in a picture, be arranged in 
 good proportions and good order and proper de- 
 grees of contrast ; and no evil will ensue from 
 the degree of brightness employed. It is the mis- 
 apprehension of this, which frequently causes dull 
 effects, where the composition would admit of 
 bright ones. But it more frequently happens, that 
 a bad arrangement in the proportion and rela- 
 tive positions of the lights in a picture, compels a 
 painter to reduce their degrees of power artifici- 
 ally, in order to maintain the keeping, or proper 
 degree of relief in the parts ; or to produce 
 good form in his chiaro-oscuro. 
 
ON COLOURING. 
 
 355 
 
 Black, and all the primitive colours, have 
 more positive effects ; acting more powerfully 
 upon the eye. The warm colours, as red, or 
 yellow, always appear to come forwards, as 
 do all their intermixtures with other colours 
 wherein they prevail ; whereas blue, and all 
 those compounds which partake largely of it, 
 seem to recede, and fall into the ground of the 
 picture. In consonance with this it necessarily 
 arises, that it is adverse to natural effect, to paint 
 pictures upon a principle which brings the cool 
 colours upon the projecting objects in large 
 masses in front, and leaves the warm colours 
 upon those that should retire ; and is not to be 
 employed, unless peculiar circumstances demand 
 it. This sometimes occurs in portraiture, when 
 a blue or a grey dress is desired : when that is 
 the case, it requires very skilful management to 
 render the whole agreeable to the eye ; and at 
 the best, such pictures are never so acceptable, 
 as others, conducted on the opposite principle. 
 
 This is an acknowledged theory, and sup- 
 ported by that great master of hue and tone, 
 Sir Joshua Reynolds, and also by Mr. West. 
 
 Both these great artists specifically maintained 
 this point as a general rule, which their length- 
 ened experience confirmed ; and I have dilated 
 upon it, to show the regulating principle of na- 
 ture upon which it rests, for the propriety of it 
 
 A A 2 
 
356 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 has been doubted. But even in the hands of 
 Rubens, as Sir Joshua has observed, attempts to 
 invert this system have failed to produce a pleas- 
 ing effect.* In the gallery at Munich, are two 
 pictures illustrative of it ; one a lion hunt, where 
 a man on a grey horse, covered with a greyer 
 cloak, forms the front and principal object, and 
 is relieved off a grey and blue sky. The other is 
 a composition of portraits, and called the Arun- 
 del family. In this, the greater part of the mass 
 of the principal figures, with a curtain connected 
 with them, is blue and black and grey. In both 
 pictures, the cold front masses, are surrounded 
 by warm and rich colours ; and the consequence 
 is, that the warm colours come forward in effect, 
 while the cold ones retire, directly opposing the 
 nature of the composition ; or, in the painter's 
 
 * I speak of this principally in relation to its efficiency for 
 producing relief: the painter of genius will employ variations 
 in the use of it, whenever he imagines that he may obtain 
 some specific point by so doing ; but he will vary from the 
 rule with the greatest security, who possesses the know- 
 ledge of it. Titian, in his picture of the Saviour crown- 
 ed with Thorns, has given us an example of it. He has 
 clothed, or rather covered the front figure with grey 
 armour, leaving the red drapery of the principal object, the 
 Saviour, to act with its full power, and attract the eye to the 
 figure it surrounds : thus wisely sacrificing the lesser point 
 to secure the greater. 
 
 " Great wits may sometimes gloriously offend, 
 And rise to faults, true critics dare not mend. * 
 
ON COLOURING. 
 
 357 
 
 language, the parts are out of keeping. Though 
 these pictures fully exhibit the brilliant genius 
 of the great artist who produced them, they are, 
 in comparison with other effusions of his pencil, 
 far from being agreeable ; and show, that even 
 Rubens himself, could not overcome the natural 
 qualities of colour. I need not multiply exam- 
 ples to prove this point, though it were easy to 
 do so. The beauty and propriety of the system 
 of employing warm colours in front in preference 
 to cool, is seen in most of the productions of the 
 same powerful painter ; and prove these, to be 
 only varieties with which he chose to sport, and 
 to indulge the fancy of the moment, but they 
 prove the truth of the general rule. 
 
 The arrangement of colours then in a picture, 
 becomes an important point for consideration ; 
 since we find it so essential to convey pleasure to 
 the eye by the due relief of the parts. Sir Joshua 
 Reynolds not only justifies this opinion, but also 
 tells us, " that the greater mass of colour in a pic- 
 ture, ought to be warm, with smaller portions of 
 cool tints, to give vivacity and to afford variety." 
 
 This is compatible with the scheme I have 
 exhibited to you, as the order of nature. For 
 you will observe, that as there exists two warm 
 primary colours, and but one cool, so of course 
 the greater portion of colours as seen in the 
 diagram, maintains the same principle. 
 
 a a 3 
 
358 
 
 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 Again, if it* be true, that pictures ought to 
 be made ornamental and attractive, to ensure 
 the attention of an observer, and lead him to the 
 consideration of their better qualities, of which 
 there can be no doubt ; then it becomes an 
 artist to choose the most engaging materials his 
 pallette affords, for the greater portion of the 
 surface of his picture ; reserving the others 
 for their support, by contrast or by union; 
 thus rendering the former still more engaging. 
 Now, the colours most powerfully acting upon 
 the eye, are the warm colours, as red and yellow : 
 they are therefore the fittest for the mass, as 
 being the most attractive, and consequently the 
 most efficient for general purposes. 
 
 The excitement of peculiar sentiment will 
 however sometimes require other arrangements, 
 and when painters have adopted subjects 
 which owe much of their influence to the 
 purity of celestial light, the scheme has of ne- 
 cessity been changed ; for whiteness, and conse- 
 quent coolness, can most agreeably convey that 
 character. To this peculiar arrangement, duly 
 controuled, is owing the brilliant purity of the 
 effect of light in the Notte of Coreggio, and in 
 his small picture of the agony of the Saviour, 
 which is in the possession of the Duke of Wel- 
 lington, and of which there is a duplicate in our 
 national gallery ; and when this is the case, the 
 
ON COLOURING. 
 
 359 
 
 surrounding parts retaining their original colours, 
 and partaking of the less pure illumination of 
 the terrestrial sphere, must of necessity appear 
 warm and comparatively gross. # 
 
 This principle of cool lights and coloured 
 half shades, was employed in the great domes at 
 Parma by Coreggio, the subjects requiring 
 such treatment ; and upon this same theory, I 
 imagine, we may account for the Florentines 
 having fallen into the mistaken application of cool 
 and white lights upon their figures in pictures 
 of sacred subjects ; leaving the half shadows, 
 and indeed the whole of the shadows, more 
 full of colour than the lights, where, in nature, 
 it is the clearest and the strongest. Their mis- 
 take lay, if my conjecture be right, in adopting 
 that, as a general principle for the effect of com- 
 mon illumination, which was only applicable to 
 a particular purpose ; and only just, when a pe- 
 culiar cause could be assigned for it. This 
 appears the more probable, as it is certainly not 
 employed by Coreggio, when painting pictures 
 illumined by common day-light, such as his St. 
 Jerome, and his marriage of St. Catherine. 
 As in form, and in composition, simplicity of 
 effect contributes to the production of the 
 
 * In both the cases stated above, there is but little positive 
 colour ; the mass surrounding the lights being chiefly com- 
 posed of warm and deep shadows. 
 
 A A 4 
 
360 
 
 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 grand and the impressive, so likewise the same 
 system must be preserved in colouring ; as best 
 upholding its own value, and contributing to 
 the increase of its power. For this purpose, the 
 masses of the individual colours must be main- 
 tained undisturbed, and even extended if pos- 
 sible by the addition of others of similar qualities : 
 and of the colours principally composing the 
 masses, repetitions must be made, consonant with 
 that continuity of parts which I pointed out in 
 my last lecture as necessary to good composition. 
 It is requisite, however, that these repetitions be 
 in such proportion to each other, and occur at 
 such intervals, as are agreeable to the eye ; 
 that they may assist in dividing the surface of 
 the picture in such a manner as to maintain 
 the balance and beauty of the whole. 
 
 I have shown to you in the theoretical part of 
 this lecture, how harmony is produced in the 
 arrangement of colours. That system however, 
 if constantly and alone pursued, would be dull 
 and tasteless to an extreme degree; contrasts 
 must therefore be sometimes introduced ; acting 
 upon the eye as occasional discords in music 
 do upon the ear : and such contrasts, of light 
 and dark, and of colours, are the most powerful 
 agents of the art, when employed either for ex- 
 pression, or for ornament. Contrast, not only gives 
 vivacity to a picture, by producing the variety 
 
ON COLOURING. 
 
 361 
 
 which nature constantly exhibits, and we there- 
 fore constantly desire ; but also, by attracting and 
 fixing the attention of an observer to a particular 
 point, at the will of an artist. It likewise aids in 
 giving the appearance of relief and solidity to 
 objects ; and maybe maintained in colours, with- 
 out destroying breadth, by preserving the same 
 degree of tint in the scale of those employed. 
 
 When contrast in the signification with which 
 I have used the word is resorted to, and all the 
 three primary colours, or colours of similar asso- 
 ciation, are introduced into a picture in like de- 
 gree of strength, it not only does not disturb har- 
 mony, but increases it, and renders it most bril- 
 liant. Each colour discordant to the others when 
 two only act together, then becomes an uniting 
 one, producing with the others the entire effect of 
 the ray of light ; as blue effectually does, when 
 placed in combination with red and yellow : 
 contrasting with each, yet uniting with both. 
 
 This I take to be the test of propriety of con- 
 trasts as far as beauty is concerned : when, in 
 my sense of the word, contrasts are employed 
 for other objects, wherein expression or some 
 peculiar effect exciting to the mind is intended, 
 then there appears to be no other guide to their 
 application, than that which the taste of the 
 artist, regulated by the influence of his subject, 
 may suggest. 
 
362 
 
 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 Such is the power of real contrasts, that no 
 one unacquainted with the use of colours can 
 be conscious of its extent ; owing, in great mea- 
 sure, to that law of nature by which our eyes 
 are stimulated to fill up the whole measure of 
 the colorific scale of light. 
 
 If a painter finds the colour of his picture too 
 cold in its effect, it might naturally and truly be 
 supposed, that the introduction of a warm co- 
 lour would remedy the defect. But there is 
 another mode in his possession, if he thinks 
 proper to employ it, which is, by the intro- 
 duction of a portion of colour still colder, such 
 as pure blue ; or if the effect be too warm, a 
 brighter red or yellow than those employed, will 
 neutralize its warmth, and give it comparatively 
 a cooler tone. These however are dangerous 
 experiments, and to be safely adopted only by 
 him who proceeds scientifically, and understands 
 the principles on which he acts ; and even then, 
 surprise will frequently attend the effects pro- 
 duced by such contrasts. Hence, the arrange- 
 ment of pictures in galleries, and particularly 
 when they are viewed seriatim, requires very 
 great care ; as it would be exceedingly easy for 
 one versed in the effects of colours, to weaken, 
 if not to destroy, the pleasing effect of the best. 
 A person regarding for a time a rich glowing 
 picture, where red for instance formed a pro- 
 
ON COLOURING. 
 
 363 
 
 minent feature, being conducted immediately 
 from it to one of more real beauty, perhaps, but 
 composed of cool colours, would find it, from the 
 effect of the green hue which the red had caused 
 to be excited in his eye, extremely cold and un- 
 engaging to him ; and, vice versa, we might by 
 similar means greatly injure a warm effect ; whilst 
 the observer would be insensible of the actual 
 cause.* 
 
 All species of artifice, however, consistent 
 with natural effect, and proceeding to its extreme 
 verge, are open to the use of the ingenious 
 painter. The peculiarities which give force, 
 purity, elegance, or strength to the varieties of 
 contrast or of union observable in nature, are 
 all fair subjects for his emulation ; however 
 produced, or from whatever causes arising. 
 They have been freely employed by the dif- 
 ferent schools in which the art has flourished : 
 and when criticism is employed upon a pic- 
 ture where such privilege has been indulged, 
 it is but fair to expect of the critic, that he en- 
 quire of its effect upon his imagination ; for he 
 may not perhaps be acquainted with its truth. 
 
 There is no greater, or more perplexing diffi- 
 culty, to be overcome by the painter in what 
 
 * This is an artifice of which picture-dealers are fully cog- 
 nisant, and often employ it to great advantage. 
 
364 
 
 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 relates to colouring, than that which arises from 
 the shade tint, and the tones by which it gra- 
 dates, in all the colours, to its union with light. 
 Its general colour, be it cool or warm, must 
 depend upon the will of the artist ; to be made 
 as he thinks best adapted to his purpose, and 
 best suited to the nature of his subject, its 
 scenery, and its illumination. 
 
 Though the apparent colour of darkness, or 
 shade, be black, that will by no means suit the 
 purposes of the painter : the necessity of pro- 
 ducing richness and transparency in the shadows 
 of a picture forbids it. And as reflections of light 
 and colour in varied degrees, are constantly 
 thrown off by all objects upon others situated 
 near to them, he is at liberty to take as much 
 of these reflections, or as little, as he pleases ; 
 thus rendering his shadows most agreeable, and 
 producing the most perfect support to the beauty 
 of his colours. Whatever be its tone, it must 
 pervade the whole picture, and though reflec- 
 tions may have produced warmth in the depths, 
 it must be made cool as it approaches the lights ; 
 blending with them, and producing the half 
 tints : and it must in itself, be clear and trans- 
 parent, showing the forms, and even the colours 
 of the things which fall into it, or over which it 
 is spread. This can only be effectually done by 
 what is technically termed glazing, or using 
 
ON COLOURING. 
 
 365 
 
 transparent colours over others painted to form ; 
 which was the Venetian mode : or by adopting 
 another process, that of Rubens, and painting 
 in the shadows at once with their dark colour, 
 leaving the ground and the forms partly seen 
 through it. 
 
 One thing more is requisite as a general prin- 
 ciple in the practice of colouring, which relates 
 also to shade, or to dark colours. A picture to 
 be efficient, particularly of any solemn subject, 
 must not be fine in colour throughout the sur- 
 face, like a gaudy china vase ! indeed, the pris- 
 matic colours are rarely to be used, except in 
 small quantities. There must be portions of the 
 surface, where, from breadth of light and co- 
 lour, or from shade, the eye may find repose, 
 and the mind relief, from the action of the bril- 
 liant and more immediately important and im- 
 pressive parts ; where, due regard being main- 
 tained to the character of the subject, all the 
 luxuriance of the pallette may be spread to ad- 
 vantage. 
 
 Such are the principal and most efficient 
 general rules by which colouring is regulated : 
 and it is only by acting upon general rules, that 
 truly fine colouring can be produced, in entire 
 correspondence with those rules which produce 
 fine form. They are few in number, but they 
 
366 
 
 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 involve in their application, all the consequences 
 derivable from variety. 
 
 Indeed the works of nature are themselves 
 conducted upon general principles ; creating, as 
 they act, the wonderful variety which we see 
 around us. These varieties, in what relates to 
 our vision, the imagination, or rather the me- 
 mory of the artist must supply for his own use. 
 It would be utterly impossible to give individual 
 regulations concerning them ; for they may be 
 applied, or omitted, as his fancy may require. 
 Those principles only, to the effect of which 
 they may be referred, are the most useful ; being 
 the most necessary and the least perplexing. 
 They lead the artist to consider nature in the 
 grandeur of her simplicity, rather, than in the 
 perplexity of her minutiae ; to select the greater 
 feature, and omit the less ; as unessential, and to 
 be employed only, as occasion may require, as 
 taste may suggest, or as beauty may demand. 
 
 Colouring has been differently valued, studied, 
 and employed, by the different schools of paint- 
 ing in Greece, in Italy, Germany, Spain, 
 Flanders and Holland. 
 
 The existing remnants of ancient paintings 
 by the Greeks afford us a considerable degree 
 of knowledge of the beauty and excellence of 
 their colouring, as do also the histories of various 
 facts relating to it: but still, our uncertainty 
 
ON COLOURING. 
 
 367 
 
 concerning the actual extent of its merits in the 
 works of their best painters, renders it not exactly 
 fitted for discussion in these lectures. 
 
 The Venetians, from nearly the earliest period 
 of their cultivation of the art, gave their principal 
 attention to colouring ; and as far as I have been 
 able to penetrate their secret, it is founded upon 
 the direct application of the system I have shown 
 to you. The use of the negative quality or co- 
 lour of shade, was peculiarly their assistant in 
 securing their truth of imitation, and particularly 
 in the works of Titian, Giorgione, and Tinto- 
 retto ; whilst they obtained richness by glazings, 
 or the employment of transparent colours, over 
 others jproperly adjusted for their reception. 
 
 Though these three able painters were the 
 most skilful employers of the Venetian system 
 of colouring, they were not the inventors of 
 it, as I have already mentioned to you ; it 
 appears to be of a date far more early. When 
 the use of water colours gave place to those 
 mixed with oil, all the useful qualities of the 
 materials requisite for the painter in colouring, 
 were increased ; and the best Venetian painters 
 employed the science with more positive truth, 
 or more just imitation of the numerous effects of 
 nature, than any other of the Italian schools. 
 
 In the florid style of Venetian painting 
 (principally founded upon the works of P. Ve- 
 
368 
 
 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 ronese), dark succeeds to light, colour contrasts 
 with colour, magnificent draperies, folded and 
 ornamented in the richest manner, assist in 
 effecting these purposes. These are relieved off 
 blue skies, with clouds white as snow, or from 
 buildings of nearly equal brilliancy ; and are 
 often upheld over columns of the most costly 
 marbles by cords of gold ; animals are introduced 
 to give action, to create contrasts, to fill voids, 
 and to scatter colours, till the surface is over- 
 laid with the heaped materials ; all, however, is 
 arranged with consummate skill, and is toned to 
 harmony with the most perfect brilliancy and 
 richness. It is the beautiful and engaging off- 
 spring of fancy ; was intended to produce an 
 ornamental effect, was employed as decoration, 
 and well answers its purpose. 
 
