UNIVERSITY OF CALIFC?. 
 AT LOS ANGELES
 
 EMOIRS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ROYAL ACADEMICIANS- 
 
 Price Four Shillings. 
 
 lEntered at Stationer^ s-HalL] 
 
 J 3 3 S 13
 
 EMOIRS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ROYAL ACADEMICIANS; 
 
 BEING AN ATTEMPT 
 
 To Improve the National T'ajie, 
 
 •■^*-«*<«ccc::5v:£:.K*^ gI<i?x»»»>^=-» 
 
 BY ANTHONY PASQUIN, ESQ^ / 
 
 ''ii:^'$^>»€«>^;ii: 
 
 k:-^-««=^<<© >^>Ob>2B^ji 
 
 Miki Galha^ Othoj Viiellius, jiec heneficiO'^ nee injuria cognit'u 
 
 TACIT. LIE. I. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY H. D. SYMONDS, PATERNOSTER - ROW ; 
 P. M*C>UEEN, OPPOSITE EXETER -'CHANGE, STRAND; 
 AND T. BELLAMY, KING-STREET, COYENT-GARDEN. 
 
 M.DCC.rXYI.
 
 
 ">-v-t^ 
 
 A CRITIQUE 
 
 ON THE EXHIBITION. 
 
 T 
 
 John Opie, R. A. No, 29, 
 
 HIS is the befl of four portraits by the fame artifi-, and 
 
 ^ is a very fignificant likenefs of Mr. Fuzeli, one of thole im- 
 
 H- grateful and indolent R. A.'s who leave their academic mo- 
 
 co ther to be illumined and fnpported by the llriplings of the 
 
 > cflablifliment. Mr. Opie has not brought forward this year 
 
 ^: any thing to fiirprize the world : he has retained all his old 
 
 ^ habits, and fome of them are bad enough — an indifferent fpec- 
 
 Zi tator would be led to imagine, that he was concerned in a coarfe 
 
 woollen manufadory, as he feizes all pollibleoccalions to array 
 
 his perfonages in that fpecies of apparel, from an emperor to 
 
 a mendicant, and 1 believe would bury all his heroes and 
 
 heroines in the fame drapery, notvvithllanding an exiiling ad 
 
 of Parliament, to prohibit the meafure — h's ftyle 01 colouring 
 
 becomes, in my opinion, more defedive every year ; it is no\r 
 
 QQ in all his iierti, but little more then black and white, imper- 
 
 g fedly amended by the mixture of brown oker ! or fome in- 
 
 ~ gredient equally fatal to the purpofcs of truth. If he is im- 
 
 ^ pelledlo do this, for the means of producing a 7?r//^/»^ C^'*-*?? 
 
 ■^ as they phrafe it, I will beg leave to fuggell that the means 
 
 g are not proportioned to the end. 
 
 <; It is with regret that I feel niyfelf compelled to animadvert 
 with rigour, upon a gentleman, who is certainly diflinguiflied 
 froir the ^auifi?/g l^erd by fome genius, but it has been im- 
 preifed with vulgar ideas, which too frequently overbear the 
 delicate interpolitions of tafte, which he has faintly in^bibed 
 from fludying the works of the late Prefident : we have to la- 
 ment, that original prejudices are fo difficult to expunge 
 from the mind. Thofe elements which we firil: acquire, leave 
 an indelible impreffion upon the memory, and the utmoil that 
 crj the moll vigorous j'ldgment can do, at a mixture time of exift- 
 g cnce, is jiot to practiie what the fancy has been accuftomed to 
 c^ adopt, 
 g B G. Du.
 
 ( 6 ) 
 
 G. DupoKT, No. 268. 
 
 Mi- ^iick in the CharaHer of Spado. 
 
 This is a fpirlted likenefs of that excellent Comedian, but 
 executed too much in imitation of the late ]Mr. Gainiboroiigh : 
 The genera! outline is nearly faithful ; but the afteitation, vi- 
 lible in thofe iciatches of the hogtool or fitch, over the vifage, 
 is difgulfing, becaufe it is unnatural. This was the gigantic 
 error in his uncle's portraits, who, perhaps in imitation of 
 Apelles, was accuftomed, in the moments of defperat:on, to 
 make a dafh where he could not draw. This portrait is intend- 
 ed for Mr. Harris's gallery, who has engaged this Artiil: to 
 paint the principal performers of Covent-Garden Theatre. 
 
 No. 85. A Portrait of His Majesty, hy the fame Artifn 
 
 I have been often inclined to imagine, that the beams of 
 that divinity v/hich is fa'd to hedge a king, dazzles the op- 
 tics too forcibly of every Artift who attempts to paint them. 
 The figure of the King appears unamiable, prefuraing, and 
 repultive; yet all this may be the effcd of tremor: and the 
 glare of the icarlet drapery burils impudently upon our fenfes, 
 and repels the inquilitivenefs of thought, by abafliing our in- 
 quiries in the firic inllance. The calm dignity which fliould 
 appertain to luch a perfonage is not difcovcrable : It gives me 
 the idea of a proud ideot, prefenting himfelf for admiration, 
 under the confcioufnels of being unufuiily line, and not as 
 the reprei'entat'on of the fource of local honor. As the fo- 
 ▼ereign is not noticeable for effrontery or vanit}-, this portrait 
 is not adequate to my defires. 
 
 Thomas Stothard, R. A. Elec>. No. 148. 
 
 The Intcrvie'vo hct-ivecn Henry VIII^ and the K?r:peror Charks V, 
 
 I congratulate the Royal Academy on the acquifition of fuch 
 a member as Mr. Stothard, whofe education and underiland- 
 ing enables him to refcue the general charader of a Royal Aca- 
 demician from the imputation of ignorance, and whofe urbane 
 manners render his pre-eminence tolerable to all, I do not 
 hefitate to alFert, that this gentleman is the only Artift in this 
 country who can comprehend, with keen preciiion, a fub- 
 lecl: dependent upon hiiforical {z<k. It is to be regretted that 
 his figures are not fufikiently finifiied, but occafionally betray 
 a (lovenlincfs that is incompatible n-ith truth : though the e- 
 fi,ergies pf a Urong mind, are t;20 frequently regardlefs of ne- 
 
 celTary
 
 f 7 ) 
 
 ecffary littlenefTes, yet the frequency of the omiffion muft not 
 be peimitted to judify the inattention, 
 
 William Hamilton, R. A. No. 70. 
 
 The lojl Kid fou7id. 
 
 This pi(flnre is a pretty, but not a capital performance. It 
 has all that flutter of flyle for which our young Artids are now 
 fo ridicuioully remarkable. The light is fo fcactered, that it 
 looks like luminoufnefs run mad. The nymph who has caught 
 the kid, looks too aerial, and appears to polfefs the powers of 
 journeying between heaven and earth. The penciling of the 
 flefh is delicate, and the kid not ill imagined. I mull not dif- 
 mifs thefe obfervations v/ithout declaring, that on fome former 
 occafions Mr. Hamilton has very forcibly feized my approba- 
 tion. 
 
 No. 89. the playful Galatea^ from FlrgiVs third Pajl or al^ hy the 
 fame Artifl, 
 
 This is not a bad perfonification of a claffic idea ; but is far 
 from being a chafte picture. Mr. Hamilton appears to me to 
 have imbibed no fixed principles of truth, as he changes his 
 manner as frequently as his garment ; and though to be a 
 mannerilt in trifles is wrong, not to be a mannerifi; in efien- 
 tials, which are immutable, is more fliulty. Though grace 
 and greatnefs fliould concentrate, and be palpable in every 
 biftorical defign, yet they are frequently mifunderflood by our 
 Artiils, which gives an air of lunacy to their compofitions. 
 Grace may attach itfelf to objC(51s in their nature trivial, but 
 greatnefs cannot : whenever I ponder upon greatnefs, my ima- 
 gination prefents Michael Angclo^ who ufurps the idea. 
 
 'Mr. Shee. No. 5. 
 
 A Forty ait of Mifs Jerniiigham, 
 
 Delicate, free, and fatisfa(!-T:ory : the attitude is graceful, 
 and the face intereiling, it has the bland properties of virgin 
 merit, unconlcious of vanity. 
 
 No. 2C)i, A ivhole length Portrait of Mrs, Larhins* 
 
 The contour of this figure does not entirely pleafeme,though 
 it is equal in aggregate merit, to any whole length in the exhibi, 
 tion. The white fattin drapery appertaining to this picfture- 
 is nearly equal to Sir Peter Leiy : there is a fafcination in the 
 
 B 2 reprefentation
 
 f 8 ) 
 
 feprefentatlon of this charming lady's vifagc, uhich has due 
 operation upon the obfervant, although, they have placed her 
 in a corner of the anti-room, as if it was necefiary that ilie 
 fliould perform quarantine previous to her introdudion into 
 better/ociety. But let the beauty and the artift be comforted. 
 — — ** WhereT?/^/*/^ men bear fway 
 " The poll of honor is a private ftation." 
 
 No. 263. Jepthab'^s Dau<^hter^ ly the fame Artijl. 
 
 Promiles every thing that is fublimc in the art : in the mate- 
 rial point of conception of his fubjec^t, he is Ibper.or to the Pre- 
 iident, and nearly equal to Mr. Stothard, his full acquu-ement 
 of the fubordinate requifites, may be produced by unremitting 
 induftry. To think corredtly, is but the lot of few j to draw 
 correctly, may be acconiplifhed by all. 
 
 No. 2. A For trait of Mr, Rannie, hythefajne Artzjl, 
 
 This portrait, independant of the likenefs, v^hich is admir- 
 ably iinprefftve, isunqueftionablvone of the bell, if not the very 
 beii, in the prefent meager exhibition; and yet from fome mean 
 and malign influence it is affixed at the very top of the room.. 
 If the nobleft exertions of the art, are to be on all occafions 
 locally difaonored, where will be found the man of d llin- 
 guifhed talents, who will be ready enough to bring his pictures 
 forward, to be neither miOrc nor lefs than annual facrificcs, to 
 thejealoufy of an academic junto ; who fit jocund in their ^«^- 
 ^ur-7fufggur cowg\:&{^ happy only in having it in their ability to 
 infult lafely fuperior beings, and blighting the wholefome 
 bloflbms of modeft genius. I will be bold to prophecy, that 
 from fuch an inflitution, the public will turn with difguH, 
 and leave fuch miferably gifted animals, as the knight of Po- 
 land, to confole each other from fources, which greatnefs nor 
 virtue knows not. This is one of thofe low injuries which 
 the opprelTed is denied the opportunity of redreffing; if he 
 remains hlent under fuch diflrelfing and abafing circumftances, 
 2t will be readilj'' conjectured that he fuppofes himfelf to have 
 received the ufage he is legally entitled to, and if he ventures 
 fpiritedly to alTert his defence, the malevolent many, will not 
 hefitate to impute that to arrogance and vanity, which is the 
 legitimate and honorable ilTue of honefl indignation. If the 
 primary places in the exhibition were occupied by works of 
 great and genuine merit, the candid critic would be fatisfied, 
 but to behold eternally the moil defpicable daubings obtrud- 
 ing;
 
 ( 9 ) 
 
 ing themfelves upon the gazer's eye, and, as it were, faying, 
 ** damme you fliall look at me," is extremely painful to all 
 thofe, who would generoufiy prefer talents to ilupidity, and 
 modefty to impudence; fo much is dependant upon fituation, 
 that the works of Tintoret and Titian, would be difregarded 
 if hung up in obfcure corners, where the light of heavea 
 was imperfedly adminiftered ; were even Caslar repoiing in 
 a coal hole, wc mufl be told it was Csefar, ere we (liould feel 
 inclined to fuppofe: him godlike, or revere his perfon ; if the 
 place is not appropriate to the piclure, the artifl: muft fnfFer in 
 the common ellimation of patronage, however ftrong his 
 claims may be, ariiing from his intrinlic worth. How lament- 
 able it is, that there is no precife way of amending this abufc 
 of power : if the aggrieved artifl applies to the council, he is 
 informed that his being permitted to exhibit at all, is an ad of 
 favour, as the annual difplay of the art, belongs of right, on- 
 ly to the Royal Academicians, who, however, think it ex- 
 pedient to inviie other profeflors to Itrengthen the exhibi- 
 tion, and as llrangers they fliould give them welcome, and not 
 take every opportunity to infult them, merely becaufe they 
 are inveigled within their gates — what fort of an exhibitioia 
 the Royal Academicians would produce among themfelves, i 
 Ihali leave the world to determine. 
 
 B. West, R. A. Prefident. 
 
 No. 8. EdzvarJ, the Black Prince, receiving John^ King &J 
 France^ Frif§im\ after the Battle of PoCkiers, 
 
 This large piece of ca?ivas is intended for His M;ijeily*s Au- 
 dience-Chamber in VVindfor Caftle, and certainly does no ad- 
 ditional credit to its author, as the fubjeft is ill underlfood, 
 and not well executed: Though it is the prcfumed affemblag^ 
 of warriors, and immediately after a hard fought battle, their 
 faces are as placid, and their habiliments as trim, as if no fuch 
 event had occurred, or was in agitation. The idea of the 
 horfes is alTuredly borrowed from Mr. Bayes's cavalry ; and 
 the pofition of the Cardinals, entirely accords with the receiv- 
 ed notion of ultramontane affedion. 
 
 No. 132. The Defccnt of the Spirit iipon Jeius, after bis Baptlrni 
 in Jordan^ hy the fame Artijl. 
 
 The waters of Jordan were certainly of a Angular nature, if 
 the fplafhings of this hallowed llream arc conveyed by the pen- 
 cil
 
 ( 10 ) 
 
 ci! with aquatic juflnefs. They have the green hue of a fiag- 
 nate pool, and not the liquid tranfparency of a limpid brook. 
 The figure of Chriil: looks like a deferter, who had been re- 
 cently whipped, and was fneaking off to a furgeon, with a 
 blanket over his wounds. The figure of John is finely drawn, 
 and the Child beautifully imagined. The identity of Mr. 
 Weft's figures is fo continually apparent, that I believe he has 
 a few favourite domeflics, who are the Saints and Demons of 
 his neceflities. 
 
 If it is Viot ludicrous, it is impious, that fuch a perfonifica- 
 tion as this fiiould be made public for vulgar contemplation. 
 It is paying a pofthumous obeifance to the artifices of wily 
 priefts in the darkeft ages of Chriftianity. It muft be ex- 
 tremely painful to the wife, to behold the Spirit of God pour- 
 trayed as a dove, and even God himfelf occafionally as an im- 
 becile old man ! What tranfcends our comprehenfion, fhould 
 not be wantonly fuppofed by folly. *' There is a point which 
 mortals cannot approach but in glimmering thought, it is that 
 which borders on an intelledual image of the univcrfal Spirit % 
 the great mind nf the unn^erfe\ who, in the m.otions of a iubtle 
 fluid, fuited to the vifual organ, illuminates the world ; who 
 lives in the perfect adion of fubflance ; the purity of nature : 
 How can we conceive of that which furpalFes itn^t^ but by 
 means of what we know? How proceed to juft inference, but 
 by Ibnie clear rule of analogy?" Yet, in contempt of fuch 
 awful convidlion, will a callow Artift give to the moft facred 
 niyfteries, 
 
 " a local habitation and a name," 
 and hold himfelf excufed, becaule a Monk had originally dic- 
 tated the prefumption. 
 
 Mr. Weft has prefented fociety with two Landfcapes, which 
 are equally falfe in defign and execution : The arborial tints 
 would form a new pattern for a Harlequin's jacket : They are 
 unnatural, abrupt, and chaotic. Yet this may be judging 
 them upon too broad a fcale, as, from the mafs of mafonry in 
 the foreground, the Prefident m'ght only intend to give us a 
 fecp at nature, and not a fair and unequivocal profped. I know 
 no utility for fuch pieces as thefe, but to hang them on the 
 door pofts of a cnha-rct, to fignify it was the Hole in the IValU 
 
 Mr. Weft is fo fond of the palpahle fuhlime^ as to facrifice ^ 
 every thing to that propenfity. Hence his figures have the 
 appearance of being drawn from marble orig'nah, and not the 
 delicate and nearly imperceptible beauties of the nudity. Men 
 fituated like Mr Weft, fliould labour to become inftances of 
 perfection j and when they do not, we feel inclined to hmenf, 
 
 that
 
 { " ) 
 
 that the caprices of chance can counterbalance the influence of 
 Uriiggling excellence. Whoever adminifters patronage to infuffi- 
 ciency, becomes refponlible in his chara61er, (whatever may 
 be his feelings,) for all that influx of pernicious predeliclion, 
 which commonly is attendant on fuccelsfiil folly ; and raifes a 
 horrid warfare in the young bofom, in which ^.):hat Jiyouldhe^ 
 becomes obedient to =what is I A lady of fome celebrity has 
 very pertinently obferved, that " nothing great is to be ex- 
 pected from any fet of Artilis who are to give only copies of 
 copies." Mr Weft has aifuredly made very free with the an- 
 tique, which is a laudable meafure in the Difciple, but flievvs 
 a paucity of thought in the Painter, who boldly ventures to 
 exhibit his defigns, as the appropriate workings of his owa 
 mind. In the picture of P)'/^J£'j and Or^ri, it is evident to 
 the meaneft virtuofo, that the Antlnous in different pofitions, 
 formed the model of the prominent heroes. This is a fpecies 
 of pilfering that does more credit to the induftry than the ta- 
 lents of the profefibr. Of what fignilicance would be the great 
 and profound learning of Michael Angelo to any, if the Artill 
 could be equally fortunate in acquiring reputation, without 
 the proud accompaniments of a claffic education ? That idle 
 man who can borrow his neighbour's drapery at pleafure, will 
 not feel often inclined to falhion a fuit for himfelf. That hi- 
 ftpric Artift who would be really eifimable, muif be unequi- 
 vocally creative. 
 
 I think that Mr. Wefl", poffelTes more of the mechanical 
 or executive properties of the art, than that general and con- 
 comitant knowledge, and fuperior information, which fhould 
 characterize thofe who eagerly delire to become exemplary in 
 the vaft purfuit : he has all that temperance of deportment, 
 and refignation of manner, without which, no man caia be 
 fuccefsful in puftaing his fortune within the regal circle of 
 Windfor ; he can be always tolerated becaufe he never offends ; 
 and by fettering the energies of paffion, he is permitted to re- 
 ceive the fmiles of a king, as a counterbalance for the exer- 
 cife of his own original dignity as a man. Why he has beeii 
 fo uniformly cheiidied, where his more poliflied and fcientific 
 predecefTor was fo unfortunately repelled has been to many a 
 matter of furprife, though no event fliould be arranged as fiir- 
 prifing, which is in any way dependant upon the caprices of 
 Jiereditary power? 
 
 T. F
 
 C 12 ) 
 
 T. F. RiGAUD, R. A. 
 
 No. 183. The Expofwg of Mofes 
 
 This is a moil inexplicable daiib,nnd will be chronicled as ex- 
 poiing the Artill:, and not Moies — integrally or leparately 
 confidered it has nothing to recommend it to our liking. The 
 brown wench, whom he has with temerity introduced as 
 Pharoab's lovely daughter, would not be tolerated in Hedge- 
 lane ; the young law-giver of the IlVaelites, reclines on a fort 
 of drapery, which cannot be aflimilated to linen, woollen, 
 lilk, fattin, or of Otaheite workmanfhip: his infant head, re- 
 clines on a bullock's kidney, and the vegetation of the puddle, 
 on which hefwims, gives me an idea of the flags of Achevon ! 
 Under what preteniions, or through what manceuvering, this 
 gentleman became an R. A, I know not, but in my honeft opi- 
 nion, he can neither conceive, draw, or execute with precifion, 
 1 am informed that Mr. Rigaiid, keeps a garrulous parrot, 
 I think it would not be 7nal a propos if it was taught the follow- 
 ing ditty. A knowledge of the tune would be Jefs difficult to 
 acquire than the origin and infer tion of the nuncles. 
 
 Mafter Rigaud, fludy v/ell myology ; 
 
 Blailer Rigaud, ftudy ofteology — 
 
 Mailer Rigaud, drop thefe rivs fo comical ; 
 
 Why fure your brain is crack'd, by lludies ailronomical. 
 
 Bow, wow, wow ; 
 
 Falderiddy, talderiddy. Bow, wovr, wow. 
 Our Engligh painter-, are either fo feeble, or fo unambi- 
 tious, that when they get to the half-^-xay l.roufe they fit them- 
 felves down as blifsful as if they had got to the end of their 
 journey ; it belong: to Satire to whip them from th s (late of 
 <iegrading indolence, and goad them to walk on. The fud- 
 den fore fliortningof an animal, which v/asfo congenial and fami- 
 liar to the bold though perfect genius of Rubens, should ap- 
 pal the hiflory painters of this cera, nor do 1 know any in 
 Europe, who could with a well founded confidence, attempt 
 fuch an energetic toil, but Monlieur David, of Paris j and 
 though he can delineate the anatomy with the moll enviable 
 correttnefs, I have fome doubts, if even he could efftd it with 
 anecefiary enthuliafm, and an accordant fidelity, 
 
 JCHN' RlT?cEL, R. A, 
 
 No. 142. A Boy llov-jiug Bullies 
 
 This ac?5demician''s performances are ever of that tnetJlecre 
 fort, ^^ neiih^;- to entitle him to hi^h approbation or i^vtr^ 
 
 ceP-fure
 
 ( 13 ) 
 
 cenfure : he Is chiefly confined to heads, where nothing of the 
 God is required to enable the labourer to pafs mnfter. Crayon 
 painting at beft, is but an unworthy purliiit, and in the profe- 
 cution of which a vigorous mind would feel impatient and 
 difdainful. This pifture is faid to be intended as a prefent 
 from Mr. Pitt, to a certain babbling Etonian, as a frail me- 
 morial of his blefled converlion from the herefies of infecti- 
 ous liberty. 
 
 No. 58. A Portrait of Hart ^ the HerlaVifi^ ly the fame Artlfi^ 
 
 Equally tame, fpiritlefs, fmooth, and unimportant. Mr. 
 Rufiel's attempt to make the beard predominate, has been ra- 
 ther unhappy, as it gives the idea of a human chin larded with 
 the fat of bacon, 
 
 T. GoocH. 
 
 Ko. 47. A Curricle Horfc, 
 
 This is a portrait of a favourite horfe belonging to Lord 
 Sefton, and if the refemblance is perfect, I have to marvel at 
 his being fo highly prized. The portrait of the coachman has 
 more truth ; there are various orher exertions by this artiit, 
 but none that do him more credit. 
 
 G. Farington, R, a. 
 
 No. yj. A vie-vj in the High-Street, Oxford* 
 
 This pi6ture is very ably managed, and very little inferior 
 to the bell: efforts of Canaletti ! the tone of colouring is fine- 
 ly, yet not laborioufly handled. 
 
 No. 90. A <vie-jj of WarimcJ: Caflle^ hy the fame Author. 
 
 This is not equally beautiful with the other performances. .1 
 do not think he was judicious in the choice of his view : the 
 water is too bald and glalTy, and the trees not exadtly as the 
 Creator meant. 
 
 Geop.ge Morland, 
 
 No. 52. Bargaining for Sheep. 
 
 No. 169. Interior »f a Stable, 
 
 No. 186. ^ Farrier's Shop. 
 
 All thefe pidures have the fame merits and the fame tenden- 
 ciea : they are replete with fpirit and nature, but have not 
 their due efre6t, from the want of fubordlnation in the golour- 
 
 C mg
 
 f H ) 
 
 ing and a neglecl in the artill:, to copy the mmutice of his ob« 
 jects. 
 
 It may be faid of Mr. Moreland, as a painter, what Mr. 
 Dignura, lo happily laid of Mr. Incledon, as a vocal perfor- 
 mer, that the Almighty has taken more pains with him than 
 any other man : yet he mufl not confider this literally as an 
 encomium, but only as declaratory of a blelfing, that he pe- 
 culiarly pofleires, which, if not fuftained by iludious perfever- 
 ance will only be recorded as a drawback upon his general re- 
 putation. 
 
 I: has bsen the misfortune of this rare artid, in hisftiortpro- 
 grefs hitherto in life, to become the dupe and inllrument of de- 
 ligning men, who have vulgarifed his mind, and made his brilliant 
 talents fubfervient to their own particular purpofes, and not 
 his advantage. 
 
 I think the creative mind of this young artift, has been fuf- 
 fered to run wild, and though the foil is uncommonly rich, 
 the culture of the produce has been neglected ; it has given 
 nouriihment to many flowers and many v.^eeds. I do not be- 
 lieve that Mr. Morland has any proper ideas of beauty ; his 
 neceifities urge him to inflantaneoiis action, and he catches at 
 Nature when flie is in a difliabille, butfeldom or never paid his 
 devoirs when Ihe was elegantly attractive. 1 think the better 
 part of his powers lie dormant, from the v/ant of legitimate 
 pride, audit is now probable that they ever may: he is palpably 
 delicient m knowledge of the ful)ordination of tints, and the 
 union of colours, and ieems to gather his laurels fo carelefly 
 and thr.nklelsly, that it is a doubt with me, if he v/ould not 
 be as happy in the fociety of a ploughboy as the Caracci ! 
 
 None of our young artifts feem to have fufficient fortitude 
 to look diflrefs boldly in the face, and dafli through all the in- 
 cum.branccs and inconveniences attendant on a probationary Hate 
 of poverty, to acquire indelible renown, and rewards merely 
 Ihnctilicd; to effect thofe great purpofes, they fhould feel like 
 Rafaelle, a divine glow of boundlefs hope: an enthuliafm 
 difdainful of any reilraint that fortune can enforce, but alas, 
 they have none of this indifpenlible energy : they are content- 
 ed to vegetate like vulgar handicraftfmen, and glide through 
 their being in a middle fky, when they Ihould all be Icari^ and 
 Itruggle to fiirvey the fun \ 
 
 S. Wright,
 
 « ( '5 ) 
 
 S. Wright, Derbv. 
 
 No. 107. An Eruption of Vefwvius, 
 
 No. 232. A Lake at Du/ikcU^ in Scotland, Rvenivg^ ly the fams 
 
 Author. 
 
 No. 233. A Village on Fire^ hy ditto. 
 
 This truly celebrated Artifl has honored the Inllitiition, by 
 condeicending to mingle his choice labours with the Hurf) 
 Alley excellence of a majority of the Royal Acad^rmJcians. 
 Feeling their importance io inordinately, it moves my wonder 
 that thefe uplifted gentlemen do not eagerly contribute, by 
 their own efforts, to the fupport of that order from whence 
 they derive fuch prodigious importance, and not give the ca- 
 villing world occalion to remark, that tliey have been lionor- 
 cd without defert, and retain the mummeries of the inflitution 
 without grafitude. When I was in l^aris, in 1787, they ma- 
 naged thofe affairs much better: the Royal Academy of Polite 
 Arts there was conducted more nobly : every perfon was ad- 
 mitted to s\t\N gratis^ what was meant as a ivz'c difplay of na- 
 tional genius, for national admiration. With us the motive 
 feems cupidity, and the end deception. With the richefl Mo- 
 narch in Europe for their patron, the arts of England are li- 
 terally kept from dellrudion by the votive (hill-ngs of a mot- 
 ley public, v;ho pay the falaries of the profefTors, and find oil 
 for the lamps in the plaijler and //c'///^ fchools, though the King 
 arrogates the charafter of being the high fupporter of the iv"- 
 ftem. But it is a provident alilimption of dignity, unnccorii- 
 panied with cither rilk, anxiety, or expence ! He feems to 
 poffefs the fi^:ror of patronage as highly as the tenth Leo, but 
 I have as yet to learn that he is equally munificent. 
 
 Sir Francis Boukgeois, II. A. 
 
 No. 210. Sans Culottes taken Prifoncrs hy a Detachment of the 
 Prince of Wales's Light Dragoons. 
 
 This inlignificant and accommodating Chevalier has fe:zed 
 a fubjeft, that he might pay his lowly court to power, at the 
 expence of truth and the national charat'ler, Britifli foldiers 
 are not in the habit of loading a conquered enemy with 
 chains. 
 
 No 204. Children at their Mother's Grave, hy the fame u4uthor. 
 
 A groupe of ill drawn children, fcratcliing up the fod with 
 their nails. In this attempt he has certainly aimed to furprize
 
 C i6 ) 
 
 3, by being comical upon a grave fuhje^l I This, like all h'f 
 works, Urikes me as a mongrel production, involving in its 
 effe(5is all the bad parts of Berghem and Loutherbourg. If 
 his intent is to be lingular, that aim he has accomplillied with 
 puerile induflry. 
 
 It is on record, that a Horfe was made a Conful ; that an 
 Old Woman was chofen Pope ; and that a Pig taught Greek ; 
 then let our wonder ceafe, that this amiable Knight of the Po- 
 lar Star was maJg (I am afliamed to fay elected) a Royal Aca- 
 demician. I have heard much about the docStrine of colours, 
 and have fludied the fubject myfelf ; bat this eccentric Painter 
 feems to confider the theme as nugatory, and, contrary to an- 
 cient and modern prejudice, makes the hne of hriek-dufl the 
 primary tint, whether he is pourtraying an angel or a demon,, 
 or the ocean or the dry land. This farprifingly modefl gentle- 
 man has taken efpecial care, in the diilribution of the paint- 
 ings in the prefent Exhibition, that if you turn to any point of 
 the compafs, fome divine efFuIion from his pencil iliall cheer 
 the vagrant eye. 
 
 This incongruous fprig of honor, and his coadjutor Mr. 
 Smirke, feem to have paid more attention to the frames than 
 the canvas. It is curious to behold their ceconomy in arrang- 
 ing the decorative carvings round the rooms: they appear as 
 having zealoully laboured to be mathematically juil. Sucii 
 minor confiderations in fuch an eilablifhment, make the judi- 
 cinis fmile. It is facrificing noblenefs to nothingnefs. I 
 think if St. Luke could pay them an opportune vifit, he might 
 feel inclined, in the overflowings of his rage, to hang up the 
 Committee, inilead of the pictures. 
 
 William Redmore Bigg, A. 
 No. 133. Birth- day prefent to an Old Nurje, 
 
 Of all the junior Artifts, Mr. Bigg appears to be the mod 
 on a level with himfelf. What he is now iie was ten years ago, 
 and will be ten years hence ; that is, fuch a delineator of do- 
 meftic life, as would fatisfy a common, but not an ambitious 
 mind. 
 
 Every fcience is dependent for fnpport upon concomitant 
 fciences ; and to know but a little, and be content with that 
 paucit}-, in any liberal art we may profefs to cultivate, it were 
 better not to know any thing. Any profeffor ivho is fatisfied 
 wi:h accompliniing half meafures, is a being with half a loul, 
 and umlt to aifQCjate, even in idea, v.'ith thofe divine fpirits» 
 
 who
 
 C 17 ) 
 
 %ho have exalted our nature with their endowments, and a« 
 mended and refined it by their example* 
 
 William Beechky, A. Portrait Painter to Her Majefty, 
 No. 127. Portrait of Mrs, Siddons, iviib the Emhlems of Tragedy, 
 
 This performance does not correfpond with forne efforts I 
 have heretofore feen from the fame pencil. Tiie figure is not 
 accurately defigned, and the attitude is affcL^edly dilgufling. 
 It conveys the femblance of a gypfey in fattin, difponing at a 
 niafquerade, rather than the murder-loving iMeipomene. As 
 a portrait, the figure is too thin for the original ; and as a pic- 
 ture, it is too imperfect to be vahiabls to a connoilTeur. 
 
 Mr. Beechey has this year moil: unaccountably fallen oiT 
 from himfelf. His piftures are neither fo rich, Vo graceful, 
 or fo true, as they were the lali year. He has fuffered Mr 
 Hoppner to fuperfede him, which is a fufferance that took 
 place while his genius was tipfey, and his enemies vigibnt- 
 
 He has eight other pictures, none of which operate as fu- 
 premely creditable to his name but No. 22, which is a por- 
 trait of a Clergyman, in his academical drefs. This is a fair, 
 clear, unfophiilicated portrait. We have but three decided 
 portrait painters in the kingdom, which are, Romney^ Shee, 
 and Beechey; the reft are difeafed vv'ith all Sir Jofliua Rey- 
 nolds's wmft habits ! 
 
 I have known many ArtiUs infected with what I fliall deno- 
 minate the rage ofChymiftry^ who have aimoft wholly neglected 
 the rage of truth. 'I'hey have been violent in their delires to 
 attain a fubofdinate knowledge, and left the great primary 
 caufe of piftoriai beauty unexplored. Like a military Tyio, 
 who miftook the order and dchgn of tactics, and wailed hi« 
 hours in the ftudy of pop-guns, whofe fate it might be in fu- 
 ture to beliege an Empire ! 
 
 The blazing exilfence of Sir Jofliua Reynolds hss proved 
 very injurious to the pitlorial fry^ as his merit was manifcfied 
 in the gracefulnefs of his fancy, which no ftudy can attain; and 
 not in the handling or mechanical parts of the art, which the 
 affiduous may acquire, and which even in him was llovenly and 
 bad. Hence has arifen the common lunacy ot copying with 
 eagernefs what was in him a deformity, and leaving ih^ fuhU- 
 jnitiei behind, which alone conferred worth on his productions! 
 American Stuart was the only difciple of his time who furvey- 
 ed his artifices with dildain. 
 
 Edmund
 
 ( »8 ) 
 
 Edmund Garvey, R. A. 
 
 No. 103. ^ View of Rome, 
 
 Another Royal Academician, whofe qualifications are, if 
 poffible* more doubtful than any of his compeers ! As the jjeit 
 application of Urcngth is Height, fo the beft application of 
 knowledge is utility. And if a man cannot make every the 
 fqueezings of his brain fubfervient to the pleafure or good of 
 others, I think he need not be very felicitous about requiring 
 the opitiions of futurity from the Sybil's leaf. 
 
 J. W. Ablot, Efq, Honorary. 
 
 No. 64. Landfcape and Cattle * 
 
 This Landfcape, taken in all its com.ponent parts, I do not 
 hetitate to pronounce the 'very hejl in the Exhihlticn, The re- 
 pofe and harmony is beautifully conduced : the cattle are 
 nearly as good as Cuyp ; and the herbage and water fo cor- 
 reftly pencilled, that imagination tempts the admirer to dillurb 
 the order of the fiifl by his breath, and the latter by a pebble. 
 Look at this ye Garvey's of the Royal Inilitution, and blufh 
 yourfelves hito contrition and forrow. 
 
 S. De Wilde. 
 
 No. 12^* A Scene in the Children in the Wood, 
 
 This piece involves the portraits of the younger Bannifter, 
 Mrs. Booth, and Mrs. Bland. The affumption of feeling has 
 fo worked upon the mufcles of this favourite fon of Thalia, as 
 to give him in the contour a refemblance to the immortal Gar- 
 rick. In oppoiition to the dictates of gallantry, the Lad;e3 
 are facrificed, to give intereit to the gentleman. This is one 
 of the bed things of the kind I have leen fince ZofFani laid 
 down the pencil. I with Mr. De Wilde was more attentive to 
 the accompaniments. 
 
 J. Ibbetson. 
 
 No. 28. Diftant P^'ie^v of Anglefea, with the Pcfs rou?id the 
 bottom of P enmaenmwjjr. 
 
 When many of our prefent race of Landfcape painters wifli 
 to make aftudy, they do it by their fire fides : they take an old 
 periftied picture of Wynants, Ruyfdale, or Hcbbima, or a da- 
 naaged copy from fome eminent Artiil, and co/npofe — by Heal- 
 ing
 
 i 19 ) 
 
 ing a ticc rrom one, a dock-leaf fiom another, and a water- 
 fill from a third. By this means we have Flemifh landfcapcs, 
 peopled with Englifli figures, and the fame unvaried fcenes 
 lerved up ad infifiitum. Very different is the condud of Mr. 
 Ibbetfon. His views are taken from nature ; and in his pic- 
 tures we fee our own country as in a mirror, painted in a ilile 
 peculiarly his own. This is a very faithful portrait of the place 
 delineated, and pencilled in a maflerly manner. 
 
 H. Singleton". 
 
 No. 106. j^7ieas proteHing the Body efPandarus 
 
 I wifii Mr. Singleton would guard againfl a French flile of 
 painting. The (liield of JEneas, a foldier of thefs degezierate 
 days could not lift. It is too undetermined, 
 
 O. Humphry. 
 
 No. 109. Portrait of an Armenian SlippeV'man, 
 
 Dr. Johnfon once obferved, that the man who could outftrip 
 his cotemporaries with his face towards the Weft, would pre- 
 ferve his inperiority if he turned his face to the Eaft. I re- 
 gretted Mr. Humphry's having quitted the painting of minia- 
 tures ; but his manner of treating crayons gives a force which 
 1 never before faw, except in Rofalba, united with a delicacy 
 that is peculiarly his own. 
 
 Signora Anna Tonelli. 
 
 No. 348. Ariadue, 
 
 This is the portrait of the Duchefs of Caferta, an Italian 
 lady of high rank, who being faid to refemble this buil, alfii- 
 med the charader at a mafquerade in Italy. The head-dreis 
 is eminently graceful ; but, though coloured, it retains fome- 
 thing of the marble. 
 
 R. Freebairn. 
 
 No. 81. The Fountain of Egeria near Rome, 
 
 No. 75. Suhttrraneo2ii Kuins ef Mec alms's Villa at 7ivoU, 
 
 I have feen few fpecimens of the art of perfpeftive more 
 perfed than thefe. The keeping of the tints in thefe artificial 
 caverns is admiral)le, the water is fo ably touched, and the ac- 
 companiments fb fkllful, that a contemplation of the pictures 
 
 wouisl
 
 f 20 ) 
 
 woTild make me imagine myfclf cold, during the prciTure of* 
 a fultry meridian. The Artill has introduced a ftw figures in 
 Roman habits, which cannot be compared in the fame fcale of 
 fitncfs. 
 
 H. P. Danloux. 
 
 No. 2o5. P or. 'rait of a La^, 
 
 This is a buxom matron, ef a mod reliftlefs mein. The 
 Artift has at !eait made her tread with much lirmnefs, if noC 
 Tvith much grace. 
 
 M. Brown. 
 
 No. 242, Portrait of a Gciitleman, 
 
 I have no doubt but if Lavater w-as to meet this gentleman, 
 he would loudly pronounce him as an honeft fellow, and a li- 
 neal defcendant irom Silenus. The jolly God had few priefls 
 more rubicund. If a hogfiiead of wine had fenfibility, the leer 
 of his eye would make it tremble to the very lees ! As a paint- 
 ing, I cannot urge much in its favour; audit is filthily be- 
 piaillered with a varnifli, which will inevitably crack in all di- 
 rections. I have feen abler efforts from the fame pencil. 
 
 N. Dance Esq^ Honorary^ 
 No. 161. A Landfcape, 
 
 Wlien we look at a pi6lure by Claude Lorraine, the en- 
 chanting v;armth of his tints, and beauty of his fcenery, al- 
 moil invariably excite a wifli that the picture could be chang- 
 ed to reality, and we could become inhabitants of the Elyfium, 
 that he reprefents in colours fo fafcinating. — Very different arc 
 the ideas excited by iMr. Dance's pi(5f ure. It mufl be acknow^- 
 ledged to be nature, and perhaps Uridly and peculiarly En- 
 glifli nature ; but there runs through the whole a coldnefs — a 
 comfortlefs coldnefs, that chills the foul. 
 
 This landfcape appears to have been taken at the firft 
 confirmation of fummer, when the vernal tint is more 
 general than when the feafon is more advanced, as then 
 the peevifli Eail, and the breezes fraught vv'ith innumer- 
 able and undefined animalculae difcolour and contract the foil- 
 as^e, and partially wither the brighteff honors of the grove.-^ 
 This view appears to have been deligned immediately after the 
 hamlet had been waflied by a copious fhower, which gives it 
 an air of coldnefs that is uncongenial with our wiflies, though 
 it is truly natural. It has been the cuPiom of European artift?, 
 
 from
 
 ( 21 ) 
 
 from the cla3*s of Claude to this period, to make their piifliires 
 in the autumnnl feaibn, that they might avail themfelves of the 
 ndvantages of that variety of hues, which the approaches of 
 death, fpreads over decaying animation ; for it is my decided 
 opinion, that all plants have their powers of fympathy and 
 fenfation, and flnink at the commencement of a blight, as much 
 as village hinds, on the afcertainment of an attorney i The 
 water in the diilance, is touched in, in a flovenly manner, and 
 looks more like a plate of glafs half ground; the (liepherd is 
 Vv-ell drawn, but the legs of the flieep are thick enough for fo 
 many oxen. 
 
 A. Pether. 
 
 No. 15. Evening, 
 
 This landfcape, is, on the whole, very agreeable, it is a 
 lively reprefentation of nature, in her moft becoming tints ; the 
 clear obfcure is ably managed, the aerial perfpedive well iin- 
 derftood, and thefubordination of the tints of the back ground 
 delicately mellowed into the horizon— it is in the %le of Both, 
 
 No. 303. E'vcniftg, afcenc from Nature^ hy the fame Author, 
 
 The difl.inces in this picture are very finely wrought, but 
 he is not equally fortunate in the fore-ground ; the boat upon 
 the water, is not buoyant, and the broad herbage I apprehend 
 would be confidered as uncognizable, by Linnoceus. 
 
 J. T. Serres. 
 
 No. 308, A Frigate in a hard gale o^ the Eddy stone. 
 
 This nautical morfel poiTelTes but little of the fupreme tafle 
 and knowledge of the artiil's deceafed father : there is an out- 
 line of hardnefs to the water, which thofe who lludy deeply 
 could never perceive; they are as determined as the Glacicres of 
 Savoy. If this gentleman would condefcend to copy one of 
 the line picture^, by Vandevelde, I am perfuaded he would 
 forego his turgidity of finifliing. 
 
 N. PococK. 
 
 No. 267. Captain Jones, in his Majesty*s Paclet^ Chesterficldy 
 rcf cuing the cre^iv of afbip that ivas thenfnkifig. 
 
 There were three pofitions, which puzzled exceedingly the 
 fourth Henry of France : and thofe were, to know in what 
 
 D re-
 
 ( 22 ) 
 
 religion he fhould die: whether Queen Elizabeth of England, 
 was chafle, and if the Prince of Orange had any courage. My 
 folicitude at prefent is more limited, it is chiefly confined to the 
 luppofition by what means this gentleman could be felf-per- 
 fuaded to become an artifl. 
 
 S. Gilpin. 
 
 No. 12'J, AGentlanan on horfeback, hrhighig up lag hounds to the 
 
 cover ; the portrait by Mr. Reinagle*- 
 
 This is the prime picture in the exhibition of its kind. Mr. 
 Gilpin is inferior to Mr. Stubbs, in anatomical knowledge, but 
 is fuperior to him in grace and genius. The hum:n portrait 
 is not difreputably finiflied. 
 