 But here ends the effect of so much execu- 
 tion, so much talent, so much power in employ- 
 ing the technical principles of the art of paint- 
 ing. Look for the subject, it is lost in the 
 immense variety of incident and materials em- 
 ployed to represent, or rather to adorn it ; seek 
 for the sentiment it should convey, it is dissi- 
 pated in the parts ; direct your attention to the 
 expression of the different figures, contrast has 
 destroyed, or portraiture nullified them ; the ne- 
 cessities of the style have weakened their energy, 
 for the mind of the artist was evidently em- 
 
ON COLOURING. 
 
 369 
 
 ployed to effect a purpose in which they had no 
 share. 
 
 The florid style of Venetian art therefore, is 
 inefficient for great historical purposes, even in 
 its merits. Its uniform brilliancy, its want of 
 simplicity, and of the repose created by sim- 
 plicity, has a tendency to disturb the mind. 
 Every part of the surface is attractive by its 
 beauty of form, or of colour, or its contrasts of 
 light and dark ; none are pre-eminent ; and 
 whilst that is the case, expression is necessarily 
 violated, sentiment lost, and even a clear and 
 distinct developement of the subject is sought 
 for in vain. Sometimes however, in the works 
 of the masters preceding the time of Titian, 
 the delightful union of sentiment with fine 
 colour prevails, as in the beautiful work of 
 Carpaccio, the Presentation in the Temple ; and 
 in the Church of St. Zechariah, at Venice, 
 there is a work of Giovanni Bellini, equally in- 
 teresting. It was in the hands of the later 
 masters of the Venetian school that the luxuri- 
 ant style of colouring was practised. Giorgione 
 first, and after him Titian and Tintoretto, had 
 simplified the management of colour (upon the 
 same principle of action as Michel Angelo had 
 simplified design), using little of reflections, 
 and less of tinting ; thereby, whilst preserving 
 richness of tone, giving an elevated style to it ; 
 
 B B 
 
370 
 
 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 taking sufficient of the beauty of natural colour- 
 ing to convey its character sufficiently, but un- 
 incumbered by its wonderful and perplexing 
 minutise. 
 
 Thus treated, colouring becomes a fit vehicle 
 for the most sublime inventions ; and Sir J. 
 Reynolds, whilst he declares his opinion ad- 
 verse to the employment of Venetian colouring 
 in serious historical subjects, exempts that of 
 Titian, because it partakes of this grand and 
 simple character. 
 
 In the Lombard school, an entirely different 
 process seems to have been employed, with far 
 more attention to expression than is found in 
 the works of the Venetians generally ; still 
 producing a result of a mixed character. Co- 
 reggio and his followers seem to have painted 
 their pictures in a less artificial manner, by at 
 once producing a resemblance to the object 
 pourtrayed with a full body of colour, and re- 
 serving but little for the harmony to be produced 
 by glazing, in comparison with the mode of the 
 Venetians. The glazing they employed was 
 principally of a warm shade tint, uniting the 
 boundaries of the figures with their ground ; 
 and consequently more productive of tone than 
 of colour. 
 
 In the school of Germany and of Flanders, 
 a system of operation for the production of 
 
ON COLOURING. 
 
 371 
 
 good colouring was adopted, entirely different 
 from both ; in which the shadows were at once 
 painted thin upon the ground, and the colour of 
 the lights only laid on in a body. 
 
 This appears to me, to have been derived 
 from the practice of the old German painters 
 before the use of oil colours ; and was gradually 
 improved, till Rubens gave it the splendid 
 degree of perfection we see in his productions. 
 But though it be powerful and beautiful, its 
 effect is artificial, as are the means employed to 
 produce it ; and it does not fully compete with 
 the truth of those of Titian and of Coreggio. 
 
 It is in the Dutch school, that we find the most 
 entirely perfect imitation of the colouring of 
 nature, as seen in her ordinary productions ; and 
 the most extraordinary minute employment and 
 knowledge of the powers of the materials of 
 the palette. It is there those must resort for 
 pleasure, who, not content with the generalising 
 principles of the great Italian schools, rather de- 
 light in imitations of the peculiar varieties of 
 nature, in almost every object, and under almost 
 every kind of illumination. All this is wrought 
 with so much ability, and so fitted to the pur- 
 poses for which it is employed, that whilst we 
 are surprised, and oftentimes disgusted with the 
 selection of subject, our feelings are overcome 
 by our admiration of the skill of the artist. 
 
 b b 2 
 
372 
 
 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 It were unjust to pass by the honours of our 
 own school when treating of this principle of 
 painting, in which we now fairly lay claim to 
 pre-eminence. 
 
 This we owe to the brilliant genius of Sir 
 Joshua Reynolds, whose colouring, in his best 
 works, combines the highest qualities of Co- 
 reggio and of Titian, with the brilliancy and 
 luxuriance of the Dutch and the Flemish 
 schools deprived of their trivialities. The 
 common error, that his colours all fail, ought 
 by this time to be entirely effaced. It is too 
 true, that such is the case, with the colouring of 
 many pictures painted by him during a short 
 period of his life : he thought that he had dis- 
 covered a mode of rendering colouring more 
 vivid, and employed it without duly considering 
 the chemical qualities of his materials. But he 
 was soon made acquainted with the mistake he 
 had committed, reassumed his previous durable 
 system with increased beauty and vigour, and 
 continued to employ it till the termination of 
 his valuable labours. 
 
 From his example, we have learned to estimate 
 justly the imitation of broad and brilliant effects 
 of light and colour, in preference to the confined 
 scheme of the Florentine and Bolognese paint- 
 ers ; and by the ingenuity and originality with 
 which he practised his art, upon the combined 
 
ON COLOURING. 
 
 373 
 
 system above alluded to, he has entitled himself 
 to a station among the ablest artists. He has thus 
 also become the founder of a new school of paint- 
 ing, which has extended its influence in various 
 directions ; and given us a decided character in 
 art : long a desideratum in our country. 
 
 b b 3 
 
LECTURE IX. 
 
 ON CHIARO-OSCURO. 
 
 1829. 
 
 B B 4 
 
377 
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 on chiaro-oscuro. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 The principle of the art of painting to 
 which I would now direct your attention, is 
 Chiaro-oscuro. 
 
 It comprehends not only light and shade, 
 without which the forms of no object can be 
 perfectly represented; but also, all arrange- 
 ments of light and dark colours, in every degree : 
 in short, in accordance with the words com- 
 posing its name, which we have adopted from 
 the Italian, the light and dark of a picture. 
 
 Though the laws of nature, as illustrated by 
 the science of optics, must be the guiding 
 principles of the painter in the representation 
 of natural objects, it is in his own power to 
 command the course, and the degree, and the 
 colour of the light which illumines them. 
 He can likewise, so direct the illumination he 
 employs, in accordance with the arrangement of 
 his figures and the forms produced by their 
 
378 
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 combinations, that he may cause them to take 
 any order, or variety of effect, most agreeable 
 to his taste. By the introduction of extraneous 
 objects, or the supposition of them, he may 
 produce shadows upon his figures ; and by such 
 artificial means, aiding the natural effects of light 
 and shade, he may create masses of light and 
 dark composing agreeable forms throughout 
 the surface of his pictures. The result of these 
 combinations, which are now become essential 
 to good painting, is understood by the compound 
 word, Chiaro-oscuro ; and also by the simple 
 one, Effect. 
 
 As it is by light and dark hues of colour, pro- 
 ducing light and shade, that the appearance of 
 projection is given to the forms of objects ex- 
 hibited by design upon a flat surface ; it is by 
 Chiaro-oscuro in its most extended sense, that all 
 those objects which are represented in a picture 
 are made to operate to one end. It is therefore 
 the most efficient means in possession of a 
 painter for directing the attention of an ob- 
 server to whatever portion of his picture he 
 thinks proper. 
 
 Chiaro-oscuro thus becomes the governing 
 principle of effect in painting ; or that control 
 over design, composition, and colouring, which 
 most agreeably unites and displays the per- 
 fections of each, or of them all ; or which 
 
ON CHIARO-OSCURO. 
 
 379 
 
 (so powerful is its influence), can disguise their 
 defects, and render pleasing, works deficient 
 in those important requisites of fine art. 
 
 It is producible by light and shade only, or by 
 light and dark colours ; but is generally the most 
 effective when they are combined : that is, when 
 order and arrangement are given to masses of 
 light or of shade, by uniting them with light or 
 dark colours. Thus, without falsifying the na- 
 ture of the illumination employed, painters ob- 
 tain breadth and arrangement of light and dark 
 throughout the surfaces of their pictures ; or, in 
 the technical phrase of the art, Chiaro-oscuro. 
 
 Before I treat of this artificial management of 
 light and dark, it is necessary that I should more 
 distinctly dwell upon the properties of light 
 itself. I do not mean in its natural qualities as 
 sought by the philosopher, but by the painter, 
 in the effects it produces on our sense of vision 
 by its reflection from the surfaces of objects, and 
 from the atmosphere around us ; and of its priv- 
 ation also, which we call shadow. 
 
 The varied influence of that great element of 
 nature, light, seen throughout the progress of 
 the day, the twilight, and the moon -illumined 
 night ; in the rays of fire, or of the torch, or the 
 lightning, has been from time immemorial, the 
 theme of the poet ; far more is it a medium of 
 effect fitted for the employment of the painter. — . 
 
380 
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 Creating, or exhibiting, as it does, his subject, 
 and producing the means by which he attains his 
 object, all his art depends upon it. 
 
 By the agency of light, and of the shadows 
 that it produces, we are made sensible of the 
 forms of solid bodies without actual contact with 
 them ; and by imitating with light and dark co- 
 lours its force and its gradations to darkness, or 
 the interruptions it meets with as it acts upon 
 the globe, the column, or the cube, we are ena- 
 bled to represent upon a plane surface the pro- 
 jections of those forms ; and to realise the images 
 supplied to our fancy by outline. 
 
 As the sources of light are various, so also are 
 its qualities, differing in the directions and ex- 
 tent of its rays, and in its colour ; each has its 
 appropriate character and effect. The diffused 
 light which is afforded by day when the sun 
 is enveloped in clouds, and which proceeds from 
 a combined mass of reflections from the illumined 
 atmosphere, yields of course an effect uncon- 
 centrated, widely expanded, and producing faint 
 and ill-defined shadows ; but when the beams of 
 the sun are uninterrupted in their course, the 
 effect is the reverse. From the magnitude, and 
 great distance of that luminary, we are accus- 
 tomed to consider its light as descending to us 
 in parallel rays ; causing shadows varying in 
 their forms from the shapes of the bodies 
 
ON CHIARO-OSCURO. 
 
 381 
 
 which cast them, according to the angle at 
 which the ray of light falls, and the direction of 
 the surfaces upon which they are cast. 
 
 It is different with the shadows caused by 
 the interception of light radiating from lesser 
 sources ; they are broad, and differ more widely 
 in their forms from those of the bodies which 
 cause them. 
 
 The effect of form upon our vision is not 
 more potent over our minds than that of light, 
 and its concomitant, shade ; but there is a cu- 
 rious contrariety in the modes by which the 
 effect of light is produced by nature, and by 
 art. In nature light causes shade ; in art, how- 
 ever paradoxical it may seem, shade is the cause 
 of light ; or rather, light and shade reciprocally 
 generate each other. Our agent, that is, the 
 pigment we employ as the representative of 
 light, is white ; but if used either alone, or in 
 combination with any other colour uncontrasted 
 by darker hues, it remains a flat uninteresting 
 mass, without conveying any idea of that quality 
 which we call luminous ; and which can be 
 imparted to it only, when darker colours acting 
 as shadows, through the intervention of form, 
 are placed near to it, and blended into, or con- 
 trasted with it. The same want of character is 
 found in masses of dark hues of colour, as of 
 black ; which, however deep it may be, does 
 
382 
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 not assume the influence of shade unless con- 
 trasted by lighter colours. 
 
 If we regard the scale of effect caused by the 
 sun-beam, from the brightest reflection of its 
 rays to the deepest shadow which accompanies it, 
 and then compare with it that of our palette ; we 
 And, that the hope of rivalling its power with 
 such inadequate means is vain. Depth we have, 
 the blackness of darkness we can produce, or 
 nearly so ; but from thence to white, our extreme 
 in the opposite direction, is a short course ; and 
 we are thus obliged to compose our scale upon a 
 lower pitch, and so manage the gradations of tone 
 within that scale, as to produce the quantum of 
 variety required. Thus, however, we may cause 
 enough of imitation to excite in the mind a recol- 
 lection of the effect we would, if possible, fully 
 imitate. 
 
 The management of contrast in the tones of 
 the colours by which light and shade are pro- 
 duced in painting, requires great attention to 
 several points. First, the positive direct reflec- 
 tion of the light from the surface of the body to 
 be represented, technically called its high-light ; 
 which is, in fact, a reflection more or less clear 
 of the luminary ; then, the gradation of light, 
 or diminution of its brilliancy as it recedes from 
 the high-light towards the shadow, and tech- 
 nically called its half tint, or its middle tint or 
 
ON CHIARO-OSCURO. 
 
 383 
 
 half shade ; next, the shadow itself ; afterwards 
 the reflections which are cast upon the shadowed 
 sides of objects from surrounding bodies, or 
 from the atmosphere, and prevent the shadow 
 from becoming black ; and last of all, the shade 
 cast by the object upon the ground, or upon 
 adjoining substances. If the position and the 
 perspective form of each of these be not accu- 
 rately defined, the real figure of the object will 
 not be effectively conveyed ; and if the contrasts 
 they require are not duly adjusted and blended 
 together, its relief in itself or from its ground 
 will be confused, or but partially effected, 
 
 If there be one point among those just men- 
 tioned of greater importance than the rest, it is 
 doubtless the high-light ; and the placing of it 
 requires the most exact adjustment. It will 
 always be found upon that portion of the figure, 
 from whence a line drawn to the luminary and 
 another to the eye of the artist, subtend equal 
 angles with the plane of its surface. For 
 though that may not in reality be the precise 
 spot where the rays of the luminary are most 
 directly intercepted by the body ; yet it is ef- 
 fectively so to him, whose eye can receive only 
 those rays which are thrown off in reflection 
 towards him. 
 
 It results from this rule, that the extreme 
 edge of a round body can scarcely ever be the 
 
384 
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 seat of its brightest light; it will rather, as it 
 recedes from the observer, lose its lustre ; and 
 if the ground be dark, will blend in measure with 
 it; but if equally light with the body itself, 
 a dark line of separation will be visible. These 
 are delicacies of effect which escape common 
 observation, but are of infinite moment to a 
 painter. 
 
 The employment of light and shade upon 
 figures in their quantity and their quality, are 
 other points of the utmost moment ; so much 
 does character, expression, breadth and beauty 
 in painting, depend upon the choice made in 
 these matters : and it is beautifully exemplified 
 by natural scenery. 
 
 If we consider the difference of the effects 
 produced upon our minds by the same objects 
 in nature, when seen under different degrees or 
 different kinds of illumination ; how we have 
 passed them with indifference, or disregard at 
 one time, or dwelt upon the view of them with 
 enthusiastic delight at another, the force of the 
 observation I have just made must be powerfully 
 felt. 
 
 Considerations of this nature lead the painter 
 to understand what principle of illumination will 
 best suit his purpose ; as most appropriate to 
 the nature of his subject, and most advantageous 
 for its representation. 
 
ON CHIARO-OSCURO. 
 
 385 
 
 We know, that our minds are powerfully ex- 
 cited by quantity in nature. To this, the sea, 
 the mountain, the plain, the lake, or the forest, 
 owe much of their influence over us. The length- 
 ened shadows of the morning and the evening, 
 by their extent add grandeur to scenes, which 
 under the glittering rays of the mid-day sun 
 were merely pleasing. This, almost invariably, 
 produces serenity of mind within us ; for which 
 we know of no cause more influential, than the 
 singleness of effect caused by the breadth of 
 shade thus created, and the repose which the 
 eye finds in regarding it. The degree of 
 mystery in which it involves the objects sub- 
 mitted to its influence, (obscuring, but not con- 
 cealing them from our view,) has at all times 
 been a source of delight to the poet and the 
 painter. 
 
 That which so evidently gratifies the eye in 
 nature, must also be pleasing to it in works of 
 art. Hence breadth of light and shade, as well 
 as of form, is our constant theme of admiration ; 
 and it becomes necessary for a painter to in- 
 troduce light upon his figures in such a 
 direction, as without destroying their beauty, 
 or impeding the clearness and force of their ex- 
 pression, may best impart this quality to them. 
 But it remains with him, as the arbiter of the 
 
 c c 
 
386 
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 application of every principle of the art upon 
 which his works are conducted, to select an 
 effect suitable to his own purposes ; to produce 
 as he pleases, seriousness, by a preponderance of 
 shadow ; or cheerfulness, by that of light. 
 
 For the production of that desirable quality 
 of breadth in painting, light introduced side- 
 ways, in various degrees, is more available than 
 a front light. It was thus employed by Michel 
 Angelo : and I agree with Mr. Fuseli when he 
 says that " breadth of light and shade, owes to 
 him its origin ; that he at least, first employed 
 it effectively upon a great scale." His choice 
 of the direction of light on his figures, and the 
 simple forms of their draperies, are well adapted 
 to produce it in a natural manner. 
 
 By this breadth, he added greatly to the seri- 
 ous impression belonging to the design of his 
 subjects ; and the grandeur of its effect was 
 acknowledged by all the subsequent artists of 
 Italy. The introduction of light sideways, not 
 only creates great breadth of light and shade 
 upon a figure, but it also gives, more completely 
 than any other scheme, the power of separating 
 figures from each other ; or, if thought proper, 
 of uniting part with part, and figure with figure, 
 at the will of the painter ; adding great grace 
 and beauty to composition. 
 
ON CHIARO-OSCURO. 
 
 387 
 
 This peculiarity in the application of light and 
 shade, leads me to the consideration of chiaro- 
 oscuro in its most extended sense. 
 
 That powerful agent for producing effect or 
 peculiar influence on the mind, is available, like 
 form, for two distinct purposes ; to impress senti- 
 ment, as it was employed by Rembrandt more 
 effectually than by any other painter ; or to charm 
 with beauty, as in the hands of Coreggio ; and 
 become ornamental, as in those of Tintoretto, 
 Veronese, and all the lower Venetian masters. 
 
 The importance of light and shade in the 
 production of Chiaro-oscuro, has created much 
 confusion in the minds of persons not convers- 
 ant with art, and in most writers upon the sub- 
 ject. Mr. Webb for instance, in his agreeable, 
 though unessential enquiry into the beauties and 
 merits of painting and painters, completely con- 
 founds the relief afforded by light and shade, 
 with that arrangement of light and dark, which 
 constitutes chiaro-oscuro, and which employs 
 light and shade as one of its agents. 
 
 It is the want of distinction between these two 
 things, the one an important principle of the art, 
 the other only its agent, which has led many to 
 suppose, that because very extraordinary effects 
 of light and shade are recorded of the paint- 
 ings of the ancient Greeks, that therefore, 
 they were well acquainted with the science of 
 c c % 
 
388 
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 Chiaro-oscuro. But that is by no means a clear 
 deduction. For we frequently see the like power- 
 ful relief, created in the most common-place man- 
 ner ; without the slightest degree of approach 
 to Chiaro-oscuro, or requiring any particularly 
 artful, or systematic management. 
 
 Again : Though Chiaro-oscuro may be so em- 
 ployed, as to assist in giving the effect of dis- 
 tance in a picture ; it is upon perspective, pro- 
 ducing proportion, and upon colour, that such 
 effect principally depends ; and not on chiaro- 
 oscuro specifically. That principle is equally 
 efficient, and may be as usefully employed in 
 subjects requiring very little separation of parts; 
 as in the Cradle-scene by Rembrandt. It is, in 
 fact, simply the arrangement and proportional 
 distribution of the lights and the darks of a 
 picture, with the gradations of the intermediate 
 tints and tones uniting them. It may be pro- 
 duced by a mere blot, which has no relation to 
 any thing ; and the principle or arrangement the 
 blot presents, whether concentrated or dilated in 
 its effect, being preserved, it may be converted 
 into a picture by employing forms, or sub- 
 stances of any kind, near or afar off, which are 
 calculated to afford the light and dark required 
 by it. 
 
 The native power of Chiaro-oscuro in works of 
 painting, may be seen by its being so independ- 
 
ON CHIARO-OSCURO. 
 
 389 
 
 ent of colouring, and acting so powerfully with- 
 out its assistance. Black and white alone, when 
 united with form, are found adequate to produce 
 nearly its full effect ; and even blotches of light 
 or dark accidentally cast, such as I have just 
 mentioned, accompanying each other, are often 
 found to produce ideas affecting to the mind ; 
 the imagination supplying the form. 
 
 Our term picturesque (adopted from the 
 French) is the product of this principle, as ap- 
 plied to form and to colour. 
 
 It is not difficult to imitate the common effects 
 of light and shade upon the objects around us. 
 But that ideal, or poetic management of them, 
 which by tone, by arrangement, by regulated 
 quantities, by contrasts, by union, produce sens- 
 ations within us, like those attendant upon actual 
 circumstances of a nature grave or gay, dreadful 
 or mysterious, awful or sublime, (and such is the 
 power of Chiaro-oscuro,) can only be understood 
 by a philosophic observation of the operations 
 of nature ; aided by an acquaintance with fine 
 works of art. 
 
 Thus employed, Chiaro-oscuro is next in qua- 
 lity among the principles of the art, to design ; 
 and tone, of which I spoke in my last lecture as 
 distinct from colour, is its true agent. 
 
 It presents, as I have said, two objects for our 
 consideration. Its relation to expression, when 
 c c 3 
 
390 
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 we regard it philosophically ; and its more tech- 
 nical employment for rendering the surface of a 
 picture agreeable ; by dividing it into parts of 
 light and dark well proportioned to each other. 
 These parts must be so modified by gradation, 
 as to produce softness and harmony when they 
 are blended in their extremes ; or brilliancy and 
 richness, when freely contrasted. By such ar- 
 rangements in a picture, the eye of an observer 
 being attracted to it, is conducted (if I may so 
 speak) over its surface, without confusion ; and 
 in a manner which excites agreeable sensations 
 within it. 
 
 The first, or philosophic mode of the appli- 
 cation of Chiaro-oscuro, admits of no specific 
 regulations. Such control would indeed be bonds 
 upon genius, and fetters upon imagination ; in 
 the freedom of which exists the very essence of 
 the art. Feeling, a sense of character in the sub- 
 ject, and a knowledge of the mode by which 
 nature acts in causing the sensation we desire to 
 excite, and to which I have just referred, must 
 alone be relied upon ; so nearly infinite are the 
 varieties which may be required. Rubens fre- 
 quently gratifies us with the brilliancy and breadth 
 of effect of broad daylight, spread almost equally 
 over every part of a picture, the local colours 
 alone producing the chiaro-oscuro ; thus render- 
 ing it suitable to the gay scene he illustrates 
 
ON CHIARO-OSCURO. 
 
 391 
 
 while, on the contrary, we behold with pleasure 
 many works of Rembrandt, upon whose surfaces 
 the representation of light is confined to a small 
 compass ; sometimes to a twentieth, or even 
 thirtieth portion of them, and have of course 
 very little local colour. Between these two 
 extremes all the intermediate degrees may be 
 made available, as the taste or sensibility of the 
 painter may suggest, or require. 
 
 Though the scale of proportion of the masses 
 of light or dark be thus placed at the will of the 
 artist, or as his imagination may guide him; and 
 is out of the reach of regulation, being depend- 
 ent upon the necessities of the subject ; yet there 
 are positive principles which govern them when 
 admitted. 
 
 The eye must be attracted to the principal 
 object of the picture, by its being relieved either 
 by light upon dark, or the reverse ; merging the 
 inferior persons or things in obscurity in propor- 
 tion to their importance. If there be more than 
 one mass of light, which seldom of itself has been 
 made to produce an agreeable effect, it will be 
 found best to introduce odd numbers rather than 
 even : three, rather than two, for instance, pre- 
 serving one predominant in extent, and varying 
 the proportions of the others in quantity and ef- 
 fect. If they are reduced in given proportions, as 
 from eight to five, three, or one ; that is, if such 
 c c 4 
 
892 
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 or other regulated proportions are found among 
 them, the eye will view them with the greater 
 pleasure ; since it always requires, for its most 
 perfect gratification, well regulated order and 
 proportion in the parts of all objects placed 
 before it. 
 
 As no two masses of light or dark ought to 
 be equal in size, so ought they not to be alike in 
 shape, nor parallel in position : that never-ending 
 research after variety which we are taught by 
 nature to desire, will not permit us to be satisfied 
 with such monotony. To gratify us, the masses 
 must vary in quantity, in form, and in station ; 
 and be connected by lesser and fainter mediums ; 
 so that no abrupt transitions, except for especial 
 purposes, may disturb the pleasure of the eye in 
 traversing the work. 
 
 To assist that effect, the masses of light and 
 dark ought to be so arranged, that a line passing 
 in connection through them should be of an 
 agreeable form. 
 
 This technical mode of considering Chiaro- 
 oscuro is extremely valuable in all applications of 
 the art, or in judging of the skill of an artist. It 
 not unfrequently happens, that paintings ex- 
 tremely interesting from the possession of other 
 peculiar and valuable qualities, are passed unob- 
 served for want of it ; while those which have 
 little merit, except that of presenting a pleasing 
 
ON CHIARO-OSCURO. 
 
 393 
 
 arrangement and variety of light and dark, 
 attract and secure attention. 
 
 Chiaro-oscuro, be it of light and shade, or of 
 colours, is capable of great efficiency under a 
 diversity of characters, from the weakest to the 
 most powerful which contrast can produce. It 
 has no relation to execution, or to the finishing 
 of a work ; the slightest sketches, wrought in 
 the enthusiasm of feeling, being sometimes more 
 perfectly effective than highly finished pictures. 
 
 A powerful effect is produced by using bright 
 lights and colours, with strong dark oppositions 
 to them, in whatever degree as to quantity they 
 may be employed. In general, a small portion 
 of light with broad and strong dark shadows, is 
 the most certain mode of obtaining it. Of this 
 class, are the works of Caravaggio and Spagno- 
 letto, and many who have imitated them. Both 
 Rembrandt and Rubens employed it occasionally. 
 We see it in the picture of the Cradle by the 
 former, and in his picture, in our National Gal- 
 lery, of the Woman taken in Adultery, in the 
 Departure of the Angel from Tobias, and many 
 others. It is given by Coreggio in the Notte at 
 Dresden, and in his small picture of the Mag- 
 dalen in the same gallery. In both these pic- 
 tures, it is managed with the utmost sweetness 
 of tone 5 much more delightful and pure than 
 
394 
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 any of the above-mentioned masters have ever 
 obtained. 
 
 The works of our ingenious countryman, Mr. 
 Opie, with which many of you must be acquainted, 
 are also excellent examples of power and vigour 
 of effect, gained by strength of contrast in Chiaro- 
 oscuro, and in colour ; and in the more confined 
 use of light and shade, and degree of relievo 
 of individual objects, he was never surpassed. 
 Many of his figures appear absolutely round, and 
 fully to project from the canvass. 
 
 A more pleasing, but less powerful kind of 
 effect is produced, by making use of less violence 
 of opposition, less sudden transition from light 
 to dark, and from colour to colour, blending 
 the lights and shades with greater breadth of 
 half tint ; and instead of giving the shadows a 
 great depth of tone, allowing them to partake of 
 reflections from the atmosphere, as well as from 
 surrounding objects. Such is the beautiful 
 effect produced by Rembrandt in the small pic- 
 ture, in our National Gallery, of the Birth of the 
 Saviour. 
 
 If a still more pleasing effect of Chiaro-oscuro 
 be desired, the subject chosen for representation 
 being of a gay and light character, then great va- 
 riety of tints, a bright tone of colour, and spark- 
 ling lights and darks in the midst of a general mass 
 
ON CHIARO-OSCURO. 
 
 395 
 
 of light, should be selected. Of this, Paul Ve- 
 ronese, Rubens, and Watteau, present the best 
 examples. The old French school proceeded 
 upon this principle : till, in fact, they proved 
 that it is as dangerous to push even a good system 
 too far, as to proceed entirely without one. 
 
 Rubens united very much of it with the style 
 of Venetian composition. But so wide is the range 
 of his genius, and his works of course so various, 
 that we may find exemplars of every class of 
 Chiaro-oscuro in his productions. His picture 
 of the Descent from the Cross is, perhaps, his best 
 example of the grave and serious ; presenting us 
 with vivid colouring controlled by a tone of illu- 
 mination more appropriate and expressive than is 
 usually found in his sacred pictures. The Chiaro- 
 oscuro of this work is obtained by employing one 
 stream of light, broken and varied in its course ; 
 and occupying about one third of the surface of 
 the picture, assisted by the hues of the colours 
 employed. His hunting and bacchanalian scenes, 
 and his varied pictures of the Wise Men's Offer- 
 ing, afford specimens of the most rich and gay 
 character ; arranged in infinite variety of forms, 
 and painted with corresponding power. 
 
 It is a curious feature in the progress of the 
 art of painting, that though shadow always 
 accompanies the effect of light, and conse- 
 quently must always have been before the eyes 
 
39^ 
 
 Lecture ix. 
 
 of the painter ; and not only common light 
 and shade, but also all the varied effects pro- 
 duced by accidental illumination ; yet that 
 their importance and their use should have 
 continued so long unnoticed or disregarded. 
 Even to this time, deep shade is rejected by the 
 Chinese and most of the Eastern nations ; or 
 employed by them in a very slight degree. And 
 though, as I have before observed, there are 
 some remarkable examples reported of the effects 
 of light and shade in the pictures of the Grecian 
 painters ; yet it does not satisfactorily appear, 
 either from report, or the remnants of their paint- 
 ing, that they advanced to the knowledge of the 
 value of Chiaro-oscuro. 
 
 In general we are led to conclude, that their 
 study was rather to give each figure its appro- 
 priate light and shade, than to blend the whole 
 in general effect. When Pliny tells us, " that 
 the hand of Alexander grasping the thunderbolt 
 appeared to project from the canvass/' it pre- 
 sents us with a perfect idea of powerful light and 
 shade and excellent keeping ; but it has no rela- 
 tion to Chiaro-oscuro, as now understood and 
 employed. It is the same idea which is pre- 
 sented to us, when Philostratus, describing a 
 picture of Venus, says, " the goddess does not 
 seem to be painted, but springs from the canvass 
 as if she would be pursued." 
 
ON CHIARO-OSCURO. 
 
 397 
 
 We have not, from these accounts, any autho- 
 rity to suppose that they understood the art of 
 uniting light to light, and shade to shade, and 
 colour to colour, so as to produce masses of each, 
 acting in varied gradations ; by which a painter 
 may extend or diminish, or round his groups, in 
 almost endless variety, according as his taste or 
 feeling may dictate. This was reserved for later 
 times, and is displayed in the works of the Ve- 
 netian painters, in those of Coreggio, and of the 
 painters in the Flemish and Dutch schools ; and 
 likewise in those of Sir Joshua Reynolds, Mr. 
 West, Mr. Opie, and Mr. Fuseli. 
 
 Even when the art re-appeared, so slow was 
 the progress of human perceptions concerning 
 the value of the culture of Chiaro-oscuro, that 
 for two hundred years use was made (by the able 
 Florentine painters) of those peculiarities in the 
 effect of light and shade and colours, which are 
 productive of it ; although they must have been 
 constantly before them, and are now felt to be 
 so indispensable in good pictures. 
 
 We find it first employed by the Venetians ; 
 but principally in the arrangements of colours, 
 the least efficient mode of producing it. 
 
 The enlarged and philosophic mind of Lionardo 
 da Vinci first perceived the value of a concen- 
 trated light ; and surrounding it by dark, then 
 
398 
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 blended them by imperceptible degrees. He 
 thus gave a gentleness and grace to imitation 
 which had not before been effected ; and in 
 which tone, rather than colour, predominates. 
 This principle he extended in his Battle of the 
 Standard, and still more in the Last Supper, at 
 Milan ; the arrangement of which, as to Chiaro- 
 oscuro, is totally changed and lost in Morghen's 
 print from it. # 
 
 But the breadth and ingenuity of arrangement 
 of Chiaro-oscuro in the plan of Da Vinci, falls 
 infinitely short of that of Coreggio. 
 
 Instead of the system of Lionardo, which 
 engages more shade than light in its plan, Co- 
 reggio gave to light the principal portion of his 
 surface, at least in his Duomos ; and extending 
 it by colours as well as by illumination, has 
 
 * This concentrated arrangement of Chiaro-oscuro became 
 the useful medium through which Mr. Fuseli sought to give 
 strength and effect to the imaginative perceptions of his 
 powerful, though eccentric genius. The peculiar constitu- 
 tion of his mind directed him to select subjects for his pen- 
 cil, for the exemplification of which light and shade and 
 tone were the fittest instruments. We see it, conducted with 
 infinite taste and skill, in many of his historical and poetical 
 pictures, and in a far greater degree of perfection than pro- 
 bably Lionardo ever contemplated ; as in the Vision of the 
 Ghost to Hamlet, and in the Lazar House; whilst in his large 
 compositions from the Midsummer Night's Dream, we have 
 more extended and playful employment of it. 
 
ON CHIARO-OSCURO. 
 
 399 
 
 taught us, in combination with others, how 
 beautifully and powerfully, Chiaro-oscuro may 
 be applied to great historical purposes. 
 
 This beau ideal of effect is his principal agent : 
 and though the mellowness and beauty of his 
 colouring is delightful, it is the engaging sim- 
 plicity combined with richness in his Chiaro- 
 oscuro, which fascinates us while regarding his 
 pictures ; notwithstanding the weakness of his 
 drawing, and in those large works, of his ex- 
 pression. 
 
 He effected entirely that important portion of 
 Chiaro-oscuro which gives space around each 
 figure, and yet by imperceptible gradations con- 
 nects them with their ground, or with others in 
 the group ; and so completes the union of the 
 whole to one end. 
 
 For this purpose, he chiefly employed tone, 
 expanded through all his colours ; which thus 
 skilfully directed, gives richness to the weakest 
 scale of colouring, and adds splendour to the 
 brightest. It was this perfection of effect, added 
 to the beauty of his colouring, which made 
 Titian exclaim, when he saw his works at Parma, 
 that " he had at length found a painter !" 
 
 The name of Titian excites other ideas of the 
 rrangement and the mode of producing Chiaro- 
 oscuro. For this purpose, light and dark co- 
 
400 
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 lours, with common light and shade, had been 
 employed before his time by the Venetians. 
 
 But he and Giorgione, first arranged them 
 with efficient truth ; counterbalancing the parts 
 of pictures, by a just and picturesque distribution 
 of hue and tone. In the subsequent periods of 
 the life of Titian, he added more of tone and 
 less of colour ; which gave a grander character 
 to his Chiaro-oscuro. 
 
 Though the display of this principle in the 
 works of Coreggio renders them so excellent in 
 their kind ; yet it must be confessed, that the 
 artifice with which it is conducted is generally 
 perceptible, and attracts attention for itself. It 
 is much more perfect when the distribution of 
 lights and darks arise apparently from the natural 
 means produced by the subject ; and then, it 
 becomes the most proper medium for fine histo- 
 rical art. 
 
 Such must have been the Chiaro-oscuro (if 
 they had any) of the ancient Greek painters, and 
 such is the Chiaro-oscuro admirably obtained by 
 Raffaelle in the Death of Ananias, in St. Peter 
 and St. John healing the Lame Man, the St. Peter 
 in Prison, the Miracle of Bolsena, the Heliodorus, 
 and others of his works. In this particular, 
 Poussin has followed his principles, and some- 
 times with increased beauty ; and it is but an 
 act of justice to the fame of our venerated Pre- 
 
ON CHIARO-OSCURO. 
 
 401 
 
 sident, Mr. West, if I add, that he, pursuing the 
 same track, though with somewhat more of 
 artifice, has improved upon both in the manage- 
 ment of Chiaro-oscuro throughout a composition. 
 Witness his Regulus returning to Carthage ; his 
 Pyrrhus at the foot of Glaucias ; his Lear, and 
 many others of his numerous works. 
 
 But perhaps it must be acknowledged, that 
 the most perfect example we have of inartificial 
 Chiaro-oscuro, or that which being well regulated, 
 appears to be conducted without artifice to an 
 imposing effect, is to be found in the St. Peter 
 Martyr by Titian. It is the best general exempli- 
 fication of the union of all the higher principles 
 of the art, and by A. Caracci was denominated 
 " the picture without a fault." 
 