 I. L. MoSNiER, R. A. {A foreign Academician.') 
 No. 560. A Portrait of a Lady, 
 
 There is a labour evident through the whole of this pidure, 
 which is ineffectual; it is highly finiflied h\ilhard^ and gaudy, 
 but noifree', it conveys all the worfl charadteriuics of the 
 French fchool^ and does more honor to the induilry, than the 
 more noble capabilities of the artiit ; the finifhing is fuper- 
 iluoufly particular. This I conceive to be the moll perfect of 
 I'everal other portraits by the fame author. 
 
 There is a firmnefs and permanency in the colouring of Mr. 
 jMofnier, which I earnellly recommend to many of our modern 
 portrait painters to imitate, and not the perifliable varnifli de«» 
 ceptions, which, from motives of indolence and ignorance, 
 they lo eagerly adopt. The late Sir Jofliua Reynolds, painted 
 the prefent Marquis of Drogheda ; when a young man, he left 
 this coimtry and w^ent upon his travels, and at his return to his 
 feat at Monflereven in Ireland, where the piaure had been con- 
 veyed, he found to his furprize, that during a period of twenty 
 yeais, the painting had mofl wonderfully kept pace with his 
 ov.n health, and from fome powers of fympathy. communi- 
 cated by the artift, had become brown, exactly in proportion 
 as the peer became bilious from malady. All this leeming 
 miracle was eifeded through the medium of flying varnifhes I 
 this anecdote I had from his lordfnip, when on a vifit in Ireland. 
 
 Painters of family pictures, where there are a number of 
 young clnldren, who change like the paffing cloud, and writers 
 of that Ipecies of poetry which is made up of compliments 
 for conquers, the effects of which are liable to be done away, 
 before the ink is dry ; are much to be pitied. When, many 
 years ago, iilr. Zoffanii, the painter, began his family p'dture 
 
 of
 
 ( 23 ) 
 
 of the prcfent Royal family, there were ten children : he made 
 his Iketch accordingly, and attending two or three times, went 
 on with finiHiing the figures. Sundry circiimftances prevented 
 his being able to proceed. His Majefty was engaged in buli- 
 nefs of more coniequence; her majeily was engaged; fome of 
 the princelTes were engaged, and fome of the princes were ill ; 
 the completion of the picture was confequently delayed,— 
 when a meflage came to the artift, that another prince was 
 born, and muft be introduced into the pi6lure. This was not 
 eafy, — but with fome difficulty it was done ; — all this took up 
 much time, — when a fccond melfage came,informing him of the 
 birth of a princefs, and that the little illuflrious Granger mnft 
 have a place on the canvas. This was impollible without a 
 new arrangement; one half of the figures were therefore 
 obliged to be obliterated, and put clofer together, to make 
 room. To do this was the bufinefs of fome months, and be- 
 fore the completion a letter came from one of the Maids of 
 Honor, informing the painter there was another addition to 
 the family, for whom a place mull: be found. — " This," cried 
 the artiil, ** is too muc/j, — if they cannot fit with more regii- 
 " larity, — /cannot paint with more expedition, and muft give 
 " it up." 
 
 Sir George Beaumont, Bart. Honorary* 
 
 No. 126. ALandfcape. 
 
 Had I not been previoufly gratified with IMr, Abbot*s extra- 
 ordinary performance, I fiiould have been inclined to hang 
 with more pleafure upon this very refpe«5table trial of (kill. 1 
 would recommend it to Sir George Beaumont to ftudy Water- 
 lo, who is a fine mafter to lead a lludent into a fimple and 
 proper choice of nature; in which I think this gentleman is 
 more deficient than in his handling. The tree in the fore- 
 ground is overbearing ; too intrufive, and not beautiful in its 
 ramifications ! It forms an arch with its branches, which de- 
 flroys the indifpenfible convitftion, that the growth has been 
 fpontaneous ! The diiUnce is managed with a better effeet, and 
 the whole deferving praife. 1 congratulate iociety upon thele 
 tellimonies of laudable endeavour, which prove, that amidf!: 
 that ocean of contamination, which fullies and wrecks fo many 
 of our flimfy fprigs of diltinc^ion, a izw of both fexes are dif- 
 coverable, who have the hardihood to prefer the confolations 
 arifing from invigorating ftudy, to the fucceeding abomina- 
 tions of what is termed a life of fafliion. 
 
 P 2 Nothing
 
 ( 24 ) 
 
 Nothing proves the imperfe6lncfs of our optical organiza- 
 tion io cleaily, as the convi(fi:ion, that all Artilts view nature 
 differently ; and yet I believe none view her accurately. The 
 beauty and intricacy of her works are beyond our powers ot 
 conception and delineation ; and we only attempt to copy what 
 is in its lovelinefs inimitable : But I will not be diffufne on 
 this theme, lell 1 fliould check that ardour which is io ncccffary 
 to the purpofcs of focial improvement. 
 
 P. Rei.kagle, a. 
 
 No. l67, Ej/c.v County Hally with a Fiew of part of Chelmsford. 
 
 This view is not wanting \r\ general merit. The perfpeftive 
 is accurately juil ; but, confidered as a whole, it is not enti- 
 tled to take the: lead in reprelentations of this tendency. This 
 Artiil is ivKjre minute than Mr. Farington, but has not his 
 majeliy of thought. Perhaps I fhould think better of his pic- 
 ture, it the blue Iky was lels daring and offenlive. 
 
 Richard Westall, R. A. Eleel. 
 No. 16. A Portrait of a youay Gentleman, 
 This effort is as puerile as the fnhjed. 
 
 No. 111. Portrait of an Arty}. 
 
 This is a refemblance of the Artift's own delegable felf. It 
 is faid to be a coarle and unfavourable likenels. At any ratCj 
 the picture is not eminently favourable to his profeffional cha- 
 racfter. I expected that the introduclilory teilimonies would be 
 more perfect, that were to affix the feal upon his diplomatic 
 character. 
 
 No. 113. A Fiei\j near Loudon, A Sketch, 
 
 If the timely modefty imphed in the word Sketch, had not 
 operated to my comfort, I fhonld have been hck of this mon- 
 Itrous inftance of afteciation. The only vifible object to fix 
 the attention, is the cupola of St. Taul's, which looks like a 
 pepper box in a fmoky cliimney. 
 
 No, 198. Mineri'a^ painted for the Council Chanihr of the City 
 vf Pondo'iu 
 
 *' Angels and rainiders of grace defend us." Under what 
 baneiui impuUe could this young mm be induced to make this 
 
 gigantic
 
 c 25 ) 
 
 gigantic attempt ? The radix of true conception is not ^s yet 
 jnniixed in the foil of his young imagination : 
 "^ondumjlruxlt Hugo, 'vix fundamentaloca-vit^ 
 JDet Deus ut pojjlt dicer e Jlruxii Hugo? 
 
 This lady I do affirm does not beam a divinity : file is all legs 
 and thighs, like the late Sir Thomas Robinion. The draw- 
 ing ot the foot, would difgrace a fchool-boy, and the folds of 
 her drapery, are all unalcertained and dafliediaat random; 
 flie is evidently cither pregnant or padded, and feems proud- 
 er of her helly than her hcad^ but this perhaps was a difcreet 
 compliment to city prejudices. To be brief, it is a brazen, 
 forward minx, unknown to Jove, to Prometheus, and Alma 
 Mater : the goddefs it may be prefumed, is fo offended, that ilie 
 tviilhave no influence whatever in Mr. WefralPs affairs, much 
 lefs bear him to heaven upon her ihield, that he might fleal 
 fome neceffary fire. 
 
 As 1 believe there are none living who are gifted or illumi- 
 nated with that fupreme capacity, which will enable a pro- 
 teffor of paintmg to be a received arbiter of the complex art, 
 it fliould not excite afloniflimenr, that I am apparently fevei'c 
 towards Mr. Weftall, of whole genius 1 do not think cheap- 
 ly ; he has capability, but it wants pruning and melioration; 
 he has been precipitated to the command of a fleet, before he 
 i\ei\ knew the principles of navigation ! Hence the wildnefs 
 and uncertain-ty of his movements — there may be licentioufnefs 
 of manner in painting, as deflrudive to the neceffary fame of 
 genius, as licentioufnefs of manners on a moral fcale, would 
 be to the required reputation of a member of the focial fyftem; 
 each may be partially refpeded, even under this drawback up- 
 on propriety, but neither can be uniformly efteemed, without 
 a rigorous obfervance of every prefcribcd duty annexed to the 
 lituation. 
 
 As the graces of refined nature, are recorded to have been 
 mofl: jmpreffive from beauty in diflrefs, and grcatnefs from 
 iuch memorable events as Seneca expiring, it fhould be the 
 invariable tafk of our ripening artifls, to compare their own 
 ideas up ;n fuch governing fubjeds, with the compofitions of 
 the mcfl perfect mafteis of the foreign fchools ; and though 
 denied a reference to Apelles, Protogenes, Parrhafius, and 
 Zeuxis, there are fome mofr excellent examples cxti^nt. But 
 i*" mud be recollected that they are to be only Jlndied not co- 
 pied I Michael Angelo, is a fine roman difti of roafl beef, frorn 
 which our affeded branches of Saint Luke, never fail to cut and 
 come agnin; but the unlortunate iffue of the tojl is, that 
 
 I hey
 
 ( «6 ) 
 
 ihty only adopt his wildnefses and incongruities, and leave his 
 divine graces as the cock left the gem, untouched, bccaufe they 
 are unable to eftimate their value i Gokzius, would be as true 
 an original for fuch minds: There are few things nrrore di- 
 verting to me, than to fee fome of our modern artiits attempt 
 the embodying of an Allegory, they imagine the idea is com- 
 plete, where they make Virtue in a clean fmock ; Jove with 
 an indented forehead ; Vulcan as a drunken blackfm.ith ; and 
 Mars bedaubed with red oker! 
 
 The general reliance upon the force of p^^ffing in the 
 Bcwfpapers of the metropolis, among our little artiils, as well 
 as our little authors, is indicative of feeblenefs in both, and 
 cught to be much regretted, as the fyftem is now fo methodi- 
 cally purfued, that the application of a few guineas to para- 
 graph writers, will make any wretched dolt confpicuous for 
 talents which he does not poffefs, wkile the man of real abili- 
 ty is almoft unknown, as he difdains to feed this abomin- 
 able fource of corruption and ruinous falfnood. Truth and 
 Virtue have fcarcely any fupport whatever, in our periodical 
 publications ! 
 
 R. Freebairn. 
 
 No. 264. An ancient Roman Bridge o^er the Arno^ the ruins of 
 the villa of Mecanas^ in the difance. 
 
 I fhall make no apology for the introdu<5^ion of this gcntle- 
 man*s name a fecond time, in this imperfed ftridure. I am 
 induced to the meafure by a grateful impulfe of acquired fatif- 
 fa^tion ; this clafiical eflay is of that fort which lleals imper- 
 ceptibly into the embraces of fober judgment : there is a fere- 
 nity and calmnefs in this deferving artilVs performances, 
 ivhich in a degree dignifies my nature ; the fight of them 
 makes me penfive and reconciled to the ruin which occurs 
 around me, unheeded by the frivolous and the unthinking ; 
 they are tranquil fcenes which prefs gently and almoft holily 
 upon my undcrllanding ; like the fineil Compolitions in facred 
 mufick ! they might tend to harmonife the chords of a per- 
 turbed fpirit ; and I fiirely ought to acknowledge myfelf 
 obliged to him, who can ileal me fo harmlef^ly and fmoothly 
 from a recollection of mortal woes. 
 
 I am anxioufly willing to aid that lever, which fhould lift 
 diffident ability into the mart of public munificence, and give 
 him a fair opportunity to be noticed and honored. My anti- 
 pathies' are only excited by the bold irruptions of fancy Inani- 
 ty and unauthorifed cLunnnts upon focial refpecl. 
 
 Mar-
 
 ( 27 ) 
 
 MarLow. 
 
 No. 248. Finv of part of the City of Lyons ^ ixiith the oU 
 cajlle of Flerre Encife, 
 
 I have heretofore been induced to think reputably of Mr# 
 Marlovv : but as there is a hathos in poetry, fo I perceive there 
 tnay be a finking or declenlion in painting ; to fpeak juftly, 
 this performance degrades his name : it is infinitely vYorfe than 
 any thing I ever favv before from the fame origin, and is un- 
 true, unqualified, confufed in its effect, and muddy in the 
 manner. 
 
 G. Garrard, 
 No. Qi. Portraits of Mares and Foals* 
 
 An undefcribeable falling off from his earlier exertions : this 
 opinion (hould be infpiriting and not difpiriting to Mr. Gar- 
 rard, as he leally may approach to excellence if he can refolvc 
 to do hy and will a6t up to the tenor of the refolution. 
 
 No man, but particularly an Artiil, fhould fuffer any day 
 to conclude, without the performance of fuch obligatory du- 
 ties as may, upon reflexion, reconcile the man to himfelf : 
 our time is fo limited, and our faculties fo imperfecl, that the 
 utmoft of all fublunary endeavours muH fall infinitely fliort of 
 perfedion ; and as this truth is felf-evident from all that is, or 
 has been, how much like a lunatic does he appear, who luf- 
 fers his indolence to circumvent both the eifence of his know-* 
 ledge and the entreaty of his neccflities ? 
 
 Thomas Lawrence, R. A. "^XtSk, Principal Pahitcr in or H-* 
 nary to his Majefiy, 
 
 No. 78. A Portrait of a Gentleman, 
 
 This is a likenefs of Sir Gilbert Elliot : as this portrait is 
 r.ot nniflied, I fliall forbear to inveftigate its merits or demerits^* 
 
 No. 115. Portrait of an Archltfhop, 
 
 This is a likenefs of the fpiritual lord of Canterbury ; it 
 conveys a full idea of the liorid, well-fed vifage of this fortu- 
 nate arch-prelate; and a monk better appointed never fighed 
 before the tomb of Eecket, 
 
 No,
 
 C 2S ) 
 
 No. 131. Tor trait of a nohleman. 
 
 This is a likenefs of Lord Auckland, a man to whom the 
 capricious Goddefs has been equally bountiful : this hetero- 
 genous nobleman is fo fantallically enveloped in drapery, that 
 1 cannot afcertain what is meant for his coat, and what for the 
 curtain — they are all of the fame llrength and importance : 
 this is dellroying the fubordination of obje<^s mofl complete- 
 ly. Perhaps his Lorddiip is pourtrayed in the very act of 
 "Uniting his glorious maniteflo at the Hague, as he appears to 
 think fo intenfely on the theme, that his eye-balls feem burfting 
 from their fpheresi 
 
 No. 173. Portrait of a Lady of ^al'tfy. 
 
 This is a whole length of Lady Emily Hobart, in the cha- 
 ravTter of Juno: the face is chalky and lickly; the robe is lo 
 Vv'hite, and fo unincumbered withfliadow, that it might pafs for 
 an habiliment of Porcelain texture : while I viewed it, I was 
 betrayed from a recollection of the furrounding objecfts, and 
 momentarily imagined, that if I call a flone at the veflmeut I 
 tliouid fliiver it to pieces. 
 
 No. 181, Portrait of a Gentleman, 
 
 This I underlland is the likenefs of a Mr. Knight, and is 
 repulfive in the attitude : it fills me with the idea of an iraf- 
 tible pedagogue explaining Euclid to a dunce ! 
 
 Mr Lawrence began his profeffional career upon a falfe and 
 dclulive principle. His portraits were delicate but not true, 
 and attraiTrive but not admirable — and bccaufe he met the ap- 
 probation of a feu- fafliionable fpinfters (which, it mufi: be ad- 
 mitted, is a fort of inticement very intoxicating to a young 
 mind) vainly imagined that his labors were perfed — his fertile 
 nund is overrun with weeds — appearing to do well to a few, 
 irip.y operate to our advantage in morals, but will not as ap- 
 plicable to the exertion of profeflional talents : many have 
 caught a tranfitory fame from the ravings of ideotifm, but 
 none have retained celebrity but tbofe who havepaffed through 
 the fiery ordeal of general judgment — There appears to be a 
 tE)tal revolution in all the accullomed obligations of our being : 
 men can do as well, and be as much refpefted now, after 
 the forfeiture of chnraifler, as before ; and Artifts feem to 
 think, that they can p.iint as well, and be as much encouraged, 
 without a knou ledge of the common elements of their pro- 
 
 feflion.
 
 { 29 ) 
 
 feffion, as with it ! This is furely the Saturnalia of vice and 
 inlignificance. 
 
 D. Pellegrini, 
 
 No. 79. A Bacchante, 
 
 This is an indelicate and meretricious performance, and can 
 only be pleafing to tottering voluptuaiies : the drapery is bad, 
 and the whole appearance of this wanton inmate of Comus, 
 jurtifies the axiom, that 
 
 ** Vice to be hated, needs but to be {ttnP 
 one might believe that a great portion of thofe painters who 
 have exhibited this year were in the pay of the decrepid 
 Earl , to force his fcnfes to the allurements of in- 
 decency, as to do them juftice, I never faw a finer fhew of 
 naked bofoms and all that 111 
 
 W. Miller. 
 
 No. 101. Portrait of a Phyftcian of the Univerfty of 
 Cambridge, 
 
 A firm, faithful pifture, executed obedient to fome of the 
 bell principles of the art, 
 
 I know not from what particular caufe it proceeds, but this 
 gentleman's name has never been flrengthened by a due poi'- 
 tion of fame : the reafon I mufl preiume is, that he is not in 
 habits of intimacy, or, more truly fpeaking, iiitrigue, w'wh 
 thofe embrazened blockheads, who now fcribble upon the 
 themcc To fpeak plainly, we have fcarce any perfon now, who 
 defcants or writes upon the Fine Arts^ but thofe who know little 
 or nothing about the fubjett ! Hence are our periodical works 
 filled with abfurd and deOrudive criticifms, — I very much 
 admire the noble ingenuoufnefs of Dr. Moore, who, in his 
 *' "View of Society and Manners," very modeftly exprelies 
 himfelf thus : "Confcious of my ignorance in the myflcrieso? 
 ** connoifeurfliip, 1 fay nothing of the pidures ;'* fpeak- 
 ing of the Gallery at Wolfenbuttle — It is not in a fmall de- 
 gree di'graceful to the Artills, and difadvantageous to the pur- 
 iuit, that almoll: all our pictorial treatifes in this country, are 
 written by perfons whofe qualifications did not fquare with 
 their ambition : it is, in my opinion, truly neceflary for all 
 profeffional men to refill this improper interference as much as 
 pofiible, inafmuch as the national charaft-vT fuffers among fv>- 
 
 E reignersj
 
 ( 3° ) 
 
 rcignrr?, on the great points of tal!e and judgment, from the 
 perufril of fuch works, either in the original, or through the 
 medium of a tranflacion. 
 
 It is not many months fmce a vain-glorious Divine pnblifti- 
 cd, in quarto, the firft volume of, what he called, a HiJIory of 
 the ArtSy with a promife of two fucceeding volumes at a future 
 period. The book was dedicated to the King, and therefore 
 purchafed by the Royal Academy; but as it appeared that, 
 in the courfe of the volimie, there were many compliments 
 paid to one Artift, and no notice taken of the reii, the majority 
 of the Painters thought thar this neglect was abufe by ini^endo : 
 —-they determined to call a frigma on the book, and throw it 
 cut of the Somerfet-hoiife Library. For thi? purpofe an Ar^ 
 ti{l, from whofe work a late popular print has been engraved, 
 luade a motion to the following effect ; '' That, as the Royal 
 Academicians had been induced to purchafe a book relative to 
 the Arts, which book was unworthy of a place in the Acade- 
 mical Library, the faid book fliould be removed from the 
 llielves, with marks of degradation ?nd dfgrace." This was 
 debated for fome time with great warmth, until one Gentle- 
 man, wi(hins:to &x\di the difputation, fuggelied, that before they 
 threw this kind of nnprecedented oblonuy on the volum.e, it 
 would not be anufs for them to read it. To fo reafonable a 
 propofition no man could ohjecl:, and the further confiderrition 
 of the motion was put off until the next public meeting, 
 which happened to be for the purpofe of eleding three Royal 
 Academicians. Moft of the Members v.ere preftnt, and de- 
 bates ran high, fome of the writer's friends alTerting that the 
 Royal Academy had no right to throw out the book, becaufe 
 the King had bought it. This produced a queftion. With 
 whofe money ? And being put to the vote, ten held up their 
 hands for its being retained, and five for its being dilcarded. 
 This was objefted to as an irregular mode of proceeding, be?- 
 cnufe many of the Members being otherwife engaged, had not 
 held up their hands at all ; and it was therefore propofed it 
 iliould be balloted, but the ballot was over-ruled, and the firfl 
 vote remains on the books : — this, it mufl: be admitted, was a 
 mod ridiculous fquabble about a performance, which muff be 
 approved the more the lefs it is underflood. 
 
 John Hoppnee, A- Portrait Painter to his Royal Highncfs tls 
 
 Prince of PFales. 
 
 No. 36. Portrait of a Lady of Quality. 
 
 This is a fpirited likenefs ^:i'i Lady Caroline Capel : the 
 
 djaj^ery is fancifully difplayed; the Ci^:ig in the foreground 
 
 is
 
 ( 30 
 
 13 illdra^vn, the child incorred, and the whole affemblagc 
 feem frightened ! 
 
 No. 155. Portrait of a Lacly. 
 
 This is a very charming pitfture of Mrs. Parkyns, and does 
 much credit to the Artifl. 
 
 No. 191. A Gale of Windy hy the fame ArtlJ}^ 
 
 Th's is a llight but meritorious performance. Thefpray of 
 the feais better depided than any other fimiiar attempt I have 
 lately feen, and though many degrees behind Backhuyfen^ may 
 neverthelefs claim attention, and fome praife. To be very ef- 
 timable as a marine painter, it is incumbent on the profefibr to 
 do \\\v?^\Bac'khuyferi did, that is, to go to fea in a tempeil, iketch 
 the billovvs in the very zenith of their convulfion, and embody 
 and harmonize the whole when the ll:orm has ceafed, and taile 
 can regulate refle6tion. 
 