 In that grand composition, two lights being 
 generated by the nature of the subject, that of 
 the glory around the angels in the upper part, 
 and that of the drapery of the monks in the 
 lower, Titian has artfully contrived to unite them, 
 by means of the clouds in the sky and the white 
 flowers on the bush around the trunk of the 
 tree in the centre of the picture ; arranged in a 
 waving line through the surface, and varied in 
 their proportions as to size. To support this line 
 of light, and prevent its being too distinct, and 
 rendering his artifice too apparent, he has given 
 breadth by the half tint of the sky; and contrasted 
 
 D D 
 
402 
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 the combined mass thus created, by the finely 
 varied forms and hues of the dark mass made by 
 the trees and the ground. Thus the proportions 
 of the lights and darks blend with the arrange- 
 ment of them to produce beauty and expression, 
 without any exhibition of the art which has com- 
 bined them ; at least, to the common observer. 
 
 I have already remarked, that every subject, 
 which has any peculiar character, or conveys 
 any particular expression or sentiment, that is, 
 has passion attached to it, requires appropriate 
 treatment. We see it exemplified in a form 
 different from the examples I have adduced, in 
 the dull and extended sombrous hue, caused 
 by the overcharging waters of the deluge, as 
 represented by Poussin, spread almost equally 
 over every portion of the picture. The objects 
 which serve to vary it are few ; and to this ap- 
 propriate management of tone of illumination, 
 giving little relief or variety of effect, is owing 
 the powerful influence of the picture ; which 
 Rousseau is said to have contemplated with tears. 
 Poussin has mistakenly attempted to give it 
 vivacity by introducing a piece of red drapery 
 not subjected to the same tone of illumination as 
 the rest, an error seen in most of his historical 
 pictures. By this, perhaps, he intended to in- 
 crease the general effect, but it offends by its 
 want of accord ; and attracting attention to itself, 
 
ON CHIAUO-OSCURO. 
 
 403 
 
 thereby weakens the interest which the nature of 
 the composition, and its Chiaro-oscuro, is in- 
 tended to inspire ; and which, notwithstanding 
 this defect, it does inspire. 
 
 It is not, however, in the works of Poussin, 
 generally, that we can successfully seek for the 
 best illustration of the power or the beauty of 
 Chiaro-oscuro ; and if we except the productions 
 of Titian and Coreggio, the Italian schools of 
 painting afford but imperfect specimens of it, in 
 comparison with the productions of other schools 
 where it really was a governing principle ; where 
 beauty of form, where elevation of character, 
 where dignity of expression, and even propriety 
 of action, gave way to the beauty of art; and to 
 imitation, rendered perfect by the most ingenious 
 and intelligent employment of the materials of 
 the palette. I scarcely need say I allude to the 
 schools of Flanders and of Holland ; where 
 works were produced which, in despite of all 
 that I have said, gratify the eye and oftentimes 
 present delight to the imagination. 
 
 The painters of those schools do not appear to 
 owe their management of Chiaro-oscuro, in any 
 degree to the Italians ; that is, to Da Vinci, or 
 Coreggio, whose style they most resemble ; but 
 rather to a gradual progress of refinement among 
 the Germans, from whom their art is derived. 
 
 Not elevated in their views of the application 
 d d 2 
 
404 
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 of the art of painting, like the Italians, they 
 sought to pourtray with exactness the objects 
 and effects around them ; and were soon con- 
 ducted to the principle I am now considering. 
 We see its pervading influence throughout their 
 pictures of the sixteenth and seventeenth cen- 
 turies ; most powerfully in the latter. It is 
 spread through all the region wherein they em- 
 ployed the art ; in history, in portraiture, in land- 
 scape, and in still life: giving a charm to all, 
 even the lowest. 
 
 Of prints from Dutch and Flemish pictures, 
 and of the pictures themselves, there are such 
 numerous examples constantly within your reach, 
 that I need only thus generally refer you to 
 them. In the examination of most of them 
 you will find upon the first view an agreeable 
 accord of the whole, producing a pleasing impres- 
 sion upon the eye ; and when more closely 
 studied, you will perceive this to be owing to 
 the excellent regulations of arrangement and 
 proportion among the principal masses of light 
 and dark ; and to the introduction of smaller 
 portions of each, uniting the larger ones, and 
 spreading the lights and darks throughout the 
 surface in pleasing associations. 
 
 Amongst them, however, Rubens and Rem- 
 brandt, at once gay, solemn, grand, and some- 
 times pathetic or terrific, display its power with 
 
ON CHIARO-OSCURO. 
 
 405 
 
 almost inconceivable influence ; and more than 
 all, teach us its surprising capabilities. And 
 whether we pursue, in the pictures of Rubens, 
 the astonishing management of light, diffused 
 throughout the surface of a picture ; glowing in 
 its tone, and only interrupted by darker hues, 
 adding richness and depth to its scale ! or with 
 Rembrandt, making shade occupy the larger 
 share of the surface, we meditate on the lustre 
 of the sunbeam, or the duller hues and solemn 
 effect of the twilight, the gloom of the cavern, 
 or the cell ; or the glimmering light of the torch, 
 or the lamp ; we are astonished at the consum- 
 mate skill of the artists, and the power of the 
 art ; and captivated by the sentiment and the 
 pleasure which are irresistibly impressed upon 
 our minds, when its capabilities are wielded by 
 men of such imaginative genius. 
 
 Sir Joshua Reynolds, selecting from each, and 
 combining their charms with his own perceptions 
 of the object of his peculiar practice, has thence 
 enhanced the beauty of those enchanting works 
 he has left to us; which in Chiaro-oscuro, as well 
 as in colour and character and expression, have so 
 largely contributed to establish the existing fame 
 of our country, being now elevated in art, as in 
 science, and in arms. 
 
 d d 3 
 
406 
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 I have thus, Gentlemen, endeavoured to lead 
 you to a just estimation of the most proper and 
 becoming objects on which the art of painting may 
 be employed ; and to explain to you the rules 
 or principles upon which its higher efforts have 
 been conducted : and though our practice, aris- 
 ing principally from the change of feeling which 
 has taken place concerning the art, and the direc- 
 tion given to it by the patronage of the day, leads 
 us for the most part, to an extremely different ap- 
 plication of it ; yet our labours may be most effi- 
 ciently conducted by attention to the same rules. 
 
 The general principles governing the arrange- 
 ment of line, of composition and effect, and of 
 harmony and contrast of colour, are alike fitted 
 for all portions of the practice of painting ; 
 because they are derived from nature. Yet it 
 remains a doubt, with many of great authority, 
 whether their union in choice selection, such as 
 they are presented to us individually in each of 
 the schools of Italy, would benefit the highest 
 class of the productions of painting: that is, 
 whether fine colouring, or picturesque Chiaro- 
 oscuro, would not detract from the influence of 
 the grand style of design and composition. 
 
 It is certainly a question of infinite importance 
 to the interests of the art, and worthy of careful 
 consideration. I am inclined to unite with 
 those who defend it ; for I cannot, I confess, 
 
ON CHIARO-OSCURO. 
 
 407 
 
 consent to the proposition which follows our 
 denial of the propriety of this union ; viz. that 
 perfection may arise out of imperfection ; or to 
 speak still stronger, that truth can arise out of 
 falsehood. , 
 
 The imperfections of colour among the Flo- 
 rentines, of drawing among the Lombards, and 
 of expression among the Venetians, led the 
 Caracci to desire an union of their better qua- 
 lities. Unfortunately they did not succeed in 
 their attempt to effect it, as I mentioned in the 
 historical part of these lectures ; and that has led 
 to animated discussions upon the propriety of 
 the attempt. 
 
 It appears to me, however, that the arguments 
 which have been urged on either side, have been 
 drawn from different perceptions of the basis of 
 the theory proposed by the Caracci ; and that 
 hence has arisen, a greater degree of difference 
 of opinion in appearance, than probably in re- 
 ality existed. 
 
 If on the one side we conceive, that they em- 
 braced in their system the possibility of uniting 
 the excess of the peculiar qualities of each 
 school, the ornamental and the grave, the grace- 
 ful and the severe, without reference to subject ; 
 then we can have little hesitation in deciding, 
 that, so heterogeneous a combination must of 
 necessity be productive of imperfection and 
 d d 4 
 
408 
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 confusion. But if, on the other hand, we limit 
 our ideas of their plan to the union of the beauty 
 of those natural truths, on the representation of 
 which those different schools are founded, duly 
 adjusted to the subject treated, I can see no 
 reason for an opinion at variance with it ; or for 
 doubting that such an union, were it effected, 
 would be a manifest extension of the power and 
 the excellence of art. 
 
 What is it that excites our admiration in the 
 productions of each of these great Italian schools 
 of painting, which have proceeded upon such 
 different principles and presented such different 
 qualities and effects for our contemplation and 
 delight ? In what do we find it, if not in the 
 perfection to which each of them carried their 
 select imitation of that particular portion of the 
 works of nature, which each made its principal 
 object of study ! In the Florentine, the loftiness 
 of its aim, its purity and grandeur of design, its 
 excellence of composition and of expression ; we 
 recognise the truth of its endeavours, and are 
 gratified by it, notwithstanding imperfect colour- 
 ing and Chiaro-oscuro. In the Lombard, an 
 imitation of occasional mysterious or brilliant 
 effects of light and shade, the circumstantial, 
 not the general effects of nature ; united with 
 pure colour, with breadth, with softness, and 
 with grace! We acknowledge its truth in the 
 
ON CHIARO-OSCURO. 
 
 409 
 
 works of Coreggio, are delighted and enjoy it, re- 
 gardless of indifferent drawing. In the Venetian, 
 the beautiful colouring that we see, corresponds 
 with our knowledge of that quality in natural 
 objects ; and the masses of light and dark in 
 which it is arranged, are composed with so much 
 variety, are made so agreeable in form, and so 
 consonant with nature ; that though surrounded 
 by the most egregious nonsense, we select the 
 truly good, and admire it. 
 
 Truth then, in painting, either in the whole 
 or in part, an appeal to our knowledge of that 
 which we see chosen as the chief object of study, 
 is the real source of our pleasure ; and it leads 
 us to overlook the defects observable in each of 
 these schools, though not to justify them : and 
 since it is truth of representation which gratifies 
 us in each, notwithstanding the defects that ac- 
 company it ; there appears to me but little reason 
 in supposing, that the union of those truths 
 would not afford us more perfect delight. 
 
 That true and judicious application of tone 
 and colour to form and expression, in unison 
 with the quality of a subject, is extremely diffi- 
 cult to obtain, every one must be sensible ; as all 
 things of extreme perfection are. It was never- 
 theless obtained by Titian in the Peter Martyr , 
 and while there exist other works, which either 
 on the whole or in part, prove its practicability, 
 
410 
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 and that, in the very school which has been sup- 
 posed to adopt in preference, the severe style * ; 
 I think we may, under the limitation I have men- 
 tioned, with security recommend the attempt. 
 
 Tone, which may be varied by the painter at 
 his pleasure, is the great agent for the regulation 
 of this important point. 
 
 The extent of its influence may be conceived, 
 when we recollect that it is the product of the 
 illumination employed, and pervades the atmo- 
 sphere that surrounds us ; and affecting the co- 
 lours of the shadows, as well as of the lights, 
 enters into all the half tints of a picture ; and 
 thus takes possession of three fourths of its sur- 
 face at least. 
 
 It is upon such fair principles of enquiry, that 
 modern art rests for its support. Whereon may 
 we hope to found a name, if this be denied to us. 
 All other avenues to fame in the arts are preoc- 
 cupied ; and it will be vain to seek to do more 
 than to follow in imitation, the examples that 
 have been set to us, if we may not endeavour to 
 combine the good we derive from them. 
 
 In pursuing this system of enquiry into the 
 
 * Many of the pictures of Fra Bartolomeo. And I think it 
 is but due respect to Sir Thos. Lawrence, also to mention his 
 picture of Mr. Kemble in the character of Hamlet, as an 
 excellent instance of the beauty of the union to which I have 
 alluded in the text. 
 
ON CHIARO-OSCURO. 
 
 411 
 
 necessities of the practice of painting, it may be 
 useful to consider the quality, and the quantity 
 of executive imitation, best fitted for its most 
 valuable purposes. The true principle of it 
 consists in knowing how much to finish to per- 
 fection, and when to be satisfied with the re- 
 maining various parts. This is of no slight 
 importance, and calls upon the artist for the 
 purest exertions of taste. 
 
 To elicit sentiment by a picture, the whole 
 must be conducted to one end ; but finishing it 
 all over to an equal degree of completion, im- 
 pedes this desirable effect. Every part, then be- 
 comes equally impressive, the mind is distracted 
 by the force of the parts, instead of entertaining 
 a feeling of the whole ; as it would do, were the 
 principal part, that whereon the subject rests for 
 effect, brought to the greatest degree of com- 
 pletion, and the rest subordinately laboured, 
 though not neglected ; painted with character, 
 but not highly finished. 
 
 This is consistent with natural effect ! Con- 
 sider for a while, that we can see one object 
 only, in a perfect manner, at one moment. We 
 regulate our vision by an imperceptible power, 
 and with inconceivable rapidity, to a focus ac- 
 cordant with the distance of the object we espe- 
 cially observe ; and all other objects, before, or 
 beyond, or around it, are less distinctly seen by 
 
412 
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 us at the time, though their characteristic forms 
 and colours are impressed upon our eyes. This 
 peculiar degree of clearness of view of the ob- 
 ject of our choice, giving power to it above all 
 others over our minds as well as our eyes, at 
 once establishes a principle for the regulation of 
 art ; and it is upon this principle that the finest 
 pictures in the world have been executed. 
 
 It must also be recollected that although in 
 observing the works of nature, we thus change 
 the focal distance of vision, according to the 
 distance of the objects we desire to view ; yet in 
 regarding a picture, which is a plane surface, no 
 such change of focus is requisite. All is equally 
 distant from the eye ; and we cannot justly imi- 
 tate the effect of nature, whenever we attempt to 
 give interest to a particular point, but by the arti- 
 ficial mode of proceeding which I have pointed 
 out. In subjects, where there is no point of in- 
 terest particularly prevailing, as in most of the 
 Dutch pictures, beautiful execution, spread over 
 every part, becomes a portion of its excellence. 
 
 It is upon the principle of partial completion, 
 that imitation of peculiar stuffs in drapery can- 
 not be used in historical art without injury to 
 the main effect ; or that too nice a discrimin- 
 ation even of the foldings of draperies used in 
 common, ought not to be closely pursued. Mi- 
 nute attention to such particulars attracts the 
 
ON CHIARO-OSCURO. 
 
 413 
 
 mind from the main object, the expression of the 
 figures ; upon which, and not upon such unim- 
 portant points, the characteristic display of a 
 subject depends. 
 
 The same rule operates in portraiture : and 
 could the world be convinced of it, great would 
 be the advantage to that portion of the practice 
 of painting. The real and unchangeable like- 
 ness, consists, not in minute imitations of all the 
 changeable portions of the face, or of the figure, 
 which, year after year, we see flitting before us, 
 and presenting perpetual change as far as they 
 are concerned: it consists much more in the 
 general proportions of the parts to each other ; 
 in the immoveable character which is attached 
 to the general structure of the head, and of the 
 figure ; to that in short, by which we know a 
 man as well at a distance as near at hand. The 
 very natural desire to have minute resemblance, 
 so constantly expressed by persons who have not 
 considered the subject, has destroyed far more 
 true portraits, than ever can be produced by at- 
 tention to it. 
 
 The principle, that too much and too close 
 imitation ought not to be attempted in pictures 
 where character is the main object, or in his- 
 torical works which aim at imposing a powerful 
 mental effect ; depends not only upon the basis 
 I have mentioned, but also upon the impossi- 
 
414 
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 bility of carrying it to entire perfection. We 
 could not, if we would, imitate the works of 
 nature with absolute precision. Gerard Dow 
 and Mieris, with all their minuteness, would tell 
 us that they had left much unrepresented in the 
 subjects of their elaborate productions. 
 
 When a person, admiring a painting of Mieris, 
 particularly expatiated on the perfection of imi- 
 tation in a stand to which a parrot was attached, 
 the painter informed him, that so far from being 
 complete in its imitation of the natural pole, he 
 should employ three days more to perfect it. 
 
 Whenever, therefore, sufficient representation 
 is given to excite in the mind of an observer an 
 image of the subject, it is better not to run the 
 risk of disturbing its effect by carrying imitation 
 further and exciting comparisons with the actual 
 power of the natural object. By this means we 
 leave the idea of the image excited to act upon 
 the imagination of the observer ; who, undis- 
 turbed by such comparisons fills up the void for 
 himself, and becomes a participator in the pro- 
 duction of the work. 
 
 This is consonant with the best productions of 
 all the greater poets ; who, though lavish in the 
 rich accumulations of ideas which the utmost 
 brilliancy of imagination can furnish, never labour 
 their descriptions to minuteness ; but still leave 
 
ON CHIARO-OSCURO. 
 
 415 
 
 somewhat for the occupation of the fancy of the 
 reader. 
 
 And if indeed, the art of painting has merited 
 the renown it enjoys ; if it be truly, a gem glit- 
 tering bright among those that adorn the pro- 
 tracted fame of nations ; its superior value can 
 arise only from the pure emanations of mind 
 which have been displayed in its productions ; 
 and not from those exertions which merely dis- 
 play its manual perfections. 
 
 This highly cultivated and refined class of art ; 
 this almost sacred source of all that is beautiful 
 and excellent in works of imagination, must 
 of necessity, like all other intellectual attain- 
 ments, require some attention to its principles, 
 ere it can be fully understood and enjoyed. But 
 by first learning to admire, we learn to love and 
 then to imitate ; and then to impart the same 
 pure spirit to works of original inspiration ; at 
 least we must perceive the beauty we would 
 rival, ere our wishes can be accomplished: — and 
 this perception is alike necessary for the patron 
 who would comprehend what he encourages, as 
 for the painter who emulates the excellence he 
 admires. 
 
 The great value of the art of painting, con- 
 sists in the perfect purity and elevation of mind 
 with which its highest efforts are conducted ; 
 its capability of aiding the pursuit of all that is 
 
416 
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 most valuable to us, in common with poetry 
 and with science ; thus usefully and largely in- 
 creasing the store of amusement and pleasure 
 required by man in relaxation of the labours 
 incident to his necessities. 
 
 In all these points, it acts in correction of the 
 grosser appetites of our nature ; and aids in pro- 
 ducing an amelioration of the earthly condition 
 of man. 
 
 It may be, it has been, vilely abused! em- 
 ployed to strengthen vice, by imagery gross and 
 unseemly ; so also has poetry been disgraced, 
 but no one will say that either is the less es- 
 timable on account of the base and low-bred 
 folly of those who have thus employed them. 
 No, the ignominy rests on the artists who have 
 so abused and misemployed their talents ; not on 
 the arts themselves. Like the passions, which 
 the great Author of nature has implanted in his 
 creatures ; they are excellent in their use, but in 
 their abuse, degrading and disgusting. 
 
 Beautiful painting, like beautiful, or rather 
 delightful music, is enchanting to the imagin- 
 ation. If it be good, and bear the stamp of 
 ingenuity ; skilful, and convey complete intelli- 
 gence ; pleasing, and present true and agreeable 
 images to the eye, it merits our admiration ! 
 But when it pourtrays beauty, when it embodies 
 thought, when it embraces sentiment, when it 
 
ON CHIARO-OSCURO. 
 
 417 
 
 presents concentrated feelings which awaken 
 sympathetic emotions within us ; then, it assumes 
 that exalted character, which entitles it to our 
 highest estimation, and justly excites us to en- 
 thusiasm! Yet, be it remembered among us 9 
 that if our enthusiasm arrest examination, and 
 subdue reflection within us, we must be content 
 with the enjoyment it affords ; for vain would be 
 the hope of improvement from it, or of our ever 
 becoming able to rival the works we so highly 
 admire ! 
 
 E E 
 
LECTURE X. 
 
 ON THE APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES OF 
 PAINTING. 
 
 1882. 
 
 E E 2 
 
421 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 on the application of the principles of 
 painting. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 In the five preceding lectures, I have endea- 
 voured to illustrate the principles on which the 
 higher branches of the art of painting depend ; 
 and to no other subject could I with more pro- 
 priety or more usefully direct your attention : for 
 none other can be of more importance to you. 
 
 In the schools of the Royal Academy, you 
 may learn the practice of the Art. You may 
 there obtain skill in drawing, the knowledge of 
 colours, and the use of them ; but it is in the lec- 
 ture room, that you may expect to be informed, 
 under what regulating principles you may best 
 employ these acquirements when obtained. 
 That system of education which the Academy 
 was framed to impart being thus completed, the 
 useful application of it must depend upon your 
 own ingenuity and industry. One difficult por- 
 tion of your task will be, to know how to select 
 e e 3 
 
LECTURE X. 
 
 from among the principles which have been ex- 
 plained to you, those most applicable to your 
 several purposes. 
 
 I have often heard with surprise and concern, 
 admirers, and even professors of the fine arts, 
 treat with contempt the idea of conducting the 
 composition and execution of works of art by 
 fixed principles, because they are so greatly de- 
 pendent for their finished excellence upon taste. 
 But I have generally observed, that those artists 
 who were bold enough to trust to unregulated 
 fancy, have seldom become highly renowned. 
 During the vigour and gaiety of youth, and 
 the exuberance of invention which not uncom- 
 monly accompanies it, they may have produced 
 works worthy of reputation ; but in after-life, 
 the glow of imagination failing, and being with- 
 out principles to guide them, they have usually 
 fallen into repetition and inanity; the reverse 
 of the progress of the great artists who have 
 adopted those safeguards to their conduct. The 
 real difficulty lies in the discovery of sound and 
 true principles, and not in submitting to the ra- 
 tional governance of them when known. 
 
 That it is difficult in many cases to assign 
 causes for our feelings, all must acknowledge. 
 It is easier to feel in accordance with the rules 
 by which God has disposed the powers of our 
 minds, and directed the infinitely various organ- 
 
APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES. 423 
 
 isations of matter affecting our senses, than to 
 comprehend and to explain the mode of their 
 operation upon us. That there is order through- 
 out the whole, that cause and effect uniformly 
 accompany each other, we cannot doubt, seeing 
 what we know of the developements made by 
 the ingenuity of man of many portions of cre- 
 ation. There is, therefore, reason to suppose 
 that the perfect gratification of our vision, in re- 
 gard to form and colour, is founded upon immu- 
 table principles ; which may, in time, be more 
 fully comprehended than they now are. 
 
 Aristotle, in his treatise on Rhetoric, observes, 
 " that when a speaker has fortunately hit the 
 mark at which his discourse aimed, we may in- 
 vestigate and discover the causes of his success ; 
 and from the contemplation of them, derive rules 
 of art productive of like success in all similar 
 cases." That which is here so justly observed of 
 eloquence, holds good in all the arts and sciences 
 to which men have devoted their attention ; and 
 hence their gradual improvement. I have thus 
 endeavoured, in the preceding lectures, to extract 
 from the most effective productions of painting a 
 knowledge of the principles of Art exemplified 
 in their design and execution ; and to explain 
 them to you by reference to natural causes. 
 
 It is rarely by the labours of one man, or even 
 
 E E 4 
 
424 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 of many in a short time, that subtle and valuable 
 things are invented and brought to perfection ; 
 and the rules which I have ventured to lay down, 
 are not so much deduced from abstract reason- 
 ing, as they are the result of experience, derived 
 through long and successive periods of exertion 
 in the discovery of truth by the greatest painters. 
 
 An enquiry, however, naturally arises, how we 
 are to apply the principles of art, thus derived, 
 to our present purposes ; considering, that the 
 objects to which the practice of painting is di- 
 rected amongst us are so diverse in character 
 from those formerly employed ; and the end to 
 which they are directed, no less so. — To this I 
 have already given, in some measure, an answer 
 in a former lecture. " It must always be useful 
 to be well acquainted with that which is highest 
 and best in any art, in the practice of which we 
 desire to excel." But as the enquiry is import- 
 ant to our interests as artists ; and to you pecu- 
 liarly so, who are on the threshold of the temple 
 of art, prepared to dedicate your lives to its ser- 
 vice, I will, therefore, enter into the discussion 
 of it more at large ; and endeavour to show 
 how the good derivable from the knowledge of 
 principles drawn from the older works to which 
 I have referred, may be usefully employed in 
 those humbler, yet not uninteresting classes of 
 
APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES. 425 
 
 painting, to the practice of which we feel that 
 our duty, our pleasure, or our interest attaches 
 us. 
 
 Though it be unfortunately true, as our states- 
 men conceive, that there exists no cause of suffi- 
 cient importance to call upon us, in a national, or 
 a religious point of view, for the most extensive 
 exercise of the higher powers of the art of paint- 
 ing, nor does there, at present, appear any pro- 
 bability of its arising ; yet were it certain that 
 such call might never exist, it would be our best 
 policy to maintain a constant reference to its 
 highest principles, and its greatest productions, 
 wherever they may be found. This is certainly 
 the means best calculated to exalt the honour of 
 our profession, to promote our greatest delight 
 in the practice of it, and consequently to support 
 our best interests. For all these purposes, and 
 they are of no light import, we ought to keep 
 our minds steadily fixed upon whatever is most 
 capable of exciting the principle of genius, 
 wherever, or in whatever degree it may exist, to 
 the most useful and honourable exertion. 
 
 To this end I have adopted the course I have 
 hitherto pursued. Those works to which I have 
 referred, were, it is true, principally the offspring 
 of religious sentiment, were devoted to religious 
 purposes, and therefore required peculiar treat- 
 
426 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 ment. The sacred, the solemn offices of the 
 altar, to which painting was heretofore most 
 actively applied, and whicn of necessity elevated 
 the minds of the artists to the most dignified 
 considerations of grandeur and of sublimity, as 
 well as of beauty, no longer require the exertions 
 of the pencil for their support. That great 
 source of beauty and of excellence is withdrawn 
 from the art, never, most probably, to return ; at 
 least, not with sufficient influence to become the 
 leading feature in the patronage of it. 
 
 The system of religious control over the hu- 
 man mind, employed in Italy from the ninth to 
 the seventeenth century, sought the aid of paint- 
 ing, as that of the Greeks in former days had 
 sought the use of sculpture. Though painting 
 enjoyed with that tasteful people an extended 
 share of cultivation, it was not employed by them 
 for sacred purposes : but in Rome it became al- 
 most a necessary portion of church government ; 
 and the stimulus arising from the employment 
 of it led direct to the happy result which took 
 place in its culture. 
 
 Here, I must again observe, nothing of the 
 kind exists ! Neither is any other national source 
 opened to supply its loss, although it cannot be 
 denied that there are in the studios of several of 
 our artists works which powerfully evince talent 
 
APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES. 427 
 
 adequate to meet such public encouragement 
 were it bestowed.* 
 
 But perpetual change is a great characteristic 
 in the history of man. His passions, his feelings, 
 and the general regulating principles of his 
 mind, remain indeed immutable ; but the growth 
 of events provides new currents for the direction 
 they take, and new modes for their indulgence. 
 New modes of thought are likewise engendered 
 
 * The valuable suggestion for the employment of art stated 
 in the following note, will be my apology for introducing it : — 
 
 I have referred, in the first historical lecture, to the use 
 made in the temples of Ceylon, by the priests of Budhoo, of 
 pictures representing incarnations of their deity ; and the 
 Right Honourable Sir Alexander Johnstone, in his evidence 
 given recently before the Select Committee on the Affairs of 
 India, has, upon proof of its value, recommended that such a 
 plan of instruction upon other important matters should be 
 given to the people of India. 
 
 Sir Alexander stated, that " it is known to those who have 
 attended to the history of the Hindoos of the southern part 
 of India, that dramatic compositions, and pictorial and sculptu- 
 ral representations had been used, from time immemorial, as 
 the most efficient medium, through which moral, political, and 
 religious instruction might be inculcated among the natives.'' 
 He therefore recommended that the same plan should be pur- 
 sued in endeavouring to make them comprehend the nature 
 and benefits of a free government, and be led to the admiration 
 of such examples of its beneficial influence, as might, by such 
 means, be set before them: and he observed that, "if such spe- 
 cimens of dramatic compositions, or pictorial or sculptural re- 
 presentations, were prepared by British artists and writers, 
 and sent to India, they would have the effect of raising the 
 moral and political character of the natives, and would afford 
 
428 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 amongst the mass of mankind in the progress 
 of time ; widely different from those entertained 
 at former periods, and requiring different objects 
 for their gratification, both physically and men- 
 tally. If this be true with regard to the great 
 points upon which the existence of social life 
 depends (and that it is, every day's experience 
 convinces us), how much more may we expect it 
 to operate in the less certain and less important 
 efforts of taste ! 
 
 Such change the course of time has wrought 
 throughout Europe ; and it has given a new 
 direction to the application of taste ; more es- 
 pecially in the practice of painting. It is a change 
 which no efforts of ours can probably check ; 
 but which it will be wise in us, perhaps our 
 duty, to endeavour to guide to the most useful 
 end. The temple of religion is deserted, as 
 far as painting is concerned, for the compa- 
 ratively lighter employment of adorning the 
 drawing or the dining room, and for the mere 
 gratification of fancy ; or, at best, the amiable 
 
 them specimens of genius and art for then; imitation. They 
 would likewise encourage the ablest writers and artists here, 
 to devote their talents to the extension of the moral and politi- 
 cal improvement of 80,000,000 of their fellow subjects." 
 
 The argument thus founded, and so ingeniously urged in 
 favour of a nation which has not attained, to any great extent, 
 the means of acquiring knowledge by literature and science, 
 will well bear an application, in a more refined and more phi- 
 losophic mode, to our own. 
 
APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES. 429 
 
 indulgence of kindly affections. The condition 
 of the art, consequently, is not now what it was, 
 when, being an important agentjn the cultiva- 
 tion and government of man, it was the creature 
 of necessity ; when the labourers were compara- 
 tively few, and its professors were honoured in 
 proportion to their influence in the cause of reli- 
 gious zeal and enthusiasm. It is not now sought 
 or encouraged for its utility ; but having become 
 merely the child of fancy, the necessity which 
 cherishes it is found only in the feelings and 
 desires of the few, who, stimulated by taste or 
 affection, either delight in its practice or its pro- 
 ductions. Its professors no longer enter the field 
 of competition in the exertions of intellect 
 amongst their fellow men upon equal terms. 
 The amazing increase of general knowledge, the 
 extent of scientific acquirements, the vast import- 
 ance attaching to public principles ; — all those 
 powerful ties of social intercourse are now be- 
 come so widely spread, and act with such predo- 
 minating power on the stage of human life, that 
 they render the influence of the fine arts, though 
 not unheeded, yet less immediately attractive ; 
 and deprive them largely of the attention due to 
 their natural claim to respect. It is fit that this un- 
 palatable truth should be known, that those who 
 enter the career of art may be prepared to meet 
 the difficulties they must encounter, with firmness. 
 
430 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 Time and circumstances have wrought the 
 change, and time and circumstances can alone 
 re-establish that solid and useful employment of 
 painting requisite to elevate it to the station it 
 merits, and has heretofore proved itself so capable 
 of supporting. During the growth of the art in 
 Italy, and elsewhere, the artist of necessity pre- 
 ceded the connoisseur every step in advance ; 
 and consequently all along received his support. 
 Every improvement in form, in coiour, or expres- 
 sion, had the effect of novelty added to that of 
 excellence ; and hence, in every stage of his 
 progress, the artist found reward. In this respect 
 circumstances are indeed materially changed. 
 As long as the more finished productions of 
 painting, wrought under favouring auspices, 
 remain to inform the amateur of the power of 
 the art; the painter of history may hope for 
 support only when he has attained a certain, and 
 that a considerable degree of perfection. The 
 amateur is rendered adverse to the reception or 
 purchase, of pictures that are not in accordance 
 with the taste he has thus acquired ; whilst at 
 the same time he demands original character of 
 thought, and of expression. 
 
 This peculiar spirit of criticism has also in a 
 certain degree endured its course of change ; 
 and there are some among those who delight in 
 art, who refer to nature as the guide of their 
 
APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES. 431 
 
 judgment, and more properly seek for satisfaction 
 and enjoyment in general truth with varied cha- 
 racter, than in any specific system of imitation. 
 And if on the one hand, it be a great loss to the 
 art that our churches are closed to its produc- 
 tions ; on the other, it has attained a great benefit 
 by its release from that species of thraldom which 
 kept it in one lengthened and overbeaten track, 
 and prevented a more full developement of its 
 entire power We have now in supplying the 
 gallery or the drawing or the dining-room with 
 congenial ornament, to employ the principles of 
 the art in a novel manner, producing a more 
 extended and varied use of them. 
 
 We can now no longer, with satisfaction to our 
 employers, produce the dark and sombrous ef- 
 fects which we so continually find, and even 
 admire, in the altar pictures of the Italians ; and 
 particularly in those of the school of the Caracci, 
 and even of the Caracci themselves. That was 
 a system which grew up with the peculiar state 
 of the times and the country in which it origin- 
 ated, and was ingeniously devised to suit especial 
 purposes ; to represent the solemn, and oftentimes 
 painful and melancholy subjects drawn from reli- 
 gious history. But when carried to excess it 
 was inimical even to the object for which it was 
 invented. Depth of tone, which it was first 
 framed to convey, is a very different quality from 
 
432 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 darkness, for it is compatible with brilliancy; 
 and may be most appropriately employed on all 
 serious subjects, which in their nature excite the 
 deeper emotions of the mind. 
 
 The pleasure derived from pictures of a lighter 
 class, which are not calculated to excite strong and 
 serious feeling, but are rather fitted for ornament, 
 and such the general taste of our country, and 
 the purposes to which painting is now applied, 
 principally demands ; the pleasure, I say, deriv- 
 able from such pictures, is owing to the perfec- 
 tion of the art which they exhibit, to the beauty 
 of the imagery they present, the clearness and 
 harmony of their colouring, the propriety and 
 beauty of their arrangement of light and shade, 
 and the skill with which all the peculiar qualities 
 of the art of painting may have been employed 
 in producing them. Just as in the lighter spe- 
 cies of poetry, we are charmed by the mainte- 
 nance of vivacity, the excellence of versification, 
 the neatness and acuteness of humour or of 
 emphasis, and the fulness of point ; not requiring 
 in them the high tone of epic or of tragic com- 
 position. The critic or the connoisseur in 
 painting, may very naturally find more pleasure 
 in one class of subjects than in another; but he 
 ought to consider with regard to every picture, 
 not whether it be like his own favoured style, 
 and composed of his own favoured objects, but 
 
APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES. 433 
 
 whether it be a faithful transcript of nature under 
 the circumstances intended to be represented ? 
 And if the images it presents be true and perfect 
 in their kind, well composed, and have appro- 
 priate effect, then he may find the true object of 
 painting obtained ; and the art employed de- 
 serving of admiration. 
 
 To meet the varieties of taste thus engendered, 
 the knowledge and the employment of the 
 principles of art become of most extreme im- 
 portance : for, though the knowledge of rules 
 cannot impart genius, or give that power of ima- 
 gination which delights in the production of 
 novelties, it may regulate its labours, and prevent, 
 or correct its indulgence in absurdity or extrava- 
 gance, too often the result of a search after 
 novelty. No kind of subject is above or beneath 
 the reach of principles thus employed; and no 
 man of sound talent will disdain the application 
 of them, when once informed of the useful con- 
 fidence they inspire. 
 
 It has been objected to this establishment of 
 principles for the guidance of taste, that it en- 
 genders manner and a lack of variety : and so, if 
 unwisely employed, it certainly does. But it is 
 not a necessary, nay, not a natural consequence 
 of it, if by manner, be meant an untrue or fic- 
 titious representation of natural objects ; a sub- 
 stitution of artificial effects for real ones. 
 