 Hiiiorical Painting has been very properly arranged as 
 the more fublime and diflicult province of the arts, and as it 
 may be conduced by profeflbrs of rare ability to anfwer the 
 nobleft purpofes of our nature, its encouragement fliouhl be 
 proportioned to its ufe?. Of all the poliflied nations of which 
 we have received any account, there never were any, where the 
 perfonal vanity of the inhabitants, was fo ludicroufly apparent 
 as in thele realms; here all human beings of all clalles wifli 
 to poffefs their own vile portraiture for momentary adoration, 
 and feem almoll wholly regardlefs of .any other production of 
 the Arts, which fliould involve a general interei}, as being 
 generally applicable to fome extraordinary event, as dear to 
 the popular memory as contemplation : it is owing to this def- 
 trudive impulfe that our annual Exhibitions are crouded, tier 
 over tier, with the repulfive refemblances of filken peers, fat 
 drivellers, lilly uglinefs, and fimpering dowager?, and fo re* 
 ftricted a portion of the encumbered walls allotted, to the 
 cheering emanations of fuperior genius. 
 
 Francis Wheatlv, R. A. 
 
 No. 122. Spring, No. 187. IFinter, 
 
 Whenever Mr. Wheatley prefents us with a rural Nymph 
 v,-hom he wiflies to be peculiarly impiefTive, he decorates her 
 head u'itha profulion of party coloured ribbands, like a man»ac 
 in Coventry, which play in the breeze, offenfive to thought 
 Send propriety. As this is not the character of our village 
 
 E z Daphnes,
 
 ( 32 ) 
 
 Daphnes, why make them fo prodigioufly fine af the cxpence 
 of truth? The ornaments of a pretty_ woman of rank cannot 
 be too fimple ; and the befl: excnfe that can be offered for their 
 blazing gewgaws, is, that fuch unwholefome vanity gives bread 
 to the Artizan, while they ra fe a fmile on the cheek of philo- 
 fophy. 
 
 Our Artiftshavebeenfafcinatedwirh ideas in perfpe6live, that 
 only allure to deceive ; they are bewitched with the confe- 
 quence without paying due refpe^^ to the caufe : and becaufe 
 they have read that Vandyke was accoutred in filk and fattin, 
 believe that it is every man's defert, who profefTes the Arts, 
 to be fumptuous in his raiment, without duly confidering that 
 Vandyke ftudied, without intermlflion, for years, to acquire 
 that pre-eminence in the fcale of fociety, which, even when 
 acquired, but imperfe6tly warrants fuch exhibitions of ruinous 
 arrogance. 
 
 T. Phillips. 
 No. 11. Cupid di farmed hy Euphrofyne* 
 
 The head of Euphrofyne is not unlike Angelica. There is 
 fomething in this elTay that proves the Artiit may be better 
 when he will. 
 
 C. F. De Breda. 
 
 No. 68. Portrait of a S^McdiO? Nobleman in the natio7ial drefs. 
 
 This is between the extremes of " good and bad imagina- 
 tion :" 
 
 Noo S8. Portrait cf a Lady of ^lality. 
 
 The Queen of Grief. 
 
 L. J. CossE. 
 
 No. 271. Genius illuminating the fJlyrld. 
 
 This furprizing attempt makes me recollecTt B onnel Thorn- 
 ion^s exhibition feme years fmce, where a poor genius was re- 
 prefented, as making his way through the world v;ithout 
 breeches ! 
 
 W. Ar T A UD. 
 
 No. 315. Portrait of a Philofopher, 
 
 This is an accurate likenefs of Dr. Prieftley. Every Briton 
 fhould blufll when he furvcys the portraiture of this great 
 man ! 
 
 jMINIATURES.
 
 ( 33 ) 
 MINIATURES. 
 
 G. A. Keman. 
 No. 453. Horatlus altering Romcy ^c. ^c. and Jour Porfral/s^ 
 
 Thefe piclures are, in the aggregate well painted and pro- 
 duolive of a good efFed. 
 
 I. Kirk. 
 
 No. 4^4. Lo-ve tormentbig the SouU 
 No. 479. A fra?j2e "with Miniatures^ fancy. 
 
 The drawing of thefe is good and they are well painted. 
 I am furprifed that this artift fhonld go from large to 
 Miniature painting -, I think it was quitting the higher for the 
 lower department. 
 
 R. Collins. 
 
 No. 460. Portrait of Mr. IVilfon^ the manager of the Europe- 
 an Mufcum. 
 
 This is extremely like the original, and a tolerable pidurc. 
 
 S. Shelly. 
 
 No. 466. Tv:che Portraits, 
 
 Thefe portraits fpeal:ing generally, are not fo well as I have 
 feen of this artifr; b:it his hiiiorical morfel of Youth and 
 Beauty (No. 386) does him honor; it is unqueflionabiy the 
 beft fimiiar ateempt in the multifarious colledion ; it combines 
 fome of the bell properties of the art, and proves that the 
 artiH: has an inquilitive and comprehenfive mind. 
 
 H. Bone. 
 
 No, 473. Portrait of an Art if y in Ena?ncL 
 No. 474. Ditto in Rnamel. 
 
 Thefe are executed in a poor, purply and cadaverous flyle, 
 and the effect is very bad. The portrait of a nobleman, by 
 
 this
 
 ( 34 ) 
 
 this artl{l, No. 534, Is in water colours, and more ably man- 
 aged. 
 
 No. 546. A Sleeping girl in Enamel, hy the fame Artifi. 
 
 This is a copy from a very good picture, by the late Sir Jofluia 
 Reynolds, and is altogether, the heft pifture in enamel 1 have 
 feen of this artifr, and the befl pi6ture in enamel in the room j 
 theefFecft is bold and the ftyle fo much fuperior to his other ef- 
 forts, that lean with difficulty reconcile it to myfelf, that they 
 are all the offspring of the fame imagination. 
 
 R. Higgs. 
 
 No. 496. Portrait of a 'Nolleman, in 'Enamel. 
 
 A very bad ftyle, poor and bald in colouring as well as 
 drawing, and refembles China painting, more than enamel* 
 
 G. Englehart. 
 
 No. 50^. Portraits of a Lady and her tivo Daughters. 
 
 This is very inferior to the former produftions of this artifl; 
 it is piteous when the movements of a deferving artift are crab- 
 like. 
 
 C. Shirreff. 
 
 No. ^12. T1V0 Bacchants, 
 
 This is the beft miniature I have feen by this artif}, and the 
 moil unexceptionable in the room, except No. 386. 
 
 W. Craft. 
 
 No. C^z^, A Portrait in Enamel, 
 
 If there is any merit in the compofition of this picture, the 
 perfon who prepared the colours is intitled to it; if merit confin- 
 ed in fize, it would have the greatefl fliare of ail the enamels. 
 
 W. Birch. 
 No. 456. Portrait of and Artifi in Enamel, 
 This gentleman executes with more precifion than boldnefs. 
 
 P. Jean,
 
 { 35 ) 
 
 P. Jean. 
 
 No. 529. Matcrrud happinefsy In the centre hlgnora StoracCj lit 
 the character of My Grandmother j a Turhiflj-jew^ and Jix 
 others. 
 
 The jew is the beft handled portrait of the whole ; I have 
 feen better pictures by this artift. 
 
 W. Wood. 
 
 No. 545. Nine PortraitSi 
 
 This is a young artid and pron:iifes to be at the head of his 
 
 profeffion, 
 
 H. Spiccr. 
 
 No. 357. ^ Portrait of a Getiikman- 
 
 Thofe who delire an inveterate likenefs, involved in a good 
 picture, will apply to this gentleman. 
 
 R. Bowyer, 
 No. 541. Portrait of a Lady, 
 A very large piece of ivory, 
 
 A niiniature painter, is among artifls, what a bachelor is 
 among men : a creature who is reluctantly admitted to be of 
 the fame fpecies and order, and who fo contraeTis his move- 
 ments and journies in fo narrow a path, that the great 
 ends of his being are not fulfilled. He may be faid to whii? 
 per and not talk; to vegetate v,'ith caution, but can never be 
 exuberant and generonlly unfold his mafculine properties in 
 the propitious beam of day. No man 1 am perfuaded, can be 
 a miniature painter, vvith Willingnefs, who has a large and 
 beneficent heart — an Aurelian and a man milliner fiiould con- 
 gregate in the lame parilh. 
 
 DRAWINGS. 
 
 Mr. Paul Sandby's drawings, No. 328, 367, 381, fiiould he 
 mentioned as exertions of the firil order; they are cabinet 
 gems of exquifite note, 
 
 IMr.
 
 C 36 ) 
 
 Mr. Weflall has feveral drawings in a manner fomewhaf: 
 peculiar to himfelf : they are tinted with what may be termed 
 meet)', perhaps with Milk of Rofes, and confeqiiently aUuring 
 to the vulgar, but are wholly deficient in thofe grand traits of 
 conception, and truth of outline, which makes the flighted 
 touches of Parmegzano io valuable to pofterity. 
 
 Mr. Chinnery has fome portraits, No. 380, which highly 
 pleafed me : among the budding canditates for fame, this 
 nling young Artift is the moil prominent. His progrefs has 
 been rapid almoil beyond example : he has rather adopted a 
 new ftyle of painting, fomewhst after the manner of Cofvvay. 
 
 Mr. M. A. Rooker's drawings are Nature rather too ten- 
 derly reprefented. 
 
 Mr. Dovvnman*s portraits, No. 36c, are rjajlly pretty but not 
 excellent. 
 
 Mr. Hodges's Indian Views place him next to Mr. Sandby, 
 in the fcale of deliaearive glory. 
 
 Mr, Bartolozzi*s drawings of the Human Figure, No. 403 
 and 404, denote him as the Achilles of the art. 
 
 Mr. Wyatt has informed the rich world what ov.ght to be 
 done, by his noble defigns this year : yet why fliould Mr. 
 Wyatt give himfelf this trouble to prove his great powers and 
 knowledge, when an ignorant Bricklayer can command all the 
 bufinefs of the realm without any r 
 
 The Sculpture, this year, is lamentably deficient ! 
 
 This exhibition, on the whole, is fuch as indicates a rapid 
 decay of that fpecies of merit, which conftitutes an able ar- 
 tifl, our difciples in the national fchools of defign, are like our 
 difciples in the varied fchools of morality and politenefs, chief- 
 ly aiming at the acquifition of what a great mind w-ould con- 
 fider as trivial, and altogether neglecting the nobler branches 
 appertaining to the fcience. 
 
 FINIS.
 
 Number II. 
 
 THE 
 
 ROYAL ACADEMICIANS. 
 
 THE EXORDIUM. 
 
 I 
 
 T was on the primary day of April, 1794, P. M. that in a 
 fit of folly, or in the abfcnce of thought, I took up (I 
 prefumc it is unneceffary to add for the fir ft time) the re- 
 nowned Jemmy Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson, 
 and before I had perufed nine pages of that ineftimable and 
 inimitable foporific, 1 began to dofc, and funk infenfibly 
 into, what is termed, a found fleep. My eye-lids were no 
 fooner clofed by the leaden fingers of Morpheus, than the 
 imagination began to curvet, create, and embody images, 
 with the moft unlicenfed luxuriancy, but the chaotic hurly 
 burly of the over-heated fancy quickly refolved itfelf into 
 the following vifionary arrangement. I conceived myfelf 
 hurried by the fubtle agency of the fpirit to the Hall of the 
 Royal Academy in Somerset Place. The confufion of 
 my ideas antedated the point of time, and I imagined it was 
 the precife evening when Mr. Benjamin West had the 
 hardihood to aifume the Prefidential Chair, in confequence 
 of Sir Joshua Reynolds having been gathered unto his 
 fathers. 
 
 SCENE, 
 
 The Hall of the Royal Academy ernamenied with Antique 
 Statues y &Cf 
 
 John, Charles, and Mrs. M difiourfing in clofe 
 
 Confabulation, the former holding a Tankard of Porter and 
 a Toajt, and the latter reading The Observer. 
 
 MISTAKES IN A FOG. 
 
 During the fogs, fo prevalent In the courfc of the prefent 
 feafon, the following fmgular and ludicrous miftakes oc- 
 
 F ■ curred. 

 
 { 38 ) 
 
 currcd. and happy ^Ye we that no lives were loft; though 
 fome of their reputations may luffer. 
 
 Mr. Dun PAS. in his perambulation from Downing-ftrcet 
 to Somerfct-place, rufhed, by millake, into a Recruiting 
 OfHce, at Charing-Crofs, where a Serjeant was going to 
 take him into cuftody, as a defcrtcr from the Grcnadiers.of 
 an Independent Company in the .North, but was releafed, 
 upon oath, that he never belonged to any Independent Corgi- 
 pany whatever ! 
 
 Mr. Shf.r 1 DAN, on his return from Drury-Lane Theatre, 
 fell, unluckily, into a coal cellar, but the poor proprietors, 
 fufpefting that he meant to pocket the coal^ collared the pa- 
 triotic Legiflator, wlio curff"d them for not having a candle 
 burning to warn paffengers of their danger. '* You are 3i 
 pretty fellow," rejoined the dealer, ''• to prate about want- 
 ing light ; why your nofe is a perpetual illumination,"— ^ 
 *'• As i live," interrupted the wife, " it is Mr. Sheridan !'* 
 
 " God blefs me," added her hufhand, " I beg your 
 
 honor s pardon, if I had known you before, 1 certainly 
 fliould have complimented you upon the light of your mind, 
 and not upon your nafal advantages !" 
 
 Miss F.-^PREN and Mr. Wroughton rufhed again ft each 
 other, in the paffage leading from the Green Room to the 
 Stage Door : as the l^dy was highly effenced, Mr. 
 Wroughton exclaimed, " My God ! Mifs Fa:^rek, how 
 powerfully you fmell." — " No, Sir," anfwered the Lady, 
 with an air of candid pleafantry, " it is you th.3.tfm€ll ; / 
 Jlink /" 
 
 A certain vain female, who expends more raoney in pay- 
 ing for the infertion of her mawkifli fonnets in Newfpapers 
 and Magazines, than would keep a whole family, wander- 
 ed, inadvertently, into a Paftay-Cook's fhop, inftcad of a 
 Pawn-broker's ; to cover her confufion flie afked for fome 
 tarts : " It ftrikcs me, Madam," faid the Shopkeeper, 
 *• that any thing tart would not aftirnilate with the refined 
 texture of yovir very delicate ftomach ; what do you think 
 of a icw pu^s V 
 
 N. B. /is our fcribbling ladies arc eager to catch at any 
 event that may lead to notoriety, 1 think it ncceifary, to 
 prevent their zealoully mifapplying this accident to them- 
 felves, by informing the Reader, that the Sapho alluded to, 
 \\2i%Jomt charafter, and can read without fpclling. 
 
 Mr. Fox's fervant went into a furly Poulterer's fhop in 
 Shepherd's Market, by miftakc ; '* My mafter requefts 
 
 you'll
 
 ( 39 ) 
 
 you'll keep him two of your beft turkics fof Chriftmas," 
 fald the bewildered dome.ftic. — " And who is your maftcr?" 
 rejoined the ariftocratic murderer of ducks : *• Why, Mr. 
 Fox." — " Then tell your mafter, friend, that I think a few 
 g^efe would anfwer his purpofe much better." 
 
 Sir C B Y, while on the look out for a 
 
 friendly dinner, miftook the geography of thp Metropolis, 
 and edgt:d himfelf into No. 89, in Gracechurch-ftreet, with 
 his locks hanging from the humidity of the atmofphere, 
 lilce a river god ; when the Porters, not knowing him, en- 
 quired, with fome folicitude, if he wanted Board and 
 Jones; — look in his face, added a fhander by, and you'll 
 perceive by the lineaments, that he wants l?oard and lodging. 
 
 As Earl S r was wandering through the precinfts 
 
 of Wapping, he (tumbled into an ale-houCe, in Anchor and 
 Mope Alley, where a prefs-gang were regaling with flip 
 and tobacco : *' Shiver my timbers," roared out one of the 
 crew, " if this fellow did not run away, about a twelve- 
 month ago, with a fcore more, from the good fhip Bri- 
 tannia, when an Irifli Monk wanted to fire the ftore- 
 I'oom." In confequence of this very ferious information, 
 they fent for the Regulating Captain ; but his Lordfhip was 
 releafed from that unpleafant ftatc of thraldom, by affirm- 
 ing upon his honor, that he did not know the Jtsm from the 
 Jlcrn of a fhip ! 
 
 As the PaiNCTi was returning on foot from a vifitto Lady 
 Clermont's, in Berkley-square, he loit his path in Picca- 
 dilly, and turned into Downes, the Undertaker's (hop : — 
 " Do you want any thing, Sir, in the funeral way ?" afkcd 
 the Clerk. " No," replied his Highnefs, with his ufual 
 good humour, " but I think 1 fhall trouble the pafifh with 
 Si chrijlaiing next yenr,^' 
 
 As a certain Attorney, who is accuftomed to flourifli in 
 the vicinity of Pall-Mall, was hurrying through the Strand, 
 he turned unwarily into a Portrait Painter's rcpofitory : — 
 '• Now I am here," quoth the gentle Limb of the Law, 
 *' you fl-iall do my likenefs." — " It will be no eafy talk,'* 
 replied the Artift, looking him keenly in the face, " to 
 make a good likenefs of you ; but fhall it be a head or a 
 whole length ?" Why a head, to be fure, you ftapid fel- 
 low," rejoined Mr, 0"i Tarn, '• when I have an inclination 
 to have my whole length drawn, I can make interell eno,ugh 
 at the Old Bailey, and have it performed gratis." 
 
 V :i ^ As
 
 ( 40 ) 
 
 As the Secretary of War was watching the movements of 
 feme notorious Crimps in the City, he miffed his way, and 
 obtruded upon a party of Stock-brokers in Exchange Alley : 
 *' Do you trafEck in Loyig Annuities, Sir ?" afked one of the 
 party ': " No," replied the ftrauger, *' I deal at prefent i» 
 Jhort Lives /" 
 
 JOHN. 
 
 Have you heard the news, Mrs. M— — ? 
 Mrs. M '■ . 
 
 News, my dear John — no ! but what is it ? no Bow- 
 Hrect bufmefs — none of the Students I hope, 
 JOHN. 
 
 Only a charge of robbery, that's all. 
 Mrs.' M . 
 
 Vel. I wow, if I did'nt think it would come to that, may 
 I be fliot elfe ! — I always fufpefted that ragged dog with 
 the black head of hair, though the^ told me he was a difci^ 
 pie of Rowland Hill's, and prays more in a week, than he 
 paints in a month : — fo here's to you. — \_drinks, 
 JOHN. 
 
 You're miflaken, Mrs. M ; a word in your ear — 
 
 [whifpers~\ what think you of 'Squire Hamilton ? 
 Mrs M 
 
 'Squire Hamilton ! Well, what will the world come to 
 at laft — fuch wickednefs — a lay figure mayhap, or fomc 
 copel varnifh, or the family prayer-book, or fome ultrama- 
 rine ; as fure as can be, John, it might be the 'Squire that 
 ftolc the bottle of Hock at the laft grand dinner, when the 
 
 Prince made the Bifliop drink I and the French Duke 
 
 ate fo heartily of the firloin of beef that I roafted in the 
 
 ftore-cellar. 
 
 JOHN. 
 
 If you can poffibly ftop your clapper for one minute, 
 
 Mrs. M , you fhall know the whole ftor)% — You 
 
 muft know as how, that he v/as charged with the theft by 
 '"Squire Barry, who charges 'Squire Hamilton with ftealing 
 his drapery. 
 
 Mrs. M . 
 
 His drapery ! — poor man, I'm fure he has none to fpare 
 — why he lives half his time wrapt in a blanket, like St. 
 Bruno ; — he has not a coat in his wardrobe would fell for 
 three fhillmgs in Monmouth-ftreet, except his brown and 
 gold that he . leftures in, and that's too long for him by at 
 kaft eighteen inches, 
 
 JOHN,
 
 ( 4t ) 
 
 JOHN. 
 
 Godblefsthe woman, how fhe runs on ! — he has ftole up 
 
 coat but a ftiift, 
 
 Mrs. M — ^ . 
 
 A fliift ! not from one of the 'Squire's Ladies, I hope ? 
 JOHN. 
 
 His Ladies, his gipfies you mean — but that's not the cafe 
 -^it's from a Greek Virgin in the Great Room at the Art* 
 
 imd Sciences. Zounds, here's the Secretary! fwelling 
 
 like the Mayor's belly on the Ninth of November, aaid as 
 red as a Turkey Cock. 
 
 Enter Secretary Richards. 
 
 -i— Here's a piece of work indeed ! all diforder and confu- 
 fion ! What, I have broke up the Congrels, have I ?- — but 
 damme, I'll do your bufmcfs — an old hat upon the fleeping 
 lion ; a dirty petticoat upon the Venus de Medicis ; a nine 
 inch rule upon the Niobe ; the whole duty of man by the 
 Rhodian Bacchus ; an old bible on the Sybil ; a box of 
 Leake's pills by the fkcleton ; a hatchet by the Salvator 
 Mundi\ a pair of boots upon the Atalanta •, a crutch upon 
 the dancing fawn ; a pair of bellows on the knife-grinder, 
 and a dark lantern by the Pythian Apollo ! — by this light t 
 have a ftrong inclination to cut off one of your heads, and 
 place it on the Torfo. — Why don't ye wafli your faces, 
 ye rude varlets ? Don't ye know, what all the world 
 knows, that Mr. West is coming to-day to ajfame the Pre- 
 fidential Ghair !— Damme Charles you are tinted on the 
 vifage like an Iroquois favage j the ground is terra Sienna^ 
 the middle tint gambouge, and the furface red lead ; you 
 look like one of the Cyclops, red hot from the furnace of 
 perdition. I will ufe ye as Tommy Harris does his fccnic 
 Kings and Queens in July, fcatter ye upon the face of the 
 earth, to become the fport of the community. — What is this 
 I fmell ? a naggin of Booth's gin, and a pot of Whithread's 
 entire, by this light ! ■ — Why zounds ye turn the 
 abdomen into an organ of diftillation for liquid antipa- 
 thies, and difcharge a hot beverage to poifon the canine 
 fpecics ; ye thin your kindred without rcniorfc, and liopc 
 to be happy while ye arc unnatural. You mufl mend your 
 manners, ye Anthropothagi, or I'll fhovel ye out of the 
 Academic precinfts, and ye Ihaillive, like the Pitt tribes, 
 upon the national parifh, and beg your bread from the ani- 
 mal you fcorn. Damme but ye are only fit to be the fub- 
 
 jeas
 
 ( 42 ) 
 
 je£ts of AttiU^ and eat hufks in a Gothic cell. By the am- 
 ple fifl; of St. Luke I believe ye hate all arts but the art of 
 eating, and in that TU match ye againft the Theffalian bulls, 
 or the Theban beafl. 
 
 At this period 1 conceived myfelf inftantaneoufly tranflat- 
 ed to the Council Chamber, which appeared crowded with 
 Students, remarkable bv their dirty faces and their ragged 
 locks, to whom a modell female was delivering the follow- 
 ing opinion ; after a flight inveftigation I difcovcred by her 
 fymbols that the amiable ftranger was Truth ; clofc to her 
 elbow on the right fide, was the Genius of Britain, who 
 feemed more folicitous to be improved by her dogmas, than 
 the Students, for whofe peculiar advantage it was delivered. 
 —Thus the beautiful and accompli (hed Nymph began : 
 
 Students of Design, 
 
 I invoke ye to liften to my admonitions with that pati- 
 ence and attention which 1 conceive the noblenefs of the 
 theme demands. — I mean to arreft ye in the career of beilial 
 ignorance, and bring ye into the luminous path of honor, 
 but to efPeft this ye muft ftudy, and be otherwife than yc 
 are :— the heights of glory were never attained by the inert. 
 
 The deficiency of education, which charafterizes but too 
 many of our Artifts, proves a material drawback on their 
 advancement even in their own immediate profcfTion ; the 
 difadvantages refulting from ignorance, are fo many, that the 
 attempt to enumerate all were vain : yet 1 cannot difmifs 
 this part of my criticifm fo lightly, as not to touch upoil 
 fome of the mod prominent evils. He that has not a due 
 portion of claflical knowledge, and fome acquaintance with 
 the Belles Lettres, cannot poifefs that honorable confidence 
 in himfelf, which is fo neceffary to the attainment of great 
 obje6ls, and to the maturing a great defign ; he cannot be 
 excellent ; he can only be what is termed clever, which is a 
 vulgar medium betv/een worthlefihefs and renown ; for 
 though his imagination may be inherently brilliant, yet 
 that brilliancy will never be palpable, without the polifhing 
 aids of previous document. Fine talents can render no man 
 very eftimable, without the aid of a fine underftanding, and 
 that can only be embellifhed by art : Nature often does 
 much, but fhe cannot do enough, to make our exigencies 
 and our agency uniformly agreeable to thofe who maintain 
 lis with their wealth and proteft us with their power. 
 
 Ability
 
 ( 43 ) 
 
 Ability and difcretion mud journey in unifon, if the former 
 cxpefts to have her dcfires gratified by focicty. I can ad- 
 vance no rcafon fo potent, to account for the high fuperi- 
 ority that is attributable to Michud Arn^elo^ but this, that his 
 learning was as great as his genius, and being fo aptly united, 
 have defeated all competition ; they both tended to eifeft, 
 what neithei co Id iiave accompli fhed alone, inielligence 
 does frequently, and fhould always ftrengrhen modefty and 
 without the ex'orcife of modefty, none can be progreflively 
 meritorious. That individual who can be, at any period of 
 his being, completely fatisfied that he is excellent, will af- 
 iuredly never excel. The fallibility of the moft. perfeft, is 
 evident upon a deep inveftigation, aad if imperfeftion is 
 annexed to fuch chaiafters, how crude muft be the preten- 
 fions of thofe who have not been able to crawl up to the 
 midway of common efteem ? Every perfon may be fo pure 
 in thought as to befatisHed with their principles ; but none, 
 except the vain and the mad, can be fatisfied with their per- 
 formances : it is in the province of education to regulate 
 fuch overweening vulgarities. Though i have never read 
 any fatisfaftory treatife upon the principles of beauty, yet 
 they who form their ideas upon this complicated fubjeft in 
 the low walks of life, will unqueftionably be more erro- 
 neous, than thofe who have fludied to elude deformity, and 
 who, though not convinced that they are altogether right, 
 are at lead confoled from the knowledge that they have the 
 wifer part of the world in their favour. That calmnefs of 
 thinking and grace of combination, fo univerfally admired 
 in Nicolas Pouisin^ was the legitimate and fair iffue of claflic 
 ftudy, without which he could not have embodied his fi- 
 gures with challenefs, though he might have delineated 
 them with precifion. The converfation and focial manners 
 pf Angelica Kaujfman, involve as much of that fafcination 
 and agreeablenels, as is fo charmingly yifible in her profef- 
 fional works, and certainly fhe is indebted for all her at- 
 traftions, in dialogue and painting, to that graceful mode of 
 thought which is the fruit and confequence of a refined 
 education. Had Mrs. Kauffinan been trained up as a coarfe 
 female, fhe would have pofleffed all the native fire of her 
 fancy, but none of that corre£tnefs of thought which ope-^ 
 rates to chaften the offspring of a wild and unlicenfed ge- 
 nius. A dairy-maid may be as beautiful in her anatomy as 
 4 Dychefsj yet the dairy-maid can only partially allure, by 
 
 the
 
 ( 44 ) 
 
 the animal properties of her body, but the Duchefs can 
 rivet there fetters by her language, which were forged 
 generally by her lovelinefs. 
 
 Men of weak minds deceive themfelves into a fuppofition 
 that what is locally praifed, will be commonly admired, and 
 jthat what is acceptable to the million, wi.'l be equally rated 
 by the icientific ! but in tiiis they are moft egregioufly de- 
 ceiving themfelves, as nothing can be eventually approved, 
 but what is originally recommended by fublime thinking. 
 If our young adventuring Artifts fully knew all the multi- 
 farious requifues for an ambitious Profeflbr, there is not one 
 in a hundred hut would fhrink appalled from the profecu- 
 Jlion of the meafure. I am frequently inclined to believe 
 that many of them think it is as eafy to acquire a knowledge 
 /Of the elements and praftife of the polite arts, as to fulfil the 
 ufual obligations of a low mechanic : they incontinently 
 jfeize the pallet and pencils, and commence daubing the 
 faint femblance of their diftorted intimates, and then arro- 
 gantly hope, that they may be clafTcd as a Vandyke or a Ti- 
 tian, without any, or very little acquaintance with ofteology, 
 Biyplogy, the doctrine of colours, the fubordination of tints, 
 the enforcement of mafculine or feminine beauty, the prin- 
 eiples of perfpeftive, or the fevere fuggeftions of unalterable 
 truth !• 
 
 When the Painters of the Italian schools introduced 
 angels playing upon violins, and cherubs blowing the flute, 
 to amufe the holy virgin, Saint Catherine, or any hallowed 
 itinerant in a wildernefs, it was a moft egregious facrifice 
 of all the noble energies of truth and probability, upon the 
 polluted altars of blind bigotry : yet thefe violences offered 
 to the juftice and majefty of propriety, did not fo imme- 
 diately proceed from the want of education, in all the 
 piftorial offenders, (fome of whom were fmgularly enlight- 
 ened on temporal fubjccls,) as from the diflortion and per- 
 Verfion of that knowledge by the influence of monkifh craft, 
 who by cunningly and villainoufly combining fraud with 
 terror, so wrought upon the capacities of fome, and the 
 fears of all, that eventually truth became enveloped in the 
 myfteries of the Church, and men either willingly or re- 
 luctantly gave up v/hat they /t?r<rz/; to be, for what they were 
 commanded to believe rucj / 
 
 It was a formidable maxim with the Greek Painters and 
 Sculptors, to copy nature as fhe appeared, not as flie was, 
 ^'hich to fpeak truly, has been but imperfectly underftood
 
 ( 45 ) 
 
 hy any of our moderns, but more efpecially our fculptors ; 
 in the ftatues of antique origin, you perceive the effeft of 
 flowing hair, and the luxuriancy of drapery, without the 
 texture being palpable; with our fculptors, the matter is 
 totally revcrfed; as they give you, with a mod deftruftive 
 fpecics of induftry, the texture of thofe objefts which are 
 only beautiful on the fcore of grace ; and as this fort of fub- 
 tle definition and difcrimination is almoft entirely depen- 
 dent on fuperior intelligence, it is to be regretted that fo 
 many are eager to become Artifts, who fillily difdain, or 
 indolently rejeft the acquifition of thofe lofty and indif- 
 penfable accomplifhments without which their works are 
 meanly prized, and only entitled to the commendation of 
 that order of critics whofc faculties of thought are as vul- 
 gar and unilluminated as their own. 
 
 As there is an original propenfity to evil in aftion inter- 
 woven in our fyftem, which can only be ameliorated thro* 
 the influence of religion, fo is there an original propenfity 
 to error in the arrangement of ideas in the mind, which 
 can only be reduced to the demands of excellence through 
 the influence of a fine tafle : yet as we are not created with 
 an inborn mode of worfhip, or an inborn mode of juft per- 
 ception, it becomes neccffary that we fhould be inflrufted 
 in the beft principles of both, to enable us to overcome the 
 weakneffes and imperfcftions of our nature, and be as per- 
 feft as our attendant imbecilities will admit. An Aitifl, 
 without concomitant knowledge, is like a mariner who is 
 ignorant of the elements of navigation : he can never ven- 
 ture to {land at the helm of his order, and fleer through the 
 intricate Archipelago of fcience, but muft continue as a 
 common man, laboring for emolument withoirt honor, 
 and fuflenance without dignity. 
 
 There are diflinft provinces in the Arts which mufl be 
 agreeably and completely united to anfwer the defired pur- 
 pofes. It is one thing to underfland a fubjcft, and another 
 to execute it : the majority of Artifls of all nations appear 
 to me to have executed better than they conceived, which 
 is not a very enviable compliment, as the more vulgar order 
 of men may be fo worked upon, in the accuflomed tram- 
 mels of common prefcription, as to be enabled to produce 
 an imitation of Nature, not altogether difgufling ; yet it 
 would be a violation of jufl criticifm to aver that fuch a 
 perfon properlv underftood the higher obligations of his 
 G profellion.
 
 ( 46 ) 
 
 J)?bfeiiion. To copy in an ordinary degree will give plea- 
 fure to coarfe obfervers, and not ftrongly ofFcnd any ; yet: 
 to copy in an eminent degree can only he managed by thofe 
 who could, on an emergenc}'', create a {imilitude in matter 
 and efFcft, to what they iervilely imitate ; as none but a re- 
 fined Poet can tranllate, with becoming energy, the poetic 
 imagery of another language. 
 
 It is the duty of a Painter to fele6l fuch fubjefts for cre- 
 ation or imitation, as fhalt meiet the prevailing ientiment of 
 the mofb acute and well regulated obferver. As admiration, 
 is more powerfully excited- by virtuous and heroic deeds, 
 than by the contemplation of thofe atrocities which have 
 difhonored our nature, a good oi* a bad tafte is manifefted 
 by the choice of matter in a Painter, as much as the choice 
 of language in an Orator, and both are the iifuc of a refined 
 tuition :. no individual can be intuitively gifted with cor- 
 reftnefs of thinking : to acquire that, he muft foberly pon- 
 der over the received inftitutes of the greateft maRcrs, and 
 happily reduce into practice, what he has gained through 
 the medium of refleftion and ftudy,- 
 
 There are not fufficient advantages refulting from the 
 common mode of inftruftion, to enable the profeifor to bear 
 up againft thofe numerous claims, which propriety will in- 
 ceffantly make upon the imagination. Every fpccies of 
 iinachroniCm will become prevalent, in an untutored mind, 
 and the progreflivc ages of the world, with all their depen- 
 dent habits and actions, will be rudely and ludicroufiy min- 
 gled together, to the annoyance of thofe whofe good opinion 
 can alone coiifer value upon the produftions of art : there 
 is no licence appertaining to the purfuit, which canjuftify 
 the grouping, of what isobaoxious-to the truth of nature, 
 or tiie truth of hi (lory. The well-known apopthegm of 
 Horace, is as applaeable fOr the regulation of Painters as 
 Poets, who have relative interefts in no inconfiderable de- 
 gree : 
 
 Std non utpkcidis coemtmmkia, won ut 
 Serpentts avibus gtminentar, Tigribus agnii 
 
 When a fine picture is fhewn to a vulgar obferver, he 
 docs not appear attached t-o the greatnels or grace, with 
 which the performance is fraught, but resorts, like a dri- 
 veller, to the mofl mortifying praifes, on the accuracy of a- 
 button, the ruffles, or fome appendage eq^ually tri fling, nu- 
 gatory, and humiliating 1 
 
 Te
 
 ( 47 ) 
 
 To acquire a competent knowledge of the human ana- 
 tomy, is within the ability of many ; but to acquire that 
 .fort of uplifted knowledge, which, as it were, rchncs the 
 mind, and gives the powei: of fclefting what is admirable 
 from what is coarfe. can only be enjoyed by thofe, who are 
 -,empov/cred to think deeply, and unite their praflical merits 
 with their fcholaftic inftitutes. 
 
 That young difciple who i^s forward with the rciblution 
 of preferringyijr/^Mwe Xo fame, will never be envied on the 
 fcore of talent ; if his mind is not touched by that flame of 
 iirdour, which impels the infpired vota;y to a difdain of 
 the littleneiTcs fo infeparably conneftcd with the hunger of 
 riches, he mult inevitably (ink into that difcfteem, which 
 attaches itfelf to all men of parts, who only imperfeftly ac- 
 quire what is completely attainable by unremitting induflry. 
 
 The great duties of our being may be as powcvfuUy en- 
 forced by the pencil as the pen, and in fome inftanccs more 
 immediately, as the fenfcs are caught by fuvprife, and the 
 very fource of habitual idea improved : conviiftion follows 
 obiervation, and Vv^e become purified from error by means 
 lefs circuitous than the hiftorian can afford. I never fur- 
 v-eyed the fine pi6lure of BeU/arius, at Chifwick, by Van- 
 dyke, without imbibing a defire to have the means of rcf- 
 cuing the blind hero from mifery ; and felt at my departure 
 an additional glow of fympathctic kindnefs, which more 
 than ufually inclined me to the cxercife of benevolence and 
 pity. 
 
 The French fchool has been too much marked with the 
 love of hncry, and has evinced more of prejudices border- 
 ing upon feminine, than the bold decided charafter necel- 
 lary for thofe who undertake to delineate the virtuous fury 
 of a Brutus, or the philofophic refignation of Seneca. Ex- 
 cepting Le Br/in, and Nicholas Pouisin, who was too learn- 
 ed to be a coxcomb in aftion, I cannot afhgn to any the cre- 
 dit, of being either correal in their conception or execution 
 of the more forcible occurrences, fo wonderfully fraughi 
 in the hilfory of perturbed men. 
 
 As there are various refources in medicine, which arc iri 
 their nature harmlefs, and even falubripus, if received into 
 the conftitution moderately, that will become poifonous in 
 cffetb, if taken immoderately ; fo arc there certain porti- 
 ons in fcience, which in a limited degree, are contributable 
 to the befl: purpofcs of art, but if indul^ccl too frequently 
 G 2 and
 
 ( 48 ) 
 
 &nd wantonly, wilKowork upon the mind, as to overthrow 
 and dellroy all that it was intended to cherifh. 
 
 It is the duty of an Artifl to mingle in the world and its 
 concerns, and yet be, in fpirit, abftrafted from its varying 
 interefts ; he ought to forward, as a tacit philofopher, and 
 amend, by the influence of his imagination on his canvas, 
 thofe vices and incongruities which diihonor human na- 
 ture, and flrengthen the adopUon of good qualities by pour- 
 traying the blifsful circumftances of experienced virtue. 
 
 Hope's iliufivc, brittle fuperftruftures fucceed each 
 other in an cndie;fs and undehnable variety : they rife to be 
 deftroyed, and are dcftroyed but to rife again ! the wanton 
 phantom allures us, from the valley, from the hill, from 
 the defert and the " bufy hum of men ;" — fhe feldom 
 promifes us any benefit within our accuftoraed fphere of 
 life, but holds her ideal baubles beyond our ordinary fcale 
 of a6lion : — fhe is in the mind, while fhe is not in being, 
 and circulates her indefinite fnares and charms to intoxicate 
 every idea that knowledge had fuggefted ; — we perifh in 
 the purfuit of her blifles, and in a wonderful degree, re- 
 ceive a portion of enjoyment from the anticipations of what 
 will never occur ; — fhe was deputed by Heaven to difport 
 amid humaniiy, and prove us agreeably, as the puppets of 
 the animated lyllem : — her dominion is more prevailing 
 than even A'enus, iiacchus, or Plutus ; as they are only 
 partially impelling to tire piebald fons of men ; but Hope is 
 conclufively allied to all ages, fexes, climates, and conditi- 
 ons : fhe breathes in our a£bion ; is apparent in our lan- 
 guage, and prevalent in our dream ! 
 
 I never knew a man educated in vulgar habits, who pof- 
 fefled the art of diftinguifhing -vyhat was delicately juft ir^ 
 adion, much lefs in thought : the operations of coarfe in- 
 telligence may often furprife the unthinking many, but will 
 never fatibfy the expeftations of the refined few. As we 
 fnould all be fuppofed as defirous of living in the hope of 
 amendment, fo fliould we all be convinced that without 
 that hope our fyftem would be imperfect, and our ambition 
 fruitlefs, inafmuch as he perchance would be the happier 
 man, who exifled m the total difregard of improvement, 
 and was contented that his common exertions could fquare 
 with his common necefiities ! To remove us from this 
 'peitial degradation, and to give an infpiriting impulfe to 
 the foul, it is wifely inftitutcd that each man fliould be 
 
 ea^e^
 
 ( 49 ) 
 
 eager to overpeer liis neighbour, and acquire that imperial 
 reward, which we denominate honor, from an extraneous 
 exertion of his faculties, which he could never be driven to 
 fcek or demand, from the ordinary movements which are 
 a£luated by any appetite, immediately dependent on our 
 mufcular origination. 
 
 We read of Achilles, from an inftinftive fpirit of noble-- 
 nefs, feizing, when an infant, the implements of war, and 
 rejefting thofe ornaments which, in the ufual adminifhratioii 
 of the young fenfes, are the moft brilliant, alluring, and fa- 
 tisfaftory ; yet this efFufion of poetry is certainly meant to 
 illuftrate the progrefs of a mighty man, and not to enforce 
 truth. Were mankind as di-iftile and as credulous now, as 
 in the darker ages, we fhould have it averred that Rafadk 
 drew the contour of Beauty when a child ; and that Phidias 
 modelled a Grace, when he was difportive in the nurlery; 
 — and thcfe all'ertions would have more than due credit, 
 from our willingncfs to admit, that thofe pcrfons were i'uper- 
 jiaturally endowed, who were but fupereminently educated, 
 and unufually inquifitivc and induftrious ; — thcfe arc ve- 
 nial extra agancies arifmg from a glorious caufe. 
 
 If we fliould ever become fo enervated or contaminated, 
 as to be indifferent about renown, then will the great pil- 
 lars of our hope, our peace, and our virtue be removed : — rl 
 will infifh that our love of each other is intimately connect- 
 ed with our regards for the progrefs of the Polite Arts ; and 
 that in the fame asra men become carelefs as to the attain- 
 ment of excellence, they will become brutalized in the other 
 departments which fullain the affociation of human beings. 
 
 AH intricacies would be abandoned for the love of cafe, 
 if we could pafs as cilimably through life without the em- 
 belliflimciits iiluing from rehnement. as having them in our 
 poffeflion. If a Sigp -painter could be admitted, with equal 
 pleafure, mto the circles of dlftiuftion, with the dignified 
 Profelfor of I amting, the termination of honeft pride, and the 
 fuppreliion of genius, v/ould not be far dillant. Our una- 
 bating ardour to be admired is the beft fpriiig to our endea- 
 vour to be amiable ; and the moll efficient reafon why a 
 Painter is preferred to a common handicraftfman is, that the 
 latter may be rendered ufeful witlioutany particular degree 
 of illumination or ftudy, but the former cannot ; as an Art- 
 ifh who has not palled the boundaries of mediocrity, is like 
 4 Poet limiia;ly circumftanccdj a creature in no rcqucft, whp 
 
 lives
 
 ( 5» ,) 
 
 lives without fplendor, and dies without popular commifc* 
 ration. 
 