 F F 
 
434 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 Sir J. Reynolds has wisely observed that 
 "rules are trammels only to the weak;" and 
 when such regulations are too much relied upon, 
 when the rule, and not that point in nature on 
 which it is founded prevails, and the artist is more 
 intent upon exhibiting his knowledge of it than 
 obeying the dictates of nature, then, indeed, fol- 
 lows that degradation of art denominated manner. 
 But even in this case the observation of Sir 
 Joshua is justified, for it is evident, that the 
 genius of the artist, or the native power of his 
 mind is not strong ; that his imagination does 
 not embrace the extent of combination of which 
 the rules of art are capable ; and that he is afraid 
 to launch into that variously extended theatre of 
 action, which nature, acting on unvarying prin- 
 ciples, constantly expands to our view, and the 
 demands of well-directed art require. From 
 such misuse or abuse of the rules I have ven- 
 tured to offer for your guidance, let me most 
 earnestly caution you to abstain. It is true in- 
 deed, that fine art, which is the result of succes- 
 sive improvements in taste, cannot flow originally 
 from system ; but as Sir James Mackintosh has 
 said of the government of mankind, and Aris- 
 totle of eloquence, it may in some measure be 
 reduced to it. 
 
 I have before stated that the principles by 
 which alone man can be impelled, viz., the feel- 
 
APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES. 435 
 
 ings and the passions implanted in his mind, are 
 in their nature unchangeable ; and to one or 
 other of these must all efforts of the art of paint- 
 ing be subservient. The history of man suffici- 
 ently justifies the former part of this assertion : 
 for we find him through all stages of his exist- 
 ence a creature of the same endowments, parti- 
 ally or more extensively developed ; now swayed 
 by one passion, now by another, as cultivation 
 or the want of it directed. The second needs 
 but little illustration. It were too trite to en- 
 deavour to prove that which is pointed out by 
 common sense, viz., that to gratify men, we 
 must adapt our efforts to their comprehension 
 and their feelings. If, therefore, this foundation 
 of the principles on which the successful art of 
 the great Italian painters depends for its effect on 
 the human mind, be true, wherefore can it be 
 imagined that the same principles, wisely ad- 
 justed and applied, will not serve our purposes 
 in the art, whatever be the objects or the subjects 
 oh which we employ it? The only difference 
 between our conduct at the present time and 
 that of former professors, under the different de- 
 mands made upon each, is, that we are compelled 
 to take less of the grand and the sublime ; and be 
 contented to employ, as we may, more of the 
 beautiful and the pleasing. The danger we in- 
 cur in pursuing this course lies in the risk of 
 f f 2 
 
436 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 losing a sense of the higher and the nobler qua- 
 lities of art, whilst in compliance with the taste 
 of the times we cultivate that, which, though it 
 be of a valuable kind, yet is of far inferior quality ; 
 which, if misapplied, leads to a falsification, and 
 in so far a deterioration of natural form and 
 colour, in order to captivate the eye, at the ex- 
 pense of the heart and the understanding. 
 
 There is no denying, that to this modern 
 art tends ! I would anxiously endeavour to re- 
 press its excess ; and now propose to show to 
 you, principally from the labours of one whose 
 name must ever be deservedly dear to all who 
 cultivate the art of painting, that in order effec- 
 tively to obtain the end we have before us, and 
 must of necessity have, to make our works the 
 instruments of pleasure to our employers ; we 
 may rest securely upon principles exemplified in 
 the works of our greater predecessors. 
 
 Sir Joshua Reynolds, affords me, at once, the 
 example and the illustration of this matter. 
 
 I will first, however, call to your recollection 
 the peculiar principles of the grand style which 
 Sir Joshua eulogised and recommended. They 
 are, careful selection from the works of nature in 
 all those objects which you desire to imitate ; 
 simplicity and grandeur in the style in which you 
 imitate them ; breadth of effect, purity and sim- 
 plicity in colouring ; and freedom in execution. 
 There evidently can be nothing in these princi- 
 
APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES. 437 
 
 pies adverse to the sensible treatment of any 
 kind of subject. 
 
 We enjoy great pleasure in regarding a well 
 wrought picture of still life, even of the images 
 of things that are not of the most agreeable 
 kind ; and which, naturally, rather excite dis- 
 gust than delight. This pleasure arises from the 
 gratification our eyes receive from the arrange- 
 ment and union of colours, from forms pleasing 
 to our vision in their shapes, or their propor- 
 tions, from an agreeable choice of illumination, 
 or from the softness and the dexterity exhibited 
 in the execution of the work. The ingenuity 
 and taste of the painter having, in these points, 
 improved upon the casual effects under which we 
 usually view such objects ; the impression which 
 the surface of the picture is capable of making 
 upon our sight, is the same, as if it were com- 
 posed of others, less naturally offensive. We 
 therefore willingly enjoy the pleasure thus offered 
 to our minds, through the medium of our vision ; 
 the only sense concerned in regarding such pic- 
 turesque combinations. 
 
 The like choice, the like perfection of forms, 
 the like union of colours, and selection of light 
 and shade skilfully arranged, form the basis of all 
 that is most enchanting to the eye in pictures 
 representing scenes and objects the most inter- 
 esting to our minds. These are the points on 
 
 f f 3 
 
LECTURE X. 
 
 which depends the beau-ideal of the art, and not 
 on an abandonment of nature. When this mode of 
 reasoning and proceeding is employed, it will be 
 foreseen that its product must be an ideal beauty 
 or perfection in the forms and colours and effect 
 of the things represented, which can be rarely 
 seen in the natural objects ; and still less rarely 
 if ever, in such perfect combination. Ideal 
 beauty then, or style, or the grand style if you 
 will, as I have stated in my lecture on design, 
 does not consist in exaggerated proportions of 
 body and limbs, like many of those of Parmigi- 
 ano, or exaggerated colours like those of J. Ro- 
 mano, and the lower class of the Roman school ; 
 nor in affected actions styling themselves grace- 
 ful. It is not in such mistaken notions that the 
 sensible artist will indulge his imagination. It 
 was not with such views, that Sir Joshua Rey- 
 nolds, in his discourses, recommended style and 
 ideal beauty ; though there are those who ima- 
 gine, that to adopt them is to proceed out of 
 the bounds of nature, and who doubt the truth 
 of assertions arising from experience ! This is 
 owing to their not having penetrated the actual 
 intention of the writer ! Wanting the peculiar 
 feeling and experience of the artist, they frame 
 to themselves some idea of their own, concerning 
 his intention when he speaks of style of which 
 the fallacy is apparent ; and thence, they argue 
 on the unfounded and erroneous opinions which 
 
APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES. 439 
 
 guide the conduct of painters, and talk of nature 
 as the only guide, and perfect imitation as the 
 only good. It is thus they arrive at the truth, 
 without comprehending the whole truth. The 
 argument is specious, the truism it contains ap- 
 parent : but this difference lies between the in- 
 genious and sensible artist, and the critic ; viz., 
 that when all the study of nature to which the 
 text of the critic leads is obtained, and the whole 
 of it may with industry and an ordinary degree 
 of talent be obtained ; then, and not till then, 
 the true art, that art which can alone exalt the 
 artist to high estimation, in whatever way he em- 
 ploys his talent, commences ; the art of selection, 
 the art of adaptation, and the art of combination : 
 the skill, the principle, by which he sees and 
 comprehends what is best to be employed ; and 
 the fittest mode of applying it. 
 
 It will at once be apparent, that this implies se- 
 lection of form, of colour, of effect, of character, 
 and of expression. If the model employed pre- 
 sent it not, the imagination of the painter, acting 
 upon the probabilities or the possibilities of 
 nature, must supply it. Hence have arisen the 
 diversities of taste in designing the human 
 figure ; and hence also the ill-founded objections 
 which have been made to the painter's theory. 
 Yet this is the end, to the perfection of which 
 all true artists aspire ; and are justified by reason 
 
 f f 4 
 
440 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 as well as taste in their endeavours. It is too 
 true, indeed, as might well be expected in so 
 nice and difficult a matter, that such excessive 
 aspiration after beauty and power has frequently 
 led to the commission of great mistakes ; but be 
 it remembered, that it has also conducted some 
 able artists very near to perfection. 
 
 By the wise, no overthrow of nature is in- 
 tended, no subversion of her laws, no change of 
 her principles is desired by those who pursue the 
 high object of fine art pure in spirit, and desirous 
 of obtaining real excellence. They but seek to 
 display her to perfection, to take her in her most 
 efficient mood, to show the most perfect of her 
 forms, the most pure and lovely of her colours, 
 and the extremest beauty of her effects ; as best 
 suited to impress sentiment, and render art the 
 rival of her power. There is no other way in 
 which the painter can contend with the influence 
 of nature, having to display in one view, and 
 under one momentary effect, those things which 
 in nature are seen under infinite diversities of 
 light, and shade, and colour ; relieving, absorbing, 
 contrasting, or uniting them in perpetual change. 
 
 The love and the admiration of the works of 
 nature and of art, are natural to the human 
 mind ; but their beauties are discerned and felt 
 in very different degrees among the different 
 classes of mankind. Persons of lower rank are in 
 
APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES. 441 
 
 general sensible of them only when pointed out 
 by others ; whilst amongst the cultivated portion 
 of society, a sense of those beauties becomes an 
 absorbing passion of the mind. 
 
 In the productions of nature, the Almighty 
 fiat has gone forth, and the world stands before 
 us in its simplicity, its beauty, and its majesty 
 — we see, we admire, and we adore ! The my- 
 riads of living beings with which it teems, won- 
 derful in the beauty and variety of their struc- 
 ture, the lofty mountain, the expanded sea, the 
 varying sky, are objects which impress us at 
 once with admiration and delight. But are 
 there no combinations of form in the mountain, 
 the sky, and the ocean, or in the living creatures 
 that inhabit them, more beautiful, more magnifi- 
 cent, more majestic than others, uniting all the 
 force of the great qualities of each in greater 
 perfection ; exciting within us more powerful 
 emotion, more pleasing rapture, more solemn 
 awe, and greater adoration of the great Creator ? 
 Every mountain is not beautiful in form — every 
 troubled sky is not pleasing to the view, nor are 
 we always gratified with the appearance of the 
 sea, or the aspects of animals. We learn by ob- 
 servation to separate the pleasing from the 
 unpleasing in such objects : yet all is nature, and 
 the representations of all ought, according to 
 the common-place theory to delight us. 
 
LECTURE X. 
 
 Just in such variety are the products of the 
 art of painting ; which without losing sight of 
 natural character, selects or rejects, as best 
 answers the purpose required. Hence originates 
 the beau-ideal of the painter. The power to 
 choose is the privilege he demands, the necessity 
 by which he is urged, the ne plus ultra of his 
 desire. 
 
 Taste to discern and separate from common 
 appearances the more exalted beauties of nature, 
 as well as of art, is not an intuitive gift to man : 
 he must acquire it by observation and contem- 
 plation. Some few, indeed, there have been, 
 who highly favoured by Providence, are endowed 
 with qualities of mind fitting them for a more 
 speedy perception of truth than the generality of 
 mankind ; and their early exhibition of that per- 
 ception seems to contradict the assertion I have 
 made. But the rarity of the aptitude to display it, 
 proves such examples to be but exceptions from 
 the general rule. That it requires cultivation to 
 know when the best choice is made, and the 
 most perfect display of it by painting, ought not 
 surely to be a startling proposition, or one to 
 which a sensible mind can withhold assent. The 
 public may be pleased with natural objects they 
 know not why, and care not wherefore, as 
 Sterne would have his critic be with his writings; 
 but that is not a text to be adopted by an artist ; to 
 
APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES. 443 
 
 him it must be more pleasing, and more satis- 
 factory and useful, to know why or wherefore it 
 is that a scene affords him either pain or plea- 
 sure. No man however obtains that knowledge 
 without study. It is comparison alone which 
 teaches it. 
 
 It cannot be, that the poets who have made 
 their dwellings among the mountains of West- 
 moreland and Cumberland, and are more con- 
 versant than others with the varied effects of sun 
 and shower and fog, of the sunbeam, or the 
 moonlight on the grand forms around them, and 
 which they have contemplated in all the varied 
 effects produced amongst such scenes by natural 
 causes : it cannot be, I say, that men so circum- 
 stanced are not more susceptible of the various 
 degrees of beauty thus exhibited to them, than 
 others who are less accustomed to behold and 
 contemplate those glorious works of Omnipo- 
 tence ! There is but little strength then in the 
 argument which has been urged against the select 
 principle of admiration, declaring that it is not 
 necessary for men to learn to admire the beauties 
 or the grandeur of nature ; if we find that more 
 intimate acquaintance with its variety and powers, 
 increases our sense of its perfections.* 
 
 * "Truth?" sa y s Goethe, "like the Deity from whom it ema- 
 nates, doth not show itself directly : we must seek it in its 
 
444 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 It is thus with taste in art. Remark its pro- 
 gress. How very slight a degree of imitation suf- 
 ficed at first to gratify men. Conceive the very im- 
 perfect work of Cimabue carried in triumphant 
 procession to its destined place, the Church of 
 St. Maria Novella at Florence. Imperfect as it 
 is, except in thought and intention, yet it was 
 regarded almost as a miracle ; because it surpassed 
 the pictures then customarily seen, and unculti- 
 vated eyes were insensible of its defects. This 
 did not take place at a time when extreme igno- 
 rance prevailed in Italy ; it was when Dante 
 wrote, when philosophical discussion began to 
 prevail, and many men, among the clergy parti- 
 cularly for whom such pictures were painted, 
 distinguished themselves by learned literary re- 
 search. Greater honour was never conferred on 
 the art of painting ! Men are not then intui- 
 tively judges of fine art, since so poor a per- 
 formance as that must be considered, in compa- 
 rison with later productions, could excite them 
 so highly to esteem it. As the painters extended 
 and improved their practice finer works were 
 gradually produced, and imitation became more 
 
 manifestations." And Lord Erskine observes in his Armata, 
 that when Truth breaks in too suddenly on those unprepared 
 to receive it, it confounds the understanding; as vision is 
 overpowered by a sudden burst of light. 
 
APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES. 445 
 
 perfect ; till at length, after a lapse of ^00 years, 
 it could be carried no farther. But the esti- 
 mation it publicly bore, rose not in equal ratio ; 
 it could not ; the extreme of praise had been 
 bestowed ; which could but be continued, not 
 enlarged. 
 
 Its very culture, however, taught the world 
 what might be expected from it. The mountain, 
 the cloud, and the sea, were imitated to perfection, 
 but did not satisfy the cravings of the sensitive 
 mind after expression ; after that perfect and ap- 
 propriate selection and happy combination of 
 forms and colours, which was most capable of 
 impressing the mind with the greatest degree of 
 power : long felt, but not effected in painting. 
 The void was filled by RafFaelle and M. Angelo ; 
 and the rule was completed, where human form 
 and expression were concerned, when RafFaelle in- 
 troduced beautiful variety and depth of composi- 
 tion, with graceful truth and beauty of expression ; 
 and M. Angelo crowned the effect in the pro- 
 gress of the art, by carrying both form and 
 expression almost to an excess of grandeur and 
 sublimity. 
 
 This rule may be varied in its application, but 
 must ever remain true and influential, however 
 applied. Its effects must be seen to be truly 
 known ; and it has so rarely been exhibited by 
 others, that well may teachers of the art refer to 
 
446 LECTURE X. 
 
 those great men, all who would enquire of them 
 the true road to excellence in painting.* 
 
 It does not, consequently, follow, that every 
 man practising the art of painting should copy 
 RafFaelle or M. Angelo. Each may apply the 
 principles they teach, according to their appre- 
 hension of their utility, in all and every branch 
 of the art, as Sir Joshua did most admirably 
 in his own. He was by that enabled to pro- 
 duce the great and original works which give, 
 justly give, immortality to his name ; leaving far 
 behind him all the portrait painters who had pre- 
 ceded him in this country : not excepting, in 
 a great many instances, even Vandyke. 
 
 I have entered thus far into the principle on 
 
 which the true character of the discourses of Sir 
 
 J. Reynolds is founded, and the feelings under 
 
 which they must have been written in all that 
 
 relates to the grand style in art, as a point worthy 
 
 of reflection, before I proceed to show how 
 
 truly his pictures correspond with the doctrines 
 
 he inculcated. 
 
 * I must here repeat, that unfortunately the prints we have 
 from Michel Angelo's pictures, even those engraved by Vol- 
 pato, as well as those published under the exclusive authority 
 of the Papal Government, with all the interest with which 
 despotic power invests them, are discreditable to Roman art. 
 They are incorrectness and weakness personified, in com- 
 parison with the exactness, and strength, of the originals : 
 and afford very unsatisfactory knowledge of the perfection 
 of their true qualities. 
 
APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES. 447 
 
 I will not, in my present enquiry, enter upon 
 the consideration of those points in art which he 
 drew from Rembrandt, they are apparent, and 
 acknowledged by all ; but shall confine myself 
 to the illustration of those to which I have al- 
 ready alluded, and which he gathered from the 
 Italians. 
 
 He was ever intent upon obtaining principles 
 for his guidance. He writes to Barry, " The 
 Cappella Sistina is the production of the greatest 
 genius that ever was employed in the arts : it is 
 worth minding by what principles that stupend- 
 ous greatness of style is produced, and endea- 
 vouring to produce something of your own on 
 those principles." 
 
 It may fairly be doubted, whether his native 
 talent, strong as his early works exhibit it, would 
 have carried him so completely to the perception 
 of that which constitutes fine art, the entire dis- 
 play of expressive character, had he not travelled 
 to Italy, and seen with a philosophic eye the 
 works of Raffaelle and M. Angelo, of Titian 
 and Coreggio ; who had themselves wrought 
 with the progressive excellence of previous and 
 well-directed art to conduct them. 
 
 That Reynolds was wisely sensible of the 
 utter impropriety of applying the generalising 
 rule, so necessary for the historical painter, too 
 freely in portraiture, is evident from his stating, 
 
448 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 that " it would be ridiculous for a portrait painter 
 to despise the subordinate qualities of the art :" 
 and he adds in another place, " that it is not 
 sufficient that a work be learned, it must be 
 pleasing ; the painter must add grace to strength, 
 if he desire to secure the first impression in his 
 favour. " Our taste/' he adds, " has a kind of sen- 
 suality about it as well as love of the sublime, and 
 both these qualities of the mind are to have their 
 proper consequence, as far as they do not counter- 
 act each other : for that is the grand error, 
 which much care ought to be taken to avoid :" 
 and again; " I am of opinion that the ornamental 
 style, which I cautioned you against considering 
 as a principal, may not be wholly unworthy the 
 attention of those who aim even at the grand 
 style, when it is properly placed and reduced." 
 
 He could not, therefore, altogether treat his 
 portraits as those grand figures of Prophets and 
 Sibyls painted by M. Angelo on the walls of a 
 place consecrated to divine worship, and for an 
 especial and holy purpose, were treated. He 
 could not imitate those works he so praised, when 
 his art was of necessity employed upon less im- 
 portant matter ; and fitted to adorn the drawing 
 room of a private house, instead of the temple of 
 our Maker. But having contemplated those 
 astonishing productions, which had received the 
 homage of the world for 150 years, he became 
 
APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES. 449 
 
 able to comprehend the source of the influence 
 they produced upon the minds of sensible ob- 
 servers, and more immediately upon his own. 
 The result was a firm conviction, that this in- 
 fluence was owing to the grand style in which 
 they were conceived and drawn, to the breadth 
 and simplicity of their light and shade, and to 
 the beauty with which they were composed ; 
 united to their intensity and unaffected fulness 
 and clearness of expression in action and feature. 
 The same mode of reflection and application will 
 lead us to conclude, that with like effect he 
 studied the works of Raffaelle ; and that he gives 
 us, in his Lectures, the real feelings of his mind 
 while he regarded those works. He could not 
 make single figures act like combined ones ; but 
 he could employ the same justness of thought, 
 the same propriety, the same unity, the same 
 fulness of expression, the same grace and taste, 
 which are so eminently the glory of Raffaelle. 
 
 Hence was framed and confirmed in the mind 
 of Sir Joshua, that main and important principle 
 of grandeur and simplicity with grace and energy, 
 which he has so laudably eulogised and enforced. 
 His observations on the ideal treatment of por- 
 traits corresponds with this. " If a portrait 
 painter," he says, " is desirous to raise and im- 
 prove his subject, he has no other means than 
 by approaching it to a general idea. He leaves 
 
 G G 
 
50 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 out all the minute breaks and peculiarities in the 
 face, and changes the dress from a temporary 
 fashion to one more permanent, which has an- 
 nexed to it no idea of meanness from its being 
 familiar to us." 
 
 This is one main and important principle 
 which Sir Joshua found presented to his mind 
 completely developed in the antique statues, and 
 in the works of Michel Angelo and Raffaelle ; 
 and in this respect a similarity exists between 
 fine poetry and fine painting. 
 
 The style of Pindar, or of Homer, but more 
 particularly of the former, wherein all that is 
 grand in nature is brought into effect, and that 
 which is little or mean is omitted, is still strictly 
 natural. The motions of waves, or of clouds, 
 are not minutely pursued as they course each 
 other, till the imagination surfeits and the reader 
 is wearied as he pursues the idea of the poet. 
 The countenances of the gods, as they applaud 
 or condemn the actions of men, the zeal and 
 glow of the racer as he courses to the goal, or 
 the activity and the heat of his horses, are not 
 delineated with the minuteness of the ordinary 
 poet who trusts to extreme exactness of imitation 
 for the admiration of men ; once drawn forth in 
 the greatest of their qualities, once impressed on 
 the imagination by the true image which cha- 
 racterises each thing or person, the aim of the 
 
APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES. 451 
 
 poet is fulfilled. This remark is confirmed by 
 Dr. Johnson, when describing the sensation which 
 actuated Rasselas when he became a poet. " The 
 object of a poet," he says, " is to exhibit, in his 
 portrait of nature, such permanent and striking 
 features, as recall the original to every mind ; 
 and he must neglect the minute discriminations 
 which one may have remarked, and another 
 neglected, for those characteristics which are 
 alike obvious to vigilance and to carelessness." 
 
 That such selection is easy to effect in paint- 
 ing with all the clearness which may impress a 
 common observer, like the mountain, the troubled 
 sky, or the mighty sea, in nature, is far too 
 much to expect from human ability, practising 
 an art, the difficulty, if not the value of which, 
 the world may be disposed to acknowledge. By 
 how many poets or writers, as well as painters, 
 has this all-important principle of selection been 
 attained? How many have become absurd or 
 bombastic, who have attempted it ? How few, 
 how very few, are those who have succeeded ! 
 The absurdities of most of the descriptions, the 
 imperfections of the imitations, the falsely en- 
 thusiastic accounts of the works of Michel An- 
 gel o which have been published, have placed 
 him, in the minds of many, among these bom- 
 bastic aspirants after exalted fame ; and thus 
 have arisen mistaken notions of his power, as 
 g g 2 
 
452 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 well as of his intentions. It is the want of real 
 information in the mass of critics who have 
 written concerning him, (without perhaps having 
 seen his best productions,) which has led the 
 world, and the critics themselves, to the mis- 
 taken conclusion, that Sir Joshua Reynolds did 
 not feel the force of many of his own observ- 
 ations concerning the works of Michel Angelo. 
 That he did not maintain union between his 
 precepts and his practice ; but that, while he 
 talked of Angelo and Raffaelle, as the main 
 springs of polished art, he himself adopted the 
 Venetian style in preference in his paintings. 
 It is fair to ask those, who in such remarks 
 characterise the mind of Reynolds with weak- 
 ness, or something worse, whence they conceive 
 arose the extraordinary breadth, the selection 
 and the beauty of form, which is displayed in 
 his pictures ; whence the strength, and exacti- 
 tude of his expressions, or the identity of his 
 portraits ; and whence the masses of light and 
 dark combined with so much grace, and such 
 just relief of the prominent and important 
 parts ? The three former are the just attributes 
 of Michel Angelo and of Raffaelle, and are not 
 to be found in the Venetian school, except in 
 the works of Titian : the latter, of Coreggio, and 
 Rembrandt — but in Rembrandt not always. 
 Nothing whatever could be found of these es- 
 
APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES. 453 
 
 sential qualities of fine art, so difficult to perceive 
 or to attain, in the pictures which he had con- 
 templated at home as his guide, except in Van- 
 dyke's. Imitations of the common-place forms 
 of objects, or the absurdities and negligences of 
 Kneller, were the theme of delight to artists and 
 amateurs, at the time that Reynolds began his 
 course as an artist; and the former were sanctioned 
 even at Rome, in the popular labours of the fa- 
 vourite portrait painter there, Battoni. All that 
 was excellent in art he had to learn, as he himself 
 acknowledged ; and so much is man the child of 
 imitation, that there are not many who begin to 
 think and practise an art, without following 
 some favoured guide in the examples of the day. 
 For myself, after having endeavoured to obtain 
 by attentive and earnest examination, a just 
 sense of the value of the works of the extra- 
 ordinary man whom Sir Joshua has so nobly 
 and justly eulogised, and given long consider- 
 ation to the works of the eulogist, I do not feel 
 at liberty to doubt the sincerity of his declared 
 opinions on the subject; and firmly believe, 
 that we owe much that we admire in the labours 
 of our great progenitor in art, to the power of 
 the principles he drew from the paintings in the 
 Sistine Chapel. When these are added to the 
 beauty and grace of expression given by Raf- 
 faelle in his works in the Vatican ; and the 
 g g 3 
 
454 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 purity and texture of colour which are seen in the 
 works of Coreggio at Parma, we have the pro- 
 totypes of the main excellencies of Reynolds in 
 all that relates to grandeur, grace, and taste. 
 
 But as the bee in the garden of nature, draws 
 from each flower the delicious stores of his hive, 
 so he gathered sweets from every plant in the 
 garden of art ; amalgamating them in his own 
 skilful mental laboratory, to that degree of per- 
 fection which gives him a station among the 
 most able painters, and entitles him to our grate- 
 ful admiration. 
 
 Had he remained at home, guided by his own 
 reflections, he might, perchance, towards the 
 close of a long life of arduous practice, have 
 discovered the necessity of resorting to the use of 
 such principles as those of which I have spoken : 
 but by his journey to Italy, he learned the les- 
 son in time to employ it advantageously, and has 
 recorded his sense of it for our improvement. 
 
 If any one still doubt the necessity and the 
 use of well-regulated principles in composing 
 and painting pictures, and thinks that by fancy 
 and dexterity of hand in imitation he may effect 
 it, let him attentively regard the works pro- 
 duced for our exhibitions ; and then see, as he 
 often may see, the greatest dexterity employed 
 to no avail. Let him then contemplate the 
 works of Reynolds, and see wherein they differ 
 
APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES. 455 
 
 from others, that have far more direct and close 
 imitation of natural objects, even in the fea- 
 tures of a face: he will then perceive, that 
 though the same objects most probably presented 
 themselves to the different painters alike, in 
 form, in colour, and effect : yet the one, 
 guided only by the actual thing before him, 
 has merely given a correct and skilful imita- 
 tion of it, indifferently accompanied, and ill 
 connected with its ground ; while the other, 
 extending his views to that ideal grace which 
 renders art agreeable, knowing the rules on 
 which he may depend in order to render imi- 
 tation most effective, employed his hand under 
 more philosophic guidance. While the work 
 so produced presents a welcome degree of 
 imitation of the characters of objects, which 
 fails not to bring the recollection of them to the 
 mind ; the artist has added, by his know- 
 ledge of art, a charm, a fascination to it, which 
 no mere imitation ever attained: the cause of 
 which, nourished by style, cannot be under- 
 stood by the unexperienced or the uncultivated, 
 however sensible they may be of its power. 
 
 It was this knowledge alone, acquired by the 
 instrumentality of which he himself has told us, 
 that enabled Sir Joshua to overcome the enor- 
 mities of the dress of his time, with which his 
 taste had to combat ; and which withstood all 
 g g 4 
 
456 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 other painters of the day, except those who 
 learned of him. His taste, his judicious em- 
 ployment of the higher principles of the art, 
 could alone enable him to render even pleasing 
 the most untoward compounds of form in dress 
 that were ever seen in any civilised country : 
 sometimes by blending them with the ground, 
 sometimes by uniting other forms with them, 
 and so shaping a mass agreeable to his taste ; 
 always giving grace by beauty of line and de- 
 licacy of colour in the execution of the painting. 
 By such means, and also by contrasting colours, 
 or by blending a given colour with others of 
 the like kind, expedients over which he appears 
 to have had a ready and perfect mastery, he 
 succeeded in that arduous and difficult task. 
 
 These expedients, known only to the accom- 
 plished and skilful artist, were often the result 
 of constant reference in mind to the fine works 
 which he had studied ; and they not unfre- 
 quently remind the well-informed observer of 
 their sources, though the beauty of their com- 
 bination belongs to the painter. 
 
 The instructions he has so constantly enforced 
 in his discourses upon the subject on which I 
 now address you, can only mislead the superficial. 
 But it is not the teacher's fault if the pupil be 
 incapable of applying his remarks. He only is 
 to be blamed, who inculcates other than the best 
 
APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES. 457 
 
 principles ; and those can be drawn only from 
 the best sources. There, should the student be 
 directed to resort, not to acquire original power, 
 for that neither man nor the labour of man is 
 qualified to impart; but to learn how best to 
 apply and to improve that which is given to him. 
 It cannot be wrong to conduct a youth to the 
 knowledge of the greatest heights of perfection 
 which have been attained by others. If he 
 cannot maintain himself amid the blaze of ex- 
 cellence he finds there, if it confound his un- 
 derstanding and bewilder his imagination, if he 
 become dizzy in the contemplation of the grand 
 and delightful scene around him, let him de- 
 scend, and take a lower station better suited to 
 his perceptions. But if Genius have any share 
 in his nature, even there, in the station of his 
 choice, he may, by retaining some recollection of 
 the inspiring vision he has beheld, give a zest to 
 the humbler scenes in which he may indulge ; 
 and add energy to his representations of the 
 visions of his fancy, of whatever nature, above 
 the vulgar, they may be. 
 
 Observe the mode of study adopted by Sir 
 Joshua when in Rome, or elsewhere, which he 
 has stated to us in various parts of his me- 
 moranda and discourses. He gave but little 
 time to copying, and much to thought ; intent 
 upon obtaining, not that particular knowledge 
 
458 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 required by the connoisseur, concerning the 
 mode or manner of touch which distinguishes 
 the productions of able painters, though that he 
 did not altogether neglect ; but earnestly ex- 
 erting his mind in endeavours to attain know- 
 ledge of a much more important nature ; viz. 
 that of the causes of the peculiar effects pro- 
 duced upon his mind by the great works he 
 studied ; and he gives us the wise and sufficient 
 reasons which led him to adopt this mode of 
 proceeding. After the examination of the 
 best pictures, he says, 44 the benefit to be de- 
 rived from them is, to draw such conclusions as 
 may serve in future as fixed rules of practice : 
 taking care not to be amused with trifles, but to 
 learn to regard the excellencies only." 44 The 
 industry which I principally recommend is, not 
 that of the hand, but that of the mind ; for 
 practice, though essential to perfection, can 
 never attain that to which its aim is directed, 
 unless it work under the guidance of principle." 
 So strongly was this important point imprinted 
 on his mind, that he thought it worthy of fre- 
 quent repetition, which I need not state to 
 you, but recommend to your research through- 
 out his admirable discourses. I will but add 
 one more, which is impressed with increased 
 force. 4 4 We must not," he says, 44 content our- 
 selves with merely admiring and relishing, we 
 
APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES. 459 
 
 must enter into the principles on which a work 
 is wrought. Art in its perfection is not ostenta- 
 tious ; it is hid, and works its effect itself unseen. 
 An artist must find out the latent causes of 
 conspicuous beauties, and from thence form 
 principles for his own conduct." Such were 
 the admirable and useful precepts which go- 
 verned the mind of this rare artist : and under 
 the control of such wise maxims, exhibiting the 
 solid and judicious genius of the man who wrote 
 them, did he study the works of Raffaelle and 
 Michel Angelo. We know that he spent many 
 months in the Capella Sistina, but there are no 
 copies by him existing of the works he saw 
 there, at least I do not know of them. In the 
 same mode he devoted his time largely to the 
 chambers of the Vatican. There, however, he 
 also employed himself in copying parts of the 
 pictures by Raffaelle ; but such labours are few, 
 considering the length of time he was in Rome.* 
 His mode of study at Venice, where the 
 luxuries of the art are exhibited rather than its 
 strength, is given to us in one of his original and 
 valuable notes to Mason's translation of the 
 poem of Du Fresnoy, and must be familiar to 
 most of you. You there see his principle of 
 
 * One of his copies, that of the St. Michael by Guido,, is 
 now in the King's collection. 
 
460 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 critical enquiry practically exemplified : a search 
 after example, to establish a rule. In like man- 
 ner, or rather following the same guidance, 
 reading pictures as it were, and as he advises 
 other artists to do, did he employ himself during 
 his residence in Italy : and having discovered 
 the secret of those who enchanted the world, he 
 returned to exemplify it in his own productions, 
 wherever propriety permitted him to do so. # 
 
 The interesting influence of perfections thus 
 acquired is admirably exhibited to us in that 
 master- work of pathos, his picture of the suffer- 
 ing Ugolino, with his innocent and unhappy 
 children. No work of Angelo or RafFaelle, the 
 acknowledged painters of sentiment, is more full, 
 or more true in expression. Had Raffaelle him- 
 self, in his best time, painted the two figures of 
 the unfortunate Count and his youngest son, his 
 Anselmo, I do not say that we should have had 
 
 * The ultimate object of the researches made by Sir J. 
 Reynolds when abroad, may be exemplified by an anecdote 
 related to me by Sir A. Hume. They were travelling to- 
 gether on the road to Hertford, when the attention of Sir 
 Joshua was suddenly attracted to a board over a farrier's shop, 
 on which was written, "Horses shod here, agreeable to Nature, 
 and according to Art." — "Who is the sensible man who keeps 
 that shop?" exclaimed he, "or who has supplied him with so 
 wise an inscription ? It expresses in a few words the sum- 
 mit* of perfection, the grand desideratum in every art and 
 science." 
 
APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES. 46l 
 
 the same composition, but we should have be- 
 held in it the dictates of the same mind, and the 
 exertion of the same hand. These two figures 
 are, in every respect regarding the principles of 
 the art of painting, save the execution of the 
 hair and beard of the father, similar to the an- 
 gelic messengers from heaven driving Helio- 
 dorus from the Temple. We see the same in- 
 tensity of feeling, regulated by the purest and 
 most elevated thought ; the same precision of ex- 
 pression, the same breadth of effect, and the same 
 simplicity of handling. Indeed, the whole pic- 
 ture is wrought on principles like those employed 
 by Raffaelle and Michel Angelo ; viz. avoiding 
 all unimportant matter, and all trifling parts in 
 imitation, with severe but unaffected feeling 
 of expression ; and with that great breadth of 
 management which Raffaelle drew from Angelo, 
 and first exhibited in the fine picture of the 
 Heliodorus, to which I have before referred. 
 
 It is now too late, perhaps, to enquire whether 
 this perfect congruity of style was the happy re- 
 sult of strong native feeling in the minds of 
 each : but when Reynolds tells us that when he 
 first beheld it in the Vatican he was unconscious 
 of its value, or its excellence, and had no plea- 
 sure in it, till after long observation he had 
 learned to comprehend its truth ; and when 
 afterwards, we find the value of it so established 
 
462 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 in his sensible mind, that he recommends to 
 others, when about to begin an important work, to 
 consider how Raffaelle or Michel Angelo would 
 have treated the subject, and he himself produc- 
 ing like things ; when we see this, we have no 
 right to say, that he had not acquired the know- 
 ledge of the style from the works wherein he 
 saw it ; or that " the language of his lectures 
 and the painting of his pictures have no accord." 
 In this picture of Ugolino we see the adoption 
 of the principle, not a copy of the works from 
 which he derived it, but applied with the utmost 
 freedom of originality; and, superadded to it, 
 taste and adornment derived from other sources ; 
 qualities of effect and colour surpassing in hue 
 and in harmony all with which Michel Angelo 
 and Raffaelle appeared to have been acquainted. 
 