 Every Artifl flioiild be ejiabled by ftudy, to hold a free 
 conVcrfation with the learned dead, fo that when he hefi- 
 tates in affixing a refclution emerging from thought, he may 
 be feconded by the eftablifhed examples of the moil brilliant 
 predeceffors. Nature is an immenfe volume of complicated 
 truth, and thofe only can read it ac.curately, who are em- 
 powered to relbrt to the index of fcience, for the ready 
 completion of their wifhes : I would not be undcrftood by 
 this declaration, as generally affirming that none but the 
 learned can invefligate nature, as the greater part of her 
 works are palpable to a vulgar capacity : my idea is, that 
 none but the enlightened can explore or penetrate into her 
 receffcs, and develope cbjefts that are apparently hidden ; 
 for it is with rich nature as with rich individuals, fhc often 
 feems inclined to keep her choicell treafures, in the moic 
 remote and obfcure faftneffcs. 
 
 None of our Artifts, whether Painters of Hiftory or 
 Landfcape, have a precife knowledge of perfpeftive. In 
 Mr. Copley's Siege of Gibraltar, many of the figures meant 
 to be very fubordinate, and in the extremes of the back 
 ground, are brought too near the eye : the fame remark 
 holds good in Mr. Lou therbourg's Siege of Valenciennes, 
 Many of our coxcomical Artifts are very particular in 
 getting, what they call, a canvafs with a grain ; and by 
 painting every objeft on that, whether aerial or fubftantial, 
 they very ingenioufly contrive to give a fceming inequality 
 ^o what is in nature fmooth and harmonious ! What can be 
 more abfurd, than to view (kies and tranquil lakes, agitated 
 as it were, by a fort of quilled irregularity P — This vile pro- 
 penfity prevails in the works of many of our I'ortrait Paint- 
 ers, of ^\Qn the firft eftimation zoiih as. and furely no ona 
 will prefume to aver that the cheek of a beauty, or even a 
 hero, is thus marked in nature, and if it is not thus marked 
 by nature, why fhould they have the audacious and ruinous 
 folly, to impofe that upon the obfcrvant as a juft femblance 
 pf an original, when the primary quality of fmoothncfs is 
 ^vantonly deftroyed by the uftcftation of the limner, who 
 lubftitutes roughnels for harmony, and fallacy for truth ?- — 
 if the bcft works of IVouwermaiis arc conlldered as very de- 
 fcftlve, becaufe they poflefs a general blue tint, which is not 
 viiibie in the combined arrangements gf nature, how much 
 
 mor(?
 
 ( SI ) 
 
 inore defeftlve miift they be confiderecl, who in neither the 
 tint nor the fupcrficcs arc reconcileable to our judgment. 
 
 The faft is, that Painters find it more ealV to paint a 
 ■ rough pifture, than a fmooth one, and by their being able 
 to hnifli it fooner, it involves alio the recommendation of 
 difpatch ; yet after thofe deftruftive and meretricious ef- 
 forts, 1 will be bold enough to affirm, that there have been 
 \'ery few rough piftures, as they may be claffed, which have 
 .been highly eftimable. But there is a ipecies of lunacy 
 which impels men to be fingular rather than juft, and like 
 fome pretenders in the drama, who willingly facrifice the 
 eftablifhed diftates of O^idntilian for what they call nczo read- 
 ing ; fo have we pretenders in painting, who arc more 
 eager to be eccentric and ridiculous, than delicate and imi- 
 tative. 
 
 1 have obferved, that the majority of thofe Artifls whom: 
 1 have known, have in their early attempts, relied more 
 upon their imagination and memory, than on the copying 
 of a given objeft ; but as they became more mature and fci- 
 entific, they have in proportion relinquifhed their reliance 
 upon their own inventive powers, and relbrted to an efta- 
 blifhed original, for nearly all they meant to depift : — and 
 this habit has at length become {o confirmed, that they 
 v/ould not venture to defign at all, where it was in any de- 
 gree poflible to procure a model. Moll of the Members of 
 ithe Fiemifh fchool, particularly Bajfan^ would never rely 
 upon the original conjeftures of their own fancies. 
 
 Sir J. Reynolds was another of thci'e innumerable in- 
 ilances, which prove, that a man may recommend in his 
 theory what he docs not embrace in his praftife, and endea- 
 vour (apparently mod ferioufly) to create an objeft for 
 others to worfhip, but to which he will not pay ziny' devoir 
 liimfelf. I am led to this conclufive and fecming harfli fen- 
 timent, by my knowledge that he uniformly, in the dlf- 
 courfcs which he delivered to the Students of the Royal 
 Academy, upon Painting, fpoke in terms of the moft excef- 
 live and appropriate rapture, of the greatnefs appertaining; 
 to the works of M. Angelo, yet no man appears to have 
 fhudicd him or copied him lefs in his praftice ; and tiiis is 
 the more extraordinary and glaring, inafmuch as he wa*- 
 noted for fpeaking of Rembrandt with a fort of fcorn, 
 yet evidently laboured to follow him, much in the point of 
 fiompofition, but generally in the point of effeft. If he pur- 
 
 iuw-d.
 
 C 5= 1 
 
 fucci this crooked road of policy, in order to cover his pts-^ 
 giai iims, it was the more unworthy in him, who was pro- 
 perly admitted to be an enlightened principal of the national 
 ichoofs of dehgn, and capable of diftinguifhing between 
 what was generally true and generally falfe. 
 
 At this inftant the difcourfc was abruptly fufpended, the 
 doors of the Chamber were thrown open, and the novel 
 ceremonials crave me to underftand that it was 
 
 o 
 
 The inauguration of the PRESIDENT. 
 
 The momentous procefTion was led by Mr. Boswelt, 
 the Secretary for Foreign Correfpondencc, who was habited 
 in the precife academic bonnet, that belonged to Mr. Ba- 
 jiETTi. On its front was attached the fign'ficant letters 
 A B C, a compofition of thebcft gingerbread ; on his ample 
 breail was a tablet, ntirted with all the hieroglvphics, me- 
 taphors, and allegories of the rude ages, containing fpeci- 
 mens of his erudition, in the Phoenician, Chaldic, Hebrew, 
 Etrufcan, Celtic, Greek, Ofcian, Roman, Gaelic, Welfh, 
 Irifli, Gothic, lilandic, Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Norman, 
 Patois, and Hang characters. Immediately after him came 
 the Prtiidcnt himielf, flanked and fupported by the match- 
 lefs Profelfors of Painting, Sculpture, Architefture, and 
 Anatomy. Next came the Secretary brandiftiing two 
 2^oles.. on one of which was Rembrandt's flannel night-cap, 
 and on the other the fhort linfey-wooifey petticoat, that be- 
 longed to Gerard Dow*s celebrated Miftrefs. To him 
 fuctccded Mr. Wilton, with a buftofThames half fhaved. 
 Then followed Mr. Catton bearing two bajfi relievi ; on 
 that in his right hand was emboiTcd the ftory of the pre- 
 lumptuous Marfyas, writhing under the laflies of an angry 
 Phoebus ; and on that in his left hand was a King of Egypt 
 without ahead, in the aft off — t — g at the ten plagues of hilS 
 realm. Next approached Mr. Burgh, with a likenefs of 
 Mr. Pitt in bronze, and the Imperial Catherine in fulphur. 
 Then appeared Sir William Chambers, Knight, bearing 
 the effigy of a Cormorant, and empty purfe : behind him 
 was Hung an order witiiout a bafc. — The folemn cavalcade 
 was clol^d by the indefinite R. A's. who crowded in, after 
 fach other, rammed, crammed, andjammed ; and ramming, 
 cramming, and jamming, with the moll ardent ill manners. 
 
 When Mr. West had fquatted a la tivque into the 
 Prcfidcntiiil broad armed chair, he looked at that, his bre- 
 thren,
 
 ( S3 ) 
 
 thrcn, himfelf, then at the portrait of Sir Joshua, when he 
 fighed, reddened, and icemcd to wonder how the devil he 
 got there ; but he was roufed from his reverie, by Mr. 
 Richards, who propofed to him to take the foUowmg 
 
 ACADEMIC OATH. 
 
 At this fuggeftion Mr, West ftood up uncovered, and 
 became thus neceiTarily refponfive. 
 
 Obligation i. That you fhall duly ferve our Sovereign 
 Lord and Patron, the King, and never contradift or 
 queftion, or improve his dclires. 
 
 Answer. I fwear ! 
 
 Obligation 2. That you fhall never take one hundred 
 pounds for a pi£ture, when you can get one hundred 
 guineas. 
 
 Ansv/er. I fwear ! 
 
 Obligation 3, -That you fhall never fend your q.wn per- 
 formances to an auftion, unless you cannot fell them 
 by any other means. 
 
 Answer. I fwear ! 
 
 Obligation 4.— That you fhall attend all the leftures, and 
 fuflFer a penalty when you doze. 
 
 Answer. 1 fwear ! 
 
 Obligation 5. — That you fhall feed the Amateurs once a 
 year, and get drunk on the 4th of June. 
 
 Answer. 1 fwear ! 
 
 Ob 1. 1 gat ion 6. — That you fliall never give a decifive opi- 
 nion upon the meiits of a pifture, unlefs that opinion 
 favours one of tlie Royal Members. 
 
 Answer. 1 fwear ! 
 
 Obligation 7.— That you fhall never pretend to difclose 
 the fecrets of your art, but to miflead, unlefs it is to a 
 Profeffor, who is already milled. 
 
 Answer. I fwear ! 
 
 Obligation 8. — That youfliall maintain all the regulations 
 of the inftitution with fidelity, provide brooms for the 
 cobwebs; pipes andmundungus for the Council; gene- 
 va for the living model, and a clean privy for the dis- 
 ciples. 
 
 Answer.. 1' fwear! 
 
 At the termination of the vow. Sir William Chambers 
 
 introduced a fmall bronze figure of Plutus ; when the Prefi- 
 
 dent and all his brethren kiffcd the breech of the black god, 
 
 'vvith a fervency that amazed mc. I overheard Truth 
 H whifpcr
 
 ( 54 ) 
 
 wliifpcr Britannia, that this fingular deed of piety had 
 been objeftcd to by Meffrs. Peters and Barry, for its ap- 
 proximation to Paganifm*, but had their fcruples removed by 
 the Prelate of Lincoln, who informed them, that it was a 
 fpccies of idolatry not unknown by either King. Lords, or 
 Commons. 
 
 As unluckily there were no tomes of Holy Writ in the 
 building, the Prefident ratified the articles, by kifling, or 
 rather flobbering an odd volume of Mr. Joseph Miller ; 
 which it was prefumed would anfwer the purpofe as well : 
 they then hung a large pallet and pound brufli around his 
 neck, and finally anointed him with a quart of turpentine, 
 which trickled down his long head, like oil from the beard 
 of a patriarch. 
 
 The prefcribed forms being fulfilled, the Secretary, ac- 
 cording to habit, fixed a huge cap, or official badge, of ho- 
 norable diftinction, upon the aftoniflied Principal's head ; 
 it refemtled a Baronet's coronet, with thi? unefTential dif- 
 ference, that inllead of white balls it was fup plied with 
 tinkling bells, and that the top was conically falhioned, and 
 fell graccfuU)- behind upon his Atlantean shoulders. 
 
 A Royal medal was circulated on the high occafion ; on 
 one fide was the Sovereign's head crowned with thorns, and 
 on the exergue the Georgium Sidus fhedding its benign in- 
 fluence upon mufhrooms : thofe giv^en to the Academicians 
 and Affociates were appropriately caft in Brass, and thofe 
 thrown among the Students impreffed upon Lead. This 
 auguft confeciation should have been enafted by Dr. Pe- 
 ters, as Chaplain of the Order; but the worthy Prieft v/as 
 unluckily non eji inventus. 
 
 The initiation being clofed, Mr. Bos well fwelled his 
 cheeks like Boreas in wrath, and loudly ejaculated — " All 
 hail Benjamin West, Prefident of the Royal Academy;" 
 at wh'ch fummons, the Diplomatic corps arofe, and with 
 folemn accordance bowed their heavy heads towards the 
 chair, in unifon; while the boifherousyovmg lings of the Nati- 
 onal School around, roared out in the high note of trium.ph, 
 
 O RARK BEN! 
 
 Mr. West returned the noify body thanks, and then pro- 
 ceeded to exercife the arduous funftions of his duty. When 
 he was rcfeated, Mr. Richards prefented the following 
 Congratulatory Letters; 
 
 and teflimonics like thofe might make a Caefar proud. 
 
 dear.
 
 ( 55 ) 
 
 DKAR BEN, 
 
 What I have predifted to Mrs. Dance above a hundred 
 times is now realized — you are the President of the Roy at 
 Academy ; it is unqueftionably a poft of honour, and I believe 
 fome peril ; but as my man Thady lays, Godblefs you, and 
 do you good with it. 1 liave now, my dear BEN, totally 
 forgot all thofe local vanities which 1 imbibed in Somerfet- 
 place, and nurtured in my own ftudy — Envy, hatred, and 
 uncharitablenefs, are with me now but as the creatures of a 
 vifion, not the hideous inmates of focial life. Like an en- 
 raged creator, I am at war with my own works, and cut up 
 my offspring as Jehovah fmote the fons of Ifracl. The ap- 
 pearance of hiftory confounds my underflanding, and my 
 domejtic pieces make me mad. — I have given away all thole 
 efforts of my pencil, which common opinion denominated 
 fubJimc; I have prclcntedthe tygrcfs and her )'02^?z^ to Lady 
 Strathmore — Columbus and the eclipfe to the club at 
 Brookes's — Daniel in the den of lions to Warren Hast- 
 1 NG — My Ganymede to Lord Courtney — My noli me tan- 
 gere to Mr. Pitt — My Janus to Henry Dundas— My 
 Dogberry to Justice Addlebrain —My anatomy of the 
 mole to Lord Uxbridge — My Marjyas to Sir Willi- 
 am Pultney — My prefcntation in the temple to Lord 
 Eardley — My return oi' the prodigal to Sir Charles Bam- 
 FYLDE — My repofo to Lord Galway — My Diana in the 
 Jiream to the Duke of No r f o lk — My adultrefs before Chrifc 
 to the Margravine of Anspach — My Niobe to the Queen 
 of the F r E N c H — My Saint Francis in extacy to J o h n W i l k e s 
 — My holy family to the Ex Chancellor — My interior- 
 view o^ d. church to Lord Sandwich — My Cardinal Beau- 
 fort in the agonies of death to Edmund Burke — My af- 
 fumption of the virgin to the Maids of LIonor — My Pan 
 'And Syrinx to Lord Cardigan — My portrait of Polonius to 
 the Marquis of Salisbury — My memento mori to the Du- 
 chefs of Chandos — My whole length of Elizabeth Canning 
 to Mrs. G u N n I n g — My fungiifs on the dunghill to George 
 RosE-^My Jonas \nt\-\Q. ivhaW'shoWyto Mr. Hob art — My 
 butcher's jhop to the Court of Aldermen — My Venus and 
 Adonis to the Marquis of Bland ford — .My chicken fright- 
 ened by a maftif to Mr. M. A. Taylor— My Doll Tearjheet 
 to Lady C. Johnston — My viyitage pruned by Bacchanals 
 to the Duchefs of Gordon — My day of judgment to Lord 
 Loughborough — My Tully on copper to Mr. Erskine 
 My fun Jet to the Houfe of Orangq — My toy-fhop to the 
 H 2 Houfe
 
 ( S6 ) 
 
 Houfe of Peers — My old zooman by candle light to the Editor 
 of the St. James's Chronicle — My Jervs catching manna to 
 the Subfcribers to the Loan — My cave of defpair to Mr. 
 Fox — My Bardolph in love to Mr. Sheridan — My Elijah 
 fed by ravens to Lof d KenyOxN — My child turned dry to 
 Mr. Canki:. G — ^^.y /mo king Boor with his pipe broke, to 
 Mr. Courtney — My Pig in Trouble to Sir Wat kin 
 Lewes — My dog in a thunder dorm to his Grace of Rich- 
 mond — My Cow in clover to Mother Windsor — The 
 AJfaJfin in Purgatory to the tall Ruffian of Cld Drury — 
 The Devil and the Collier to Lord Lonsdale — The Poly- 
 
 phejhe to Old Q . — The Bat hj/icb a to Sir Rchard 
 
 WoRSLEY — The Alfred dividing his loaf to Lord West- 
 moreland — My Children, at play to the Managers of the Im- 
 peachment — My Banditti to the Houfe of Commons ; and 
 all my C^^r^^ toHis Majesty ! 
 
 1 am, dear Sir, 
 April -at, 1792, "I With the moft perfeft efteem, 
 
 -^^V/if:; Yours, &C.&C 
 
 Opposite Old Bedlam. J N. D AN C F. 
 
 P. S. Being fomewhat addifted to aftrology. I cannot 
 avoid combining events with figns, I ardently hope the 
 Royal /lea demy will ever be as brilli&nt as ujual\ yet of all 
 the points of the compafs 1 believe the West to be the moft 
 jnaufpicious, when confidered as fymbolical for the conti- 
 7uiance of terreflrial glory ! — as you are looked upon at Wind- 
 foras a fort of bipedal conftellation, pray inform me in which 
 of the Jionjes you were born ? upon my honor, Mr. West, 
 I mean no offence by the quellion, it only alludes to the ori- 
 gin of your irrefijlible genius, not to your origin as a mere 
 animal — I mult relate a bon viot made by my incomparable 
 and divine lady the other evening at fupper, though it is in 
 a diminutive feiife at your expence.; " And fo," faid fhe, 
 *' my dear, (meaning me) they have chofen Mr. West Pre- 
 fident ; but let me tell him that had you, my love, (meaning 
 me again) condefcended yet to illuminate canvafs, perhaps Mr. 
 West would have remained a common R. A. and Fortune 
 might have ltd them a dance ! ! ! 
 
 MY vEr.Y good friend, 
 
 I have pcrufed, with great indignation, thofc remarks upon 
 
 your late exaltation, which have furniihcd literary food for 
 
 the fcandalous in the diurnal prints of this metropolis, fmce 
 
 your indifpenhble cle6lion to the primary honors of our 
 
 auguff
 
 ( 57 ) 
 
 augufl: inllitution — had 1 been thus aflallcd by the imps 
 of infidelity, before I was regenerated in the dufty re- 
 cedes of Trinity College, and faw the light of the gof- 
 pei, I am free to confefs that I fliould have felt emotions 
 of revenge ! — as the leaven of the old wan may be yet unmixed 
 in yoar unblanched fyftem, it becomes me, as your chap- 
 lain, to point out the rocks of reprobation, and lead you, like 
 a lamb, into the paths of peace ; but if the ftripes or caftiga- 
 tion of the ungodly fliould have made you fore, remember 
 that terrestrial punifhmcnt is the peculiar lot of the beati- 
 fied, as the Lord chajleneth hut thofe he loveth. If your mind 
 is not already fufficicntly duftilc, I intreat you, my dear Ben- 
 jamin, to read Jtroiiie. and the Fathers, on the neceffity of 
 
 indifcriminate refignation — You know that Lord G • 
 
 thinks moit highly of your talents, and whoever Lord 
 
 G protefts, muft be dear to fortune and to fame. As 
 
 I was peruling Tliomas-a-Kcmpis yellerday, in my ftudy, a 
 ray of momentary ambition fliot acrofs the chambers of my 
 imagination ; I was pondering on the virtues of the tenth Lco^ 
 who would have made Raphael a cardinal, had he not been 
 gathered to hisjathers 'ere the facred purple had ilfued from 
 the loom. Do you think it could be very malapropos to have 
 a Rsyal Academician metamorphoied to ^prelatt ? You have 
 woni/?r/*«/ influence at Windfor ; and I ihould like to know 
 the ideas of a great personage on the fubjeft. With all 
 humility be it fpoken, but 1 think I could badger the Devil 
 as well as any he who grafps a crozier in the circles of 
 <:hriflianity. I am now painting Lot in his filthinefs, for the 
 
 Earl of P . The pifliure is in my beft manner ; I did one 
 
 of the daughters lad Sunday morning, and hope to get the 
 other in tolerable good keeping before the deceaie of the pre- 
 fent mouth. My chef d'oeuvre of Sufannah and the two Ll- 
 
 dcrs, is fuperbly framed ; Doftor S of our univerfity will 
 
 affert, that all the artifls have been wrong from the begin- 
 ning, relative to the conception of this ftory ; and that the 
 ciders of the church had frequently never feen their for- 
 tieth year. I was much irritated by a fcoundrel cheefe- 
 monger a few days ago, who had the audacity to offer me 
 but ten pounds for the apotheojis of his wife, who died in 
 childbed of her Jirjl fruits : had he given me fifty, i would 
 have placed her in an aerial, comfortable chair, buoyant on 
 a blue cloud, in the fecond heaven ; but the vender of cheeie 
 thinking the demand exorbitant, his good lady mud take her 
 ihance with the vulgar, and r^t, unhonored, beneath the 
 
 turf,
 
 ( ss ) 
 
 turf, at Pancrafs. A good hint is not unfrequently equal to 
 the eftablifhment of a man's fortune; what think you of 
 making the ftory of the lohite horfc in the Revelations, ap- 
 plicable to the illuftrious pre-eminence of the Housr. of 
 Hanover? As 1 have now given you the commodity, it 
 belongs to your own fagacity to carry it to the beft mart, 
 and for my part. I know no market fo proper for your pur- 
 pofe as Saint jfames's. As piety, you muft acknowledge, is 
 in a ftate of evident debility, 1 fhall implore Sir William 
 Chambers to aflift me in giving the weak gentlewoman 
 fome crutches, that is, to purchafe a few hundreds of the 
 Elements of Faithy and diftnbute them, gratis, among the 
 fludents : furely he will not hefitatc to advance a fmall fum 
 from the treafuiy for fo godlike a purpofe? Receive my 
 benedidion, my dear West, and believe me your fmcere 
 paflor, 
 
 March zoth,x']c,z. "1 / W. Peters. 
 