 This fine picture, which is at Knowle, and 
 may at any time be seen, — this alone would 
 sufficiently prove, to all competent judges of the 
 true nature and quality of the highest and best 
 application of fine art, that Reynolds spoke in 
 his lectures, when Michel Angelo and Raffaelle 
 were his theme, in perfect correspondence with 
 the spirit which governed his practice ; when- 
 ever and wherever he could apply it with pro- 
 priety. Even in his own peculiar branch of 
 art, portraiture, we see the same principles 
 governing his practice. It is most perfectly 
 
APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES. 463 
 
 exemplified in the portrait of Dr. Johnson, 
 painted for Thrale, and now in the possession of 
 Sir Robert Peel. In the treatment of that 
 picture, we see the same selection of charac- 
 teristic parts, (of both the countenance and 
 the figure,) the same breadth of marking, the 
 same attention to expression in action and in 
 look ; showing that the mind of the man was 
 the object of research, in preference to the mere 
 imitation of the body or the features, of which 
 much is omitted. Had they been minutely imi- 
 tated or copied, the attention of both the painter 
 and the observer would necessarily have been abs- 
 tracted from the mental image which is now pre- 
 sented to us of that great ornament of our litera- 
 ture. I trust there are but few among you who 
 would be glad of the exchange, nor any, who 
 conceive that the exchange, as it now stands, so 
 much in our favour, was effected at a cheap pur- 
 chase. The difficulty attending the selection 
 necessary to produce such interesting effect, can 
 only be overcome by the clearest perception of 
 what is right, and the steadiest resolution to pur- 
 sue it; by good sense, by pure taste, and by 
 sound judgment : it is at variance with the com- 
 mon views and feelings of men in relation to por- 
 traiture, and is the result of the most extreme 
 refinement of mind. Whenever this refinement 
 of taste is employed, all are pleased with the 
 
464 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 result ; except, perhaps, those who ought to be 
 best pleased with it, relations and intimate 
 friends. They ever, and very naturally it must 
 be acknowledged, being uninformed of the best 
 object of art, seek for the exact representation of 
 the external image of the person whom they re- 
 gard with affection : notwithstanding that, for 
 the most part, that affection is founded upon the 
 invisible qualities of the mind. They are not 
 aware that, when they exact of the painter a 
 minute attention to the former and less import- 
 ant portion of the man, they endanger the latter; 
 and increase the risk of failure in the attempt to 
 delineate moral character ; which, if effected, 
 would ultimately produce to them, as it never 
 fails to do to others, more lasting and sensible 
 enjoyment. 
 
 The portrait of Lord Heathfield with the keys 
 of the fortress of Gibraltar in his hands, is 
 another proof of the adaptation of the higher 
 principles of the art to the purposes of Portrait- 
 ure ; giving it a claim to rank with history in 
 Painting. 
 
 The picture of Mrs. Siddons as the Tragic 
 Muse is another and even more decisive proof 
 of the entire accord between his disclosed prin- 
 ciples, and his practice ; illustrating the sense he 
 had acquired of the rules to be adopted in treat- 
 
APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES. 465 
 
 ing subjects of poetic and pathetic character, 
 combined with portraiture.* 
 
 To prove the utility of the application of the 
 principles of the Grand Style of art to the prac- 
 tice of portraiture, was the object I had in view 
 when I began this lecture ; and I hope that what 
 has been said, may have inspired in your minds a 
 consciousness of the truth of the assertion. Were 
 more necessary to convince you that the great 
 beauty we all so much admire in the paintings 
 of Sir Joshua Reynolds is mainly owing to it, I 
 might refer you to the style of design, compo- 
 sition, and treatment of the portrait of the muni- 
 ficent Patron and Founder of the Royal Academy, 
 George the Third ; to the picture of the family of 
 the Duke of Marlborough ; to that of the Marquess 
 of Lansdowne, Lord Ashburton, and Colonel 
 Barre ; and, indeed, to innumerable others : for the 
 
 * It is very well known that he frequently adopted actions 
 of figures from the designs of others ; and I had imagined that 
 he had taken a hint from the Isaiah of Michel Angelo as the 
 basis of his figure of Mrs. Siddons, making a graceful modi- 
 fication of it ; but she told me that it was the production of 
 pure accident. Sir Joshua had begun the head and figure in 
 a different view and action, but while he was occupied in the 
 preparation of some colour, she changed her position, to look 
 at a picture hanging on the wall of the room : when he again 
 looked at her, and saw the action she had taken, he requested 
 her not to move; and thus arose the beautiful and expressive 
 figure we now see in the picture. 
 
 H H 
 
466 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 impulse under which he sought for guidance is, to 
 my mind, apparent through almost all the portraits 
 he painted after his return from Italy, of both 
 sexes, and of all ages. Nay, sometimes he pressed 
 the generalising principle too far ; and we sigh 
 for a little more of the definition of form and 
 feature, which we see in the works of Titian and 
 Vandyke : and again, there are others, which 
 the skill of no one ever surpassed; and to which 
 the addition of more minutiae would have been 
 destruction. 
 
 Portraiture, to render it perfect, has need of 
 all the refinements of art that can be bestowed 
 upon it ; but, having its peculiar disadvantages 
 to contend with, it cannot adopt, with the com- 
 plete freedom of historical painting, the perfect 
 principle of selection and adaptation. It requires, 
 however, the knowledge of the whole, justly to 
 employ a portion ; and this gives to such a por- 
 trait painter as Sir Joshua Reynolds, a title to 
 rank with the highest names in art. There are, 
 in the practice of portraiture, difficulties to be 
 overcome in the painter's own view of what is 
 right, and independent of the obstruction arising 
 from the very natural private individual feelings 
 to which I have alluded, which compensate in 
 great measure for the lesser call it makes upon the 
 imagination. If that be less than is required by 
 history, the necessity of giving resemblance and 
 
APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES. 467 
 
 refinement in the treatment of it, the feeling of 
 character, and truth, and delicacy of expression, 
 keep the fancy of the painter ever in requisition 
 in an equal degree ; and grace and taste are in 
 greater demand by it. Whoever considers these 
 points with reference to perfect portraiture, will 
 listen with indifference, if not with contempt, to 
 the degrading and unjust remarks which have 
 been too often repeated concerning it. 
 
 Let me caution you against being deluded 
 and led away by any one, however ingenious, if 
 unpractised in the art, from a full belief in the 
 opinions expressed and the doctrines inculcated 
 by so distinguished an artist as Sir Joshua Rey- 
 nolds. The experience on which such men as 
 he found their sentiments, gives to those sen- 
 timents, when they are induced to impart them, 
 a legitimate stamp of the greatest value. Instead 
 of doubting their truth, when on a first reading 
 you do not understand them, rather doubt your 
 own judgment. Peruse them again and again 
 (as he did, if I may so say, the works of Raf- 
 faelle), and apply the instruction they convey 
 with implicit credence. Your faith will be re- 
 warded in the end, by an improvement of your 
 intellectual power: as your practice enlarges 
 and your judgment ripens, you will attain to the 
 understanding of many things which at first ap- 
 peared to you problematical. 
 
 h h 2 
 
468 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 All subjects of an abstruse nature, such as 
 grandeur of style, or purity, or strength of ex- 
 pression, are in their nature difficult to explain. 
 The more refined such qualities are, — the nearer 
 they approach to perfection, by those gradual 
 and almost imperceptible degrees by which the 
 good merges in the grand, and at length be- 
 comes paramount to all other things of the like 
 kind, — the greater is the extent of taste requisite 
 to comprehend them, or fully to enjoy them ; 
 and still more to inspire others with a just sense 
 of their value. 
 
 An able man, fully comprehending the subject 
 on which he writes, may fancy that he has ren- 
 dered it sufficiently clear, knowing, as he does, 
 the whole import of that which he has written : 
 while those who have to learn the nature of 
 the lesson intended to be conveyed to them, 
 may require much more elucidation ere they 
 can comprehend it. Sir Joshua seems to have 
 been aware of this himself ; for one of his Lec- 
 tures (the fourth) was written to diminish the 
 risk of misapprehension, by the students, of the 
 principles asserted in the previous one. 
 
 No one, who had so much reputation to lose 
 by an exposition of unsound principles in the art 
 he practised, as Sir Joshua Reynolds, would 
 venture to publish or to write concerning it, with- 
 out the deepest consideration of which he was 
 
APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES. 469 
 
 capable ; and that he was capable of much and 
 wise consideration appears in his works. Neither 
 was he one of those who seek to draw upon 
 themselves the regard of men, by bold and con- 
 fident declarations of opinions, on slight found- 
 ations, and upon difficult subjects ; risking the 
 chance of detection, rather than lose the renown 
 given to the appearance of talent. 
 
 Painting, practised as it was practised and 
 employed by this great and illustrious artist, was 
 plainly proved, as I have often asserted it to be, 
 the product of mental more than manual labour. 
 And I shall close the remarks which I have 
 thought it useful and necessary to have made 
 concerning him and his productions, by saying, 
 once more, that, when such a painter applies his 
 mental power to explain the nature of the go- 
 verning principles which guide him in the ex- 
 ercise of his art, and to impart his reflections 
 upon them ; you may rest assured, that they are 
 well worthy of your humblest and most devoted 
 attention and belief ; at least, till experience has 
 enabled you fully to appreciate what he has said, 
 or led you to the knowledge of something better. 
 
 The opinions which I have ventured to ex- 
 press concerning the labours of Sir Joshua Rey- 
 nolds in painting and in literature, differ, I know, 
 from those expressed by some intelligent men. 
 I have satisfied my own mind concerning their 
 h h 3 
 
470 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 truth, or I should not have offered them to your 
 consideration. Nevertheless, I must own, that it 
 is difficult to avoid being biassed on such matters 
 by our own peculiar studies, or seeing favour- 
 ably whatever may bear an interpretation in 
 consonance with our own feelings. Sensible of 
 the danger I may have incurred of committing 
 this error, I request you to examine for your- 
 selves ; prove, by your own impartial perusal 
 and experience, whether I am right or wrong. 
 It is a point well worthy of your deepest consi- 
 deration, and you will be gainers by the en- 
 quiry. If it be true, that so great and skilful a 
 painter as Sir Joshua Reynolds knew not how 
 to employ the principles he taught ; where may 
 we hope to find the man who can ? And if he 
 were capable of inculcating those which he did 
 not feel to be just and useful, in whose breast 
 may we seek for honour or honesty ? If, on the 
 other hand, conscious of their truth, he did em- 
 ploy them in his own peculiar practice in paint- 
 ing, then my instruction to you, to cultivate 
 the knowledge of the principles founded on the 
 practice of the great masters, and the assurance 
 which I give you, that they may be advantage- 
 ously employed in other than historical art, is 
 fully justified. 
 
 That which this great man so effectually dis- 
 played in portraiture, was made equally efficient 
 
APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES. 471 
 
 in landscape, by another painter, of whom our 
 country may reasonably be proud, — Wilson. 
 
 Who ! having the slightest perception of sen- 
 timent in works of art, can be otherwise than 
 delighted with the beauty of his productions ! 
 Who ! on regarding his best pictures, does not 
 feel that, in them, he views nature exhibited 
 under favourable circumstances ; divested of all 
 which might impede the full action of those 
 nobler and better thoughts, which fine land- 
 scape is capable of inspiring ; that dignity and 
 beauty are spread, where a common-minded artist 
 would have imparted meanness or common-place, 
 and have damped or extinguished those better 
 thoughts! 
 
 Now, enquire whence the charm that works 
 so powerfully upon us arises ; consider what it 
 is upon which this abstraction of mind in an ob- 
 server from all that is vulgar and unenchanting, 
 depends. You will find the result of your en- 
 quiry to be, a consciousness that the employ- 
 ment of the very same principles of art to which 
 I have directed your attention, is the operative 
 cause. The same system, of choice of materials, 
 of selection of character rather than individual- 
 ity, of omission of trivialities in imitation, of 
 breadth and of simplicity, have been the guides 
 of the artist ; so that you find those principles 
 which lead historical painting to its greatest 
 
 h h 4 
 
472 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 degree of perfection promoting the like great 
 and beneficial end in landscape as in portraiture. 
 
 Cany onwards the enquiry as you will, even 
 down to caricatura, the truth of the assertion 
 will be found to prevail, and the triumph of 
 principles, and of system, will be made perfect. 
 
 Here, Gentlemen, I close this course of lec- 
 tures ; and now, let me address a few words to 
 you as a friend rather than as a master. 
 
 I have shown to you how multifarious are the 
 objects to the study of which the mind of a 
 painter is of necessity compelled ; and since so 
 few of those who have anxiously sought to attain 
 perfection of taste and science in art have pre- 
 sented it to view, we must conclude that it is 
 extremely difficult to effect, and requires the 
 exertion of no light portion of intellect. 
 
 The endeavour to comprehend its perfection 
 may perplex him most at the outset, who is most 
 capable of attaining the knowledge of it in the 
 end. The superficial and the vain soon fancy 
 they see the depths of science or of art, and with 
 security applaud or condemn ; and rush towards 
 the end, ere they have obtained a steady know- 
 ledge of the way, or of the means. But the 
 modest and sensible youth will hesitate ere he 
 determines on the quality of the great and re- 
 
APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES. 47^ 
 
 nowned examples that are set before him ; and 
 will labour, with caution and humility, to make 
 sure every step of his progress, that he may arrive 
 at the end of his course in security. 
 
 Let me request you to recollect, during your 
 progress, that the advice of the most able teacher 
 can do little without the most zealous co-oper- 
 ation of the pupil. 
 
 The intelligent and accomplished artist is not 
 to be formed by precept alone; though, doubt- 
 less, by such means, judiciously applied, his 
 judgment may be assisted, and his taste refined. 
 It is, however, chiefly by his practical labours, 
 by the active exertions of his own hand and 
 mind, that he can wisely hope to make any sen- 
 sible or important progress in his profession. I 
 therefore most earnestly request you to take good 
 heed in the regulation of your conduct. Much 
 may be done here, in the public schools; but 
 more, much more, in your private studies. Here 
 you may collect many useful precepts and ma- 
 terials ; but it is in private, in the solitude of 
 study, that they are to be tried, and brought into 
 actual service. 
 
 It is true, that the materials of which you are 
 in search in the Royal Academy can be fixed in 
 your minds, only by imitation of the works of 
 others ; but when a sufficient fund of knowledge 
 and power has been amassed, to enable you to 
 
474 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 begin your independent labours with a promise 
 of security, the mere imitative habit should either 
 be much relaxed, or altogether suspended : as, in 
 that stage of your studies, it would retard rather 
 than facilitate your progress. While the habit is 
 continued of soliciting aid from others, or from 
 external sources, you not only neglect to call 
 into action your native or internal stores, but 
 the very power escapes by which you may be 
 enabled to avail yourselves of them ; and by 
 which alone a lofty character of reputation can 
 be established for the future, upon a firm and 
 honourable basis. 
 
 One point more I would lay before you, for 
 your consideration. It does not affect your stu- 
 dies, or your power as artists, but your reputation 
 as men, and is worthy of your regard. 
 
 It is not unfrequently, though somewhat 
 unkindly, and often unjustly, said, that men 
 become great artists without much intellectual 
 power ; and, perhaps, there is some foundation 
 for the remark in many cases, if the want of 
 general knowledge be considered as a proof 
 of it. 
 
 But intellectual power may adorn the mind 
 of a man, who, absorbed in the pursuit of one 
 favourite object, and succeeding in the attain- 
 ment and finding great pleasure in the practice 
 of it, may not have either leisure, or inclination, 
 
APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES. 475 
 
 to turn his thoughts to others ; and great success 
 in the practice of an art, which has baffled the 
 exertions of many skilful men, is no slight indi- 
 cation of an unusual degree of mental capacity. 
 However this be, I would recommend to you to 
 turn the apprehension of the truth of this too 
 common and degrading opinion to a useful pur- 
 pose. You may learn from it, how becoming 
 and valuable is the possession of general know- 
 ledge in all those, who, cultivating with ability 
 a particular art, would ensure the respect as well 
 as the admiration of the world. 
 
 If too much, or too exclusively confined to 
 their own peculiar studies, artists lack, of neces- 
 sity, those sources of congeniality with others, 
 which are commonly regarded as the evidence of 
 superior intellect, and the chief solace of human 
 life ; and are often no less conducive to interest 
 than to honour. 
 
 It is no light matter, however, which is thus 
 imposed upon artists, and I cannot venture to 
 recommend an abstraction of much time from the 
 necessary labours of your profession ; " for art is 
 long, and life is short." But some application 
 each day to the acquirement of literary or of 
 scientific knowledge would agreeably relieve 
 your minds, and would return to your benefit by 
 enlightening and strengthening your understand- 
 ings. It would qualify you for the society of gen- 
 
476 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 tlemen and of scholars, and assist your endeavours 
 to maintain your art in a station becoming its 
 great and real value, by removing the stigma of 
 ignorance in its professors. 
 
 Yet, however advantageous your academical 
 or your private studies may be, and necessary as 
 supplying the component parts of the practice 
 of your art, or maintaining your credit for capa- 
 city as men ; their true value and usefulness 
 depends upon your ingenuity and integrity in 
 applying them. 
 
 That taste, as well as knowledge, is progres- 
 sively refined, none can deny who have made any 
 steady continued practice in painting, or have 
 attentively observed the progress others. Even 
 men who have exhibited its gifts in early life, as 
 did Sir Joshua Reynolds, Mr. West, and Sir 
 Thomas Lawrence, have obtained by practice 
 an extension and refinement of their taste, and 
 increasing power in the application of it. Pursue, 
 then, your studies with diligence and zeal. Let 
 none despair, because it is not given to them at 
 once to reach the perfection which they see and 
 admire in the works of others. One of the evi- 
 dences of genius is the perception of beauty 
 when presented to view by superior artists. The 
 knowledge of the cause of it may in time accom- 
 pany the perception, and the next step in the 
 gradation of taste is the capability to present it. 
 
APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES. 477 
 
 But it must be confessed, that they are few to 
 whom it is given, deeply to penetrate that por- 
 tion of the arcana of nature which is the imme- 
 diate object of an artist ; and not even the 
 aspirations of the brightest genius can carry a 
 man to the acme of perfection in painting, with- 
 out application the most steady, reflective, and 
 persevering. 
 
 THE END. 
 
London : 
 Printed by A. Spottiswoode, 
 New- Street- Square. 
 
If 
 
!