 Paternoster-roiVy r 
 
 Ofposite the Devil and St. Dun^tan. J 
 
 P. S. I fhould have informed you that I have ftrippcd off 
 the drapery from your favourite piece, the Virgin^ and fhe 
 looks remarkably well. I have a fine fukjeci in my eye for a 
 living model, a beautiful impure — fhe will fu for half a gui- 
 nea a night, and has all the necejfary prominencies in due tone 
 — fay but the word, and 1 will engage her myfelf for the 
 vfe cf the Academicians — I have examined her proportions — 
 I have taken care of her precious foul ; the falvation of her 
 fair body 1 have configned to Sheldon, 
 
 DEAR BEN, 
 
 As the twittering of the fparrow is faid to be as accepta- 
 ble to the Beity, as the more melodious hymn of the Night- 
 ingale, perhaps, my lowly congratulations may meet a re- 
 ception as flattering as thole originating from more dignified 
 men : though I felt moft fenfihly for the death of our late 
 ineftimable Prefident, my heart was in a confiderable dagree 
 ealed of its burthen of forrow, by your vioji honorable ad- 
 vancement to the firft chair in our council. 
 
 As for myfelf, Mr. West, 1 muft candidly acknowledge, 
 that I do not ever furvey my Diploiia, without entertaining 
 a lively fenfe of my own infufficicncy — My God ! who 
 could have thought that I fhould have arrived at fuch a pin- 
 nacle of general eftimation as this ? To be a Royal Academi- 
 cian's dubbed an Eftjuire by the immediate hand of Majefty, 
 
 and
 
 ( 59 ) 
 
 and have an R. A. attached to my humble name, like the 
 hieroglyphics to the Portrait of an Egyptian Sage — to be all 
 this, is alfuredly intoxicating — but to be all tliis, and not feel 
 the energies of vafh ambition, were to be more or lefs than 
 mortal. Now I recoUeft, Sir, that in the year of our Lord, 
 One Thoufand Seven Hundred and Seventy-Eight, while I 
 was drinking brandy with fome Ladies of diftinclion in the 
 Friendly Iflands, a copper-coloured Sybil of their nation 
 approached me with apparent awe, and after walking round 
 me three times, looked ftedfaftly in my face for a few fe- 
 conds, then burft into an immoderate fit of laughter, and 
 fled inftantly to the neighbouring hills ; this fmgular con- 
 duft afloniflied and abaQied me, until I literally related the 
 adventure to Sir Joseph Banks, who gave me unequivocal 
 confolation, by affuring me, that the rifibility of the ignorant 
 was his greateft pride, and that no better fign of true great- 
 nefs could be adduced, than when the laugh of the vulgar 
 was direftcd to the fmgularities of meritorious fublimity. 
 
 1 have the fuperlative felicity to inform you, Sir, that I 
 paflfed a moft delegable evening laft Sunday with Mr. Cos- 
 WAT and his amiable family — it is to his valuable documents 
 that I {land indebted for thofe inward lights which illumine 
 the Chriftian, and uplift the Man : in my callow opinion, it 
 cannot be enough regretted, that the minor {hould be em- 
 powered to abforb the major, or that an individual fo emi- 
 nently gifted to preach Ihould be impelled to paint — The 
 World wants mendin? and I know not the man who could 
 fo incontinently effeft the purgation as Richard Co sway 
 — his all-accom[)linied Lady, the Tufcan Maria and he, 
 mean to write annotations upon the Apocrypha^ and give the 
 lie direft to fcepticihTi. — Do you think Mr. West, that Sir 
 William Chambers will pcrviit us to ufe any of the vaft 
 profits arifing from the Academic Annual Exhibition, for 
 the purpofe of erefting a Maufolcum for the remains of the 
 dead Knight ? — You know it will be an undertaking that 
 will neceffarily require fome genius to cffcft, and as he cannot 
 be concerned in the glory or emolument, I have fome doubts 
 if the whole body of the Artifls, ilrengthened by the ardent 
 defire of the nation, will be able colle£lively to enforce his 
 confent ; I rely upon your honor, Mr. West, that Sir Wil- 
 j,iAM is never made acquainted with thefe fuggeftions — you 
 know the man,' and that knowledge fliould operate like the 
 armour of the Third Edward. 1 have taken all neceflary 
 mcaiures fur the accuftomed dinner, previous to the open- 
 " - ing
 
 ( 6o ) 
 
 ing of our gates for the gaping multitude. I have purchafcd 
 a Lincoln-fed ox in Smithfield, at the rate of two-pence 
 threc-farthings a pound ; the hide may be manufactured into 
 a comfortable winter gabardine for Johh the porter, the 
 tallow will feed the lamp in the life Academy 'for fomc 
 months, and as I fuppofe none of the Academicians want 
 horns, 1 propofe burning them myfelf, to mix with Terra 
 CoTTA for fore-grounds. 
 
 1 am informed. Sir, that we fhall be honoured with an af- 
 femblage of Peers and Prelates ! -Pray, ^ir, in arranging tlie 
 vifitorSj who takes the lead in point of local dignity, a Bi- 
 Ihop or a Yellcw- Admiral ? — We are to have plates, difhcs 
 and tureans from Wedgwood's pottery, at nine-pence per 
 head, and knives and forks from Birmingham at half the 
 fum ; but in both inflanccs the ftolen and Grayed, loft or 
 miflaidr to be paid for within one \veek after the commence- 
 ment of tlie Exhibition — wifliing you as much happintfs as 
 you have honor, I beg leave to fubfcribe myfelf, 
 
 Your unalterable Friend and Servant, 
 
 Marc^ 2%thy 1792, \ J- WEBBER. 
 
 Near the Mumleville' s-IJead. J 
 
 P. S. 1 have followed your advice, Sir, in regard to the 
 difpofal of my own piftures — I have removed all the Sea- 
 horfes to the back garret ; made our Saviour fhorter by a foot 
 and a half, and have hung up all the Apoftles in the dining- 
 
 The following letter was read by miftake, being intended 
 for the private perufal of Mr. Boswell, 
 
 DEAR SIR, 
 
 This day, agreeably to the influence of cuftom, the Royal 
 Academicians, Aflbciates, flanked with noble and ignoble 
 vifitors, had their annual dinner at Somerfet Place. Pre- 
 vious to the entre of the firloins and the arrangement of the 
 leiler viands, a fort of defultory converfation tt)ok place be- 
 tween Mr. Weft and the Bifliop of Lincoln, upon the tr- 
 FECT which the various piftures had upon the fenlations of 
 the King and Quel;k, who yefterday honored this theatre 
 of the Arts wiih their prefence. Perhaps it would not be 
 altogether proper or decent to detail the opinions of fove- 
 reigns ; yet to you I may venture to be explicit, as in your 
 bofom the impuHe of loyal love fuperfedcs every other c(>n- 
 fideration. The remarks of my augu/l Mafter were chiefly 
 ronfwied to uy whole length portraits of the Duke and 
 
 Duchcf?
 
 ( 6' ) 
 
 Duchcfs of York. Were I to inform you that their gene- 
 ral praifc of thcfe c^fforts were exctffive, you might think me 
 vain, To I fhall forego their applaule of my labours to indite 
 their diiapprobation of the labours of my brethren of the 
 Brufh. You mull know there is a young man in this me- 
 tropolis who is now emerging from obfcurity in a moft tx- 
 iraordinary manner; his name is Morlaxd; he has ac- 
 quired a iORT of celebrity by the facility of his pencilling : 
 he poffelTes no doubt a small portion of merit ; but unfor- 
 tunately j&oor_)/oz^7? a- maiiy the vulgarity of his origin, like 
 tliat of Op IE, is conftantly evident in all he docs. His 
 chef d'ouvre this year is a view of Sir Joseph Mawbey's 
 farm in Surrey, with a coarfe likenefs of the Knight feeding 
 his favourite Sow in the foreground, and a litter of pigs 
 half enveloped by the fmoke of a recking dunghill. Here 
 his Majesty made fome curious remarks upon the con- 
 ftrudion of an outhoufe ; lamented the grunters were not 
 better tiled in, and concluded with a Bon Mot at the expencc 
 of Mo R LAND, who the King affirmed, from all he had heard 
 upon the fubjeft, never carried his hogs to a good market. 
 
 The next objeft of Royal attention was Ri gaud's hifto- 
 jrical piece of C-'ESAR repudiating Calphu r ni a; after fur- 
 veyjng this piece with the fcrupulous and keen eye of criti- 
 cifm, the King afked Mr. West if the Roman Emperors 
 were empowered to turn away their wives at will, accord- 
 ing to the fuggeftions of their own caprice, independant of 
 the eccleiiaftic court ; and if they did thus, if he Mr. West 
 thought the mcdfure would hold good inlaw ? But the wor- 
 thy Prefident, not being able to give a direft anfwer to a 
 queftion of fuch moment and magnitude, it was agreed to 
 refer the whole afi^air to the decifion of the Chancellor. 
 
 The fuccecding objefts which caught the vifion of the il- 
 luftrious obiervers, were Faith, Hope, and Chrity, by Ha- 
 milton : to the management of thefe perfonages, the King 
 made fcveral rational objeftions ; he thought Faith was not 
 I'ufficientiy luminous about the head ; that Hope looked in- 
 toxicated, and Charity was half-famifhed ; here her Majefty 
 thus interfered, with grace ineffable, " let us buy the three 
 perfonages ourfelves, Georgy, and put a few guineas in the 
 pocket of the artifl ; 1 think we can difpofc of them to the 
 advantage of fociety ; we will fend Faitk to Mr. Halhed, 
 Hope to Lady Cardigan, and Charity to his Grace of Can- 
 terbury. 
 
 The fublime gajers now turned to the contemplation of 
 1 Far^
 
 ( 6. ) 
 
 Far I ngton's charming pifturc of the Tower of Babel : this 
 performance took up a confiderable portion of the Royal at- 
 tention, and before the King quitted the fpot, he made two 
 memorandums ; firll, to a{k Sir William Chambers if he 
 did not think the Chinefe borrowed their ideas of a pagoda 
 from this ftrufture ; and the fecond was, to enquire of Sir 
 Joseph Banks if the Celtic Tongue did not originate w?th 
 the mutiny of the bricklayers concerned in that famous edi- 
 fice — I am informed that the King indulged himfelf in ano- 
 ther bon mot at the expence of Cos way, who, he pleafantly 
 remarked, was fo good upon a canvafs, that he thought he 
 fhould be employed at the next general eleclion ; Mr. XVest, 
 it is faid. laughed immoderately : but the Queen looking 
 ferious, the Prefident realTumed his accuftomed gravity, and 
 the jell was not regiftered. 
 
 March 28, 1792- 1 
 
 ""'^^^h/hI:' \ I ^-: de- Sir, your's, &c. 
 
 FetticoatJane. J J. HOPNER. 
 
 P. S. A curfed unlucky affair occurred during dinner : 
 that uncleanly favage Barry, in reaching over the table to 
 flick his fork in fome green fat, overfet a tureen of hot foup 
 upon the Duke of Leeds's breeches ; and John, by holding 
 a candle too near the Bifhop of Bath, fet fire to his Court 
 curls, and burnt three yards of his wig. 
 
 DEAR SiR, 
 
 I rejoice at your aftonifhing elevation. I am now hard 
 at it upon an Arcadian fcene. What do you think, Ben, of 
 my mingling a few red and yellow, and blue and crimfon 
 trees. To tell you a fecret, 1 and Loutherbourgh and a 
 few more of the R. A's are fick of green, becaufe you know 
 it is fo curfed vulgar. I have the pleafure to inform 
 you, that my ruin^ which pleafed you fo exceedingly, will 
 be completed in a few weeks. My little Alice fet fire to 
 my farm-yard yeftcrday evening, and burnt the cow-houfe, 
 the farmer's wife, a hen and chickens, and the horfe-pond ; btt 
 I mean to make another, and give it to Sir Johk Sinclair. 
 March 2%th, 1794. '\ Your's, 
 
 Opposite the Devil I Till death do US part. 
 
 in Butcher-row. J iL. GarVEY. 
 
 iP. S. Which do you think makes the bell foreground 
 for a pidure, a dock leaf or a fummer cabbage ? 
 
 MY
 
 ( 63 ) 
 
 MY DEAR BEN, 
 
 I pant to give you a Cornifli hug upon your exaltation. 
 Who would have thought it that I Ihould be an Academi- 
 cian and you the Prefident ? But fome men " are born to 
 greatnefs, and fome have greatnefs thruft upon them." — • 
 Happy Varlets ! but enough of that. I have finifhed my 
 Cain jnurdering Abel, for the rooms of Hanover-fquare. My 
 Jofeph feajliiifg his Brethren is in great forwardnefs : this is 
 intended as a prefent from the King to the Speaker of the 
 Houfe of Commons. I am now in the great aft of iixing 
 Europa upon the tremendous BidL\ perhaps it may not be 
 altogether unneceffary for me to inform you, that I took the 
 ftory from one Ovid, who lived upon his Gods, like the 
 Bench of Bifhops, and like them damned thofe he difliked. 
 Do you think I may venture to depift the lufty bead in all 
 his honors, witliout giving offence to trembling virginity 
 or the peery matron ? As Barry's fo good at a bull, I at 
 f firfl thought of afking him, but I was not fure that he would 
 not but me for my temerity. 
 
 March 30M, 1J94. T I am, Sir, your's, &c. 
 
 Near t/te Hos: in t/ie Blanket, > ^ 1 j T r* , ^ r- 
 
 Dirty-lane. J I. UP IE. 
 
 P. S. In Sir Joshua's time the Students were very neg- 
 ligent of their perfons ; 1 flatter myfelf you will not fuffer 
 fuch inattention to the points of drapery in future — If the 
 difcipks want combs, they may fend to my houfe. 
 
 DEAR SIR, 
 
 ** I would have written to you fooner to congratulate 
 you, had I not met with an unlucky accident — As 1 was 
 fitting on the end of a coal-barge at Greenland-dock, taking 
 o/"an old French frigate, I unfortunately (lipped down and 
 Jtuck in the mud. 
 
 March 29M. 1 I am, dear Mr. West, 
 
 Next door to the I Yours', &C. 
 
 {.at and baghipesy \ _ _ ' ,, 
 
 at tht World', hnd. J J. FaRRINGTON. 
 
 P. S. Are you an Antifaccharite ?— I am refolved never to 
 eat no more fugar not I, as 1 fays to my wife, that is mind 
 me till it grows cheaper. 
 
 MY GOOD FRIEND AND COUNTRYMAN, 
 
 Reft afifured, that 1 rejoice you are now ih^ principal figure 
 
 in the Academic grov p-^ihongh. 1 may not be fo brilliant in 
 
 I 2 my
 
 ( 64 ) 
 
 my colouring, I have as much truth of exprejfion as thofc who 
 flatter more — In any mcafure that may contribute to your 
 dignity, or your advantage, you will always find me ready 
 tojubjcribe my name. 1 have altered the defgn of the Lajl 
 ^ay, and changed the Lawyers into Demons, and the Peni- 
 tent Wenches to Angels. I have placed Will Tell and 
 Tom Paine by the Redeemer, and fufpcnded Mun Burke 
 between Heaven and Hell. — Pray, Ben. do you know if the 
 Athenian Ladies wore fmocks? My fifter Patty improves 
 exceedingly : flie dead coloured four infants laft week, and 
 has managed another battle mod delightfully. 1 have found 
 a brighter varnifli than was ever known to Reynolds: it 
 luperiedes the Copel and Guvi Mafiic : I procured the fecret 
 by bribing Lady A — ch — t's Jemme de chambre to fcrape her 
 miftrefs's cheek while fhe flept after the fatigues oi pharo. 
 By the bye I expeft all the world to fee me, for I have dif- 
 covered a 72^2^ lakt, 
 
 Kna-ve^ Acre, \ Your's, &C. 
 
 April iji-j^z. j I.S.Copley. 
 
 P. S. All the Artifts ;j praifmg Mr. Shee's portrait of 
 Anthony Pasquin ; I dont like that fellow, he is too fond 
 of ready cult for me. 
 
 Here the "Reverend Doctor Peters entered in his own 
 proper and dignified perfon ; he incontinently afcended the 
 table, and gave us an appropriate fermon. which is afifuredly 
 valuable for its brevity, if not for its fentiment : he adopted 
 as a text the words of honeft Paul. 
 
 " Faith, Hope, and Charity, but the greateft of thefe is 
 
 Charity »" 
 
 '' Faitlv, faid the fmirking Priest, fhould be confidered as 
 a lady of Protean habits, becaufe men drefs her as fits their 
 prejudices ; the Catholick decks her in rich fatin, the Lu- 
 theran in bombazeen, the Calvinifl: in dowlafs of fourteen 
 pence a yard, the Methodifl in fackcloth, the Socinian in a 
 Polonefe, and the Unitarian enjoys her without any. But 
 the truth is. that Faith is incomprehenfible, and confequently 
 cannot be depifted. As to Hope, fhe is an ignis jatuiis of the 
 feminine gender, and is the only perfonage I ever knew 
 who may be faid to have the complete powers of ubiquity; 
 Ihe would make an excellent wife for a Prime Minifler ; 
 fhe could be in all places at once, without hinderance of bu- 
 finefs. As for Charity, fhe may be compared to the New- 
 River Head, as fhe fupplies a whole parifh with her parti- 
 cular
 
 ( 65 ) 
 
 cular bounties : this lady fhould be painted with one eye, as 
 more claimants fucceed on her blind fide than the other. If 
 you were to group the gentlewomen you fhould place Cha- 
 rity in the foreground, wiping her eyes with a benefit ticket ; 
 Hope playing at blind man's buff with Folly ^ and Faith fhould 
 be ileeping in the clouds. There is the whole duty of a pain- 
 ter in a nutfhell ; the Diocefan could not tell you more. So 
 now wafh your faces, pay your debts, live cleanly, and your 
 temporal affairs will glide merrily. So the peace of &c. 
 &c." This wholefome admonition concluded with a fono- 
 rous Amen, and the Doftor leaped from his eminence and 
 fell back into the ranks as ufual. 
 
 When this piebald fon of Theology had defcended from 
 his temporary tribune, the convocation broke up, and the 
 whole party filed off upon their different avocations ; — but 
 Truth and Britannia remaining, I flipt behind the chair, 
 and overheard Truth thus delineate the Portraits of all the 
 
 ROYAL ACADEMICIANS 
 
 AND ASSOCIATES, 
 
 which had belong;ed to the Inftitution fnice its eftablifh- 
 ment. She prefaced her obfcrvations to Britannia by 
 declaring, that her remarks would be very unacceptable to 
 the Profeffors, as they all thought themfelves equal to Ra- 
 Jaelle, and each believed himfelf fuperior to his competitor ! 
 She began with 
 
 Sir JOSHUA REYNOLDS. 
 
 That elegant flatterer of humanity on canvafs (quoth fhe) 
 was born at Plympton, in Devonfhire, on July 16, 1723, 
 where his father, depreffed with a numerous family, prayed 
 and ftarved as one of thofe fubordinate ecclefiaftics, whofe 
 ftate is a reproach to the indolent fat Prelates of this credu- 
 lous ifland, who gorge on the luxuries of nature, and caft 
 their offals indignantly to the patient and laborious curate. 
 
 Joshua Reynolds became a pupil to Mr. Hudson in 
 1742 ; and it is faid that the tinder of his youthful ambitioa 
 caught fire when only fifteen years of age, from perufing 
 Richardfori's Theory of Painting : it is not unneceffary to 
 add that Mr. Hudson, (though an Artifl of no confideration 
 himfelf,) produced a Reynolds, a Mortimer, and a 
 Wright, who formed a matchlefs triumvirate in their day. 
 
 'Ere the wing of his fancy was in full feather, it was his 
 j^ood fortune to be protected by the late Lord Keppel, un- 
 der.
 
 ( 66 ) 
 
 der wKofe aufpices he vifited Italy, and by an inceffant and 
 well direfted ftudy, acquired, as he contemplated the beft 
 works of the beft Mafters. that grace of thinking to which 
 he was principally indebted for his limitlefs reputation as a 
 Portrait Painter ; though 1 never fubfcribed to his merits to 
 that extent which his companions and his panegyrifts de- 
 manded. He fwallowcd potations of vile adulation even to 
 fickening ; but as they were adminiftcred by the unfkilful, 
 they muft have worked to the relaxation, and not to the 
 ftrengthening of his judgment. 
 
 In this emporium of the Arts he ftudied with induftry 
 and fuccefs, making the graces of the divine Rafaelle, 
 and the majefty of Michael Angelo, his particular 
 fources of acquirement. He continued vifiting the Roman 
 and Venetian fchools for two years, when he returned to his 
 native country, with a mind capitally embellifhed and en- 
 riched, by the examples of the mofl approved Mafters of 
 Antiquity. 
 
 In 1769, when the King founded the National Academy 
 of Painting, Sculpture, and Architefture, under the title of 
 The Royal Academy of Arts, he appointed Mr. Reynolds 
 Prefident, and I prefume, in the hope of dignifying him, 
 made him a Knight. At the opening of this Academy, Janu- 
 ary the 2d. in the fame year, he delivered the firft of thofe: 
 dii'courfes on Painting, which he annually continued after- 
 wards, and which were fuppofed to have been previoufly 
 illuminated by thepensof Samuel Johnson and Edmund 
 Burke. The principle which is chiefly inculcated in thefe 
 eflays is erroneous, as they tend to maintain an idea that a 
 Difciple in Painting can do as well without genius as with 
 it : but as every writer upon the Arts, in every language, 
 -had antecedently thought otherwife, perhaps the Prefident 
 believed that it was more advantageous to his fame to be 
 fmgularly fallacious than cuftomarily inftruftive. 
 
 The firft Portrait by which he get celebrity on his return^ 
 was a whole length of his Naval Patron. This effort pro- 
 cured him a diftinguifhed reputation, and he was then con- 
 fidered as the firft and moft. fafliionable Portrait Painter of 
 the day — the brave and the beautiful, the old and the 
 young, equally crowded to be pourtrayed on his canvafs, 
 and receive from his magic pencil a certain portion of ex- 
 traneous grace, that was more dear to admiration than truth. 
 
 There certainly exifts a difpofition in our modern Artifts 
 to make the portraiture independent of theperfon reprelent- 
 
 ed,
 
 ( 67 ) 
 
 ed, and for this difpofition we are indebted to the labours 
 of Sir Joshua Reyonlds — not that I wifh to convey any 
 odium to his memory, but merely to prove to the rifmg race 
 of Artifts, how ruinous it is to make hazardous attempts to 
 which the capacity is not competent, when the only excufe 
 that can be brought forward in juftification of the error, is, 
 that the praftice originated with a man whofe genius and 
 talents elevated him above common competition. 
 
 The greater part of confpicuous individuals have bufy 
 friends, whofe wild exertions and unqualified encomium^ 
 rather injure than affift their reputation. Of this clafs of 
 perfons Sir Joshua had more than his fhare — it was their 
 practice to feed him with an idea, that he was as much qua- 
 lified to paint Hiftory as Portrait; and as men of genius, of 
 &11 ages, have been more pleafed to be lauded for what they 
 could not do, than for what they could, we should not be 
 amazed that he I'uffered himfelf to be flattered into an idea, 
 that his ability was unreftrifted. The late David Gar rick 
 was never so happy as when praifed for his afting in Othello, 
 which was contemptible; and Milton fmiled with tranfport 
 when his weak rhapfody, czllcd Paradife Regained, was pre- 
 ferred, in point of energy of thought, to his Heroic Poem 
 on the Fall of Man, 
 
 The largeft compofition of Portraits that Sir Joshua ever 
 painted, is the Family Piece of the mofl illuftrious and 
 ferene Houfe of Marlborough, now hung in the Gallery of 
 that mafly incumbrance of the earth called Blenheim. 
 
 The principal Hiilorical Piftures which he has produced, 
 are, Hope Nurjing Love— Venus Chajlifing Citpidfor having learn- 
 ed Arithmetic — the Story of Count Hugolino and his Sons from 
 Dante — a Gipfey Telling Fortunes — an Infant jfvpiter — the 
 Calling of Samuel — the Death of Dido — the Nativity — the Four- 
 Cardinal Virtues, with Faith, Hope, and Charity, for the New 
 Chapel College, Oxford — and the Young Hercules Jirangling 
 the Serpents, for the Imperial Catherine. 
 
 The Pifturesof Sir Joshua Reynolds muft be taken in 
 the zvhole, to preferve his reputation ; as if you attempt to 
 ciisjoin them, the component parts are not of equal value : 
 this is a compliment to his genius in refpeft to compofition 
 and cfieft, but none when regarding his obligations to Truth; 
 as the ramifications of whatever is true, will operate like 
 the atoms of beautiful Nature, and be highly valuable as a 
 component part, though difmem.bered from the xommoii 
 prigin. Much has been urged as to the fuperioj information 
 
 of
 
 ( 68 ) 
 
 of his mind, but 1 do not think that the prefumed informa- 
 tion has tended to the aggrandizement of his reputation ; as 
 he almofl unremittingly confined himfelf to the vile drudgery 
 of portrait painting, and left the path of fublimity, where 
 high fcience is required, to be trodden by thofe, whofe in- 
 tellects were unequal to the ulterior point of their defircs. 
 I never ferioufly contemplated a portraiture by this Artist, 
 but I retired with forrow from the rumination, as my re- 
 ftriftcd knowledge convinced me, that his elegance of ima- 
 gination had only tended to the deftruftion of juft thought 
 and unequivocal truth : he employed his rare talents to make 
 a.fuccedancinn for rigorous labour, and has in consequence 
 left a memorial of mental grace, but none of judicious ap- 
 plication. He has erefted a filken ftandard of fallacy, to 
 which all the idle and the infufhcient refort, who are equal- 
 ly avaricious, but not equally gifted ; or in plainer language, 
 who feduloudy adopt the Jla^ and dajli of his profeilional 
 cunning, in preference to the love of nature and eternal 
 fame. The illiberal attack upon his reputation by the late 
 Mr. HoKE, by no means reduced his importance with that 
 fafhionable herd, who adminifter encouragement in propor- 
 tion as their deformities are reduced, and their vanities gra- 
 tified ; he continued to make the tall fhort and the fhort 
 tall as the wilhes of the perfon pourtraying wavered, and 
 very laudably as a man of the world, though not very ho- 
 norablv as an Artift, made his acquired powers obedient 
 to the fuggeflions of thofe, who could reward him munifi- 
 cently, though they were denied the privilege to exalt his 
 name. To his male fitters he was tolerably accurate, but 
 with the ladies he was a moft unlicenied flatterer; and ac- 
 cording to the evidence of his valued canvafs, it was of 
 little fignificance to obfervation whether the Omnipotent 
 had made a Grace or a Trulla^ as he uniformly arrayed eack 
 with the dignity of the Queen of Heaven and the fafcinating 
 fmiles of Hebe. 
 
 The deceafed Knight knew that the King was never well 
 aiTc6tcd towards him as an Artift; and, notwithftanding he 
 filled the Chair at Someriet-Place with unuiual dignity 
 and knowledge, yet he was not fortunate enough to con- 
 ciliate the protection of his Sovereign, who on all occafions, 
 not immediately conne£led with the Prefidency of the Infti- 
 tution, gavea marked preference to Mr. West. This egre- 
 gious- predilection in the Royal Patron wounded the too 
 exquifite fenfibility of the Chief of Bntifh Lnnners. 
 
 It
 
 { % ) 
 
 It is fuppofcd that the Kinq's difrcgard for Sir Joshua 
 Rkyn'olds originated from the following event: — Shortly 
 after the lad Coronation, a Nobicman came from the King 
 to the Artift, to know if he could make a drawing of the Pro- 
 ceffion, in imitation of Vandyke's dcfign of a fimilar ceremg- 
 ny, for Charles the Firft : Sir Joshua replied, that he was 
 not^^jwc/ of making drawings, but he woul4 make a (ketch 
 in oil ; but previous to the vmdertaking he wiflied to be 
 alfurcdof an adequate; reward, which he calculated at One 
 Thousand Guineas. 'I'he Nobleman aiVured him oF the in- 
 delicacy of Ipcaking to the Kin^ upon fach a fubjcft, but 
 confented to do it at the particular req\ieft of Sir Jo.>hua ; 
 and the ifTue was, that the King felt himfclf fo offended at 
 the idea, that he relinquilhed tlic buhnefs altogether, and 
 treated tlie Painter ever after with the mod mortifying cold- 
 ncfs — this occurrence paved the way for the introduftion of 
 R-kMSEY at St. Jamef's. The Procedion, by Vandyke^ was 
 etched in aqiiatinta, by Cooper. 
 
 The pofthumous fame of this valued man is more depend- 
 ent on the Prints copied from his Pictures, than on the ori- 
 ginal exeition; the evanefcent properties of which, mufl 
 too foon reduce themtonothingnefs. Ir^the commencement 
 of Sir Joshua's profelhonal ambition, he appears to have 
 imbibed an ungovernable and unprofitable dehre to be Angu- 
 lar, in-\vhat Artiftscall the^o/?£; t/co/our; and as this could 
 not bceffefted by the ordinary methods, he reforted to the 
 laboratory, and prepared varnifties, as fubftitutcs for oil, 
 and appeared to forget they were perifhable, while their 
 gaudy hues drev/ forth applaufe from gaping folly I 
 
 There are various mezzotinto copies from his defigns, by 
 M'ar!>ell, Houston, Watsok, and Fishi:k, which, 
 have obtained an high character for him on the Continent, 
 inafmuch as they have exhibited the graces of his compofition, 
 without hiscoarfenelTes, and have notunfrequcntly foftcncd 
 and amended the drawing of his extremities ; yet Sir Joshua 
 was fo ungenerous as to require thofe graphic Artids to give 
 him from fifty to one hundred proof copies gf his Piftures, 
 though the effort of the E,ngraver tended to give him addi- 
 tional celebrity, and make his Pi£lures more valuable. 
 
 The eulogi{];s of this refpeclablc man have afHimed, that 
 he would have fhone with as bright a ludre in any other 
 liberal art as he did in Painting ; but to this opinion 1 will 
 not indifcriminately fubfcribe, although I think he was 
 uncommonly gifted ; my conviftion is, mat Nature deligned 
 
 K. bim
 
 ( 7» ) , 
 
 him to be eminent as a Portrait Painter, but denied him the 
 power to be eminent in any other path. His anniveifary 
 difcourfes to the Students, difplay a knowledge of literary 
 compofition, and much well-applied theory. 
 
 Lord Orford, in the advertifement to his Anecdotes of 
 Painting, takes occafion to mention the extraordinary merits 
 of Sir Joshua — •' The Prints after the works of Sir Joshua 
 Reynolds," fays this writer, " have fpread his fame to 
 Italy, where they have not at prefent a Tingle Painter who 
 can pretend to rival an imagination fo fertile, that the atti- 
 tudes of his Portraits are as various as thofe of Hiftory. In 
 what age were paternal despair, and the horrors of death, 
 pronounced with more exprefhve accents than in his Pic- 
 ture of Count HuGOLiKO? When v/ere infantine loveli- 
 nefs, or embrio-paffions, touched with fweeter truth than 
 in his Portraits of Mifs Price, and the baby JupiUr?" 
 
 Sir Joshua pofTeffed an equanimity of difpofition r?trely 
 to be met in perfons whofe purfuit is univerfal renown, and 
 who are attended and furrounded in their perilous journey 
 by jealous competition. He was not annoyed by that fluc- 
 tuation of idea and inconftancy of temper which prevents 
 many, with funilar defires, from refolving upon any parti- 
 cular plan, and difpofes them to change it, even after they 
 have made their eleftion. This is a fpecics of demi-lunacy 
 which is too often attendant upon thofe whofe peculiar fa- 
 culties enable them to be creative. He had few of thofe 
 eccentric burfls of adion, thofe hcry impetuofities which 
 charafterife genius; he was mild in his manners, and per- 
 fuafive in his argument; and if he felt the pangs of ungene- 
 rous envy, he had the addrefs to keep the vile emotion dif- 
 guifed. This gentlemanlike policy was capitally advantage- 
 ous to him, as the head of so incongrousand irritable a body 
 as the Royal Academicians, Confidering all the advantages 
 deriveable from hypocrify, I am not aftoniflied that decep- 
 tion has fo many votaries. 
 
 So variably humiliating is common opinion, that in the 
 fame year that he received 500 guineas from Meifrs. Bov- 
 DCLL, iov \\\s Death of Cardinal Beaufort, his fine portrait 
 V? Nelly CBrien \va.s (old for 2 guineas, by public autlion, 
 at Christie's, in Pall Mall. 
 
 There was a favourite thefis which Sir Joshua almoft 
 eternally enforced to the Students, which I think was inju- 
 dicous and unfounded ; namely, that unremitting induilry 
 was ecuivaient in its benefits to the happiefl toils of ingenu- 
 ity.
 
 ( 7' ) 
 
 iiy. If this pofitlon is not falfe, I am not properly intimate 
 with the organization of human nature. 
 
 He has been very detrimental to the Englifh fchool, by 
 introducing a fplafhing, dafhing method, that cannot be 
 defended by any argument, or eftablifhed upon any jufl 
 criterion. His lights and fhadows were generally arbitrary 
 and independent of nature and the fituation of the refleftcd 
 objects : in fome inflances this liberty may be allowed, but 
 he was too fyftematic in the error. 
 
 The femblance of his infantine figures were too immediate. 
 His clallic mind was dire^led to portraiture, and his genius 
 was not equal to the fublime of hiflory. He had more 
 imagination than mechanifm, and less truth than more hum- 
 ble men. He was the worfl example for a Difciple, that 
 ever prefided in an academy of defign : he seduced them to 
 a vicioufnefs of manner by his own efforts, as a plaufible 
 bawd attracts an innocent girl ; it is all an appearance of 
 what is beautiful and proper, but nothing that really is fo. 
 His bed exertions were one continued attempt to reprcfent 
 what he imagined fhould be, and not what was : by this it 
 fhouldbe underftood, that he was fuperficially elegant, and 
 not fundamentally accurate. 
 
 His introduftion of that varno-mania, which pollutes the 
 labours of almofl all our Artifts, who have been accuftomed 
 to look up to him as an unerring example, cannot be too 
 ferioully regretted by thofe who think permanency neceilary 
 at the completion of a Pifture. — In vain would the lovers 
 of Virtu now look for the charming o:My?a in colouring, which 
 is fo exquifitcly palpable in the works of a Guido and a 
 Titian, had thofe eminent menpratlifed fuch unprofitable 
 fophiftication;— nor on contemplating their Fruit Pieces 
 would the Poet have exclaimed, 
 
 <* So glowM the Grape, so perfe«£t the deceit, 
 My hand rcach'd forward, ere 1 found the clicat." 
 
 An elegant writer, under the fignature of Sir Thomas 
 FiTZ OSBORNE, has declared, in his letters, (which arc 
 written, in my weak opinion, in a more pure ftile than any 
 others in our language,) " that the Graces, after wandering 
 to find a home, fettled in the mind of Mr. Addison." 1 
 think fuch a compliment would be equally, if not more 
 applicable to Sir Jo.shua Reynolds; for all he faid or 
 did, was wholly unmixed with any of thofe inelegancics 
 which frequently (lain the beauty of grand exertions. 
 This brit^ht inttucnce of his imagination fometimes impelled 
 K 2 him
 
 ( 7* ) 
 
 Kim t<^ conquer truth, when he dclinca'tctl mean perfonag***?^ 
 — rhus Mr. Bartolozzi's challc eyt makes it extremtly 
 tiifficuU for him to copy the lineal traces of deformity. 
 
 There was a polifh in the exterior of Sir Joshua, iUnftra- 
 tJve of tlie Gentleman and the Scholar ; he was a critic in 
 the clafTics, and knew Xrkophon andGROiius, as well 
 asDu Fkeskoy; he practifed the minute elegances with 
 fuccels, and though a deaf companion, was never trouble- 
 fomc! — The bcft reafon tliat can he affigned for his having. 
 a more enlarged notion of grace and greatness than his co- 
 temporaries, was, that he had more information. A vulgar 
 man may acquire what is termed clevernefs, but cannot 
 attain grcatncfs — that cau only be embraced by him whofc 
 underlianding has been decorated by the Sciences. 
 
 Speaking cfmclufively, Sir Josjiua Rlynolus was as 
 injurious to th<- true principles of painting as a hne proftitute 
 to the eilabiifhment of morals ; thev are equally glaring, 
 gaudy, and .j-ttraftivc in their manners, but neither are en- 
 titled to our admiration, wlien it is ccnnecled with reflection; 
 and admiration m fuch cafes is but another phrafe for foUy^ 
 He has introduced a baneful flovenlinefs of manner, among 
 our fervile and imitative Artift s, for which his own acknow- 
 ledged grace of thinking could not compenfate, in his bed 
 labours ; much lefs in the labours of ihoie who have all his 
 ambition with not half of his worldly fubtlety, and all hj:^ 
 failings with not half of his impofing knowledge. 
 
 Mr. WEST. 
 
 Mr. Bek jAMiN West is a native of Philadelphia in Uic. 
 Province of Penfylvania. in Nonh America; where his 
 father, who was an Knglifhman and a Quaker, kept a 
 coopers fhop. Mr. Wes r wasapprenticed to an apothecary 
 m that City, where his delineating propenhties were ori- 
 ginally inanifeiied by his drawing and painting the labels 
 for the drawers of tiie pharmacopolilh 
 
 fie was fent to Italy, under the patronage of the PenkV, 
 family, in 1763, and from thetice to England ; a few years 
 after his father arrived in this country, accompanied by the 
 lady who is now Mrs. West. There are two points in the 
 early hiflury of this gentleman which dcferve a record : he 
 grneroufly married the fir {f objc6t of his love without a 
 dowry, ed'tcr a long leparation, which did not fliake his 
 
 attach-
 
 ( 73 ) 
 
 attachmr^nt, though fituatcd in the emporium of vice and 
 irregularity ; and he dutifully maintained his aged parent at 
 Reading, when his circumiiances were far lefs briUiant 
 ilian they are now. 
 
 In 1 765 he produced two hiflorical piflures, wliich bc- 
 fpoke an ability not common, though they involved a g;rcater 
 portion of labour than tafte: the subjetts were Angelica and 
 Mcdoro, und Cy7non 3ind Iphigcnid, During the latter years 
 of liis exillence he has been employed by the King to deco- 
 rate the apartments of Windfor Caftle ; and 1 hope, in this 
 inilance at Icaft, that the munificence of the Sovereign is 
 equal to the comprchenllon and dignity of regal patronage. 
 
 The mod excellent and prominent compolition he ever 
 maxle is the Death of General Wolfe: it was produced at a 
 time when the national pulfe of gratitude had not ceased to 
 vibrate; but, in my opinion, the choice of fubje£l wasmorc 
 advantageous to Mr, Wkst than the execution. He has 
 been certainly indebted to Va7idykeMT.(i Lorenzo de Bkci,* for 
 the more imprefhvc attitudes in this work; and his addref* 
 is, with me, more decided than his genius. 
 
 It is worthy of remark, that this was the firfl Hiflorical 
 Print, engraved by a Britifh Artift, which has been in great 
 requeil upon the Continent, and which has indeed proved 
 that we arc capable of being excellent in that very difficult 
 province. By fome it may be argued that this declaration 
 tends to cafh a collateral ftigma upon the tidents of Mr. 
 Strange; for he has had his admirers, and even i"om>e 
 among them were not entirely deftitute of judgment : but 
 of him I ihall ipeak more fully, when his merits are more 
 immediately under coniidcration. Mr. West has candidly 
 declared in public, that he borrowed the principal figure in 
 the compofitiou from Vandyke's famous pi^urc oi date oho- 
 lum Belijano. It is my idea that the grouping of this fub- 
 jecfc is not entitled to fuch indifcriminatc praiie as has been 
 bellowed upon it : but the theme was {o popular that it laid 
 tlie foundation of a celebrity for the performance, before 
 the matter was exhibited, Kvery lover of his country sur- 
 veyed with cagcrnefs what operated to perpetuate the memo- 
 ry of then gallant countryman, and in the moments of high 
 
 admiration 
 
 * Lorenzo di Blcci, born at Florencr, in 1400, aud died la i^6c>, a 
 difciple of Spincllo Arctiiit). This Artiil has bceii luppoled to be one 
 ot thole, wfio i'iill cleared away the biiars from that path in which lb<r 
 great mailers liavr iincc trodden with fo much cafe to thcxnlelvcs, aud 
 u;n.tiit to iK'C GnngU'fn'*d Schools of dch^n in turopc!
 
 ( 74 ) 
 
 admiration and retrofpeftive gratitude, the judgment per- 
 mitted thofe encomiums to pafs mufter, which on fubjefts 
 lefs interefting would have been coolly queftioncd. 
 
 To effeft his fingular purpofcs, the Artift hai} made a 
 folecifm in nature, and the elements contradiftory. The 
 lame gale that blows the enfign to the right, is arbitrarily con- 
 trived to blow the hair of the lamenting grenadier in the 
 foreground to the left. Though wc have heard of Ilrange 
 circumflances co-operating with important events in earlier 
 times, our faith is now fo reftrifted as to doubt of the 
 order of things being reverfed, in accordance with the 
 hopes or convulfious of the human mind. 
 
 At the diftribution of the prizes on the loth inflant,* I 
 heard Mr. West deliver an idea, in thecourfeofhis lefture, 
 which fomewhat aftonifhed me : he affirmed, that when he 
 was at Rome, he was attended by feveral Englifh persons 
 of diftinftion, and Tome Romans, to view the fine monu- 
 ments of art in that decaying feat of empire; and their 
 principal motive in attending him was, to fee what effecl 
 fome of thofe divine produftions of the Ancients would 
 have upon an American. They firft placed him in a point of 
 view, where, by throwing open a door, he might fuddenly 
 behold the Apollo Belvidere ; at this inftant all their eyes 
 were concentrated upon his vifage, who inftantaneoufly 
 exclaimed. "How like a young Mohawk*" — This operated, 
 at nrft, like a fort of prophanation, to compare the god of 
 ibng with a favage ; but, as Mr. West affirmed, he quali- 
 fied by degrees the apparent contraft, and at length induced 
 them to acknowledge, that his emotions were confiftsnt 
 with nature and truth, though they at firft appeared fo con- 
 tradiftory 
 
 • At'the laft Anniverfary of the Inftitution of the Royal Academy, s 
 General Affembly was held, when the tollowing Premiums were given, 
 viz. A Gold Medal to Mr. J. Bacon, jun. for a Bas Relief; the fubjccl 
 from Milton's Paradife loft. A Silver Medal to Mr. A. Cardon, Mr. J. J. 
 Mafquerier, Mr. S. F. Rigaud, and Mr. G. A, Keman, for drawings of 
 Academy Figures. A Silver Medal to Mr. A. Goblet, f«r a Model ofan 
 Academy Figure, and alfo to Mr. S. Aflon, and Mr, A. Pool Moor, 
 for Drawings in Architc£lure, Lord Belborough's House, at Rochauip- 
 ton, done from aftual raealuremcnt. 
 
 After which the Prefidcnt gave a Difcourfc. 
 
 The General AlTcmbly then proceeded to the Eleftion of OfBcers for 
 the enfuing year, and B. Weft, Efq. was r--clc6lcd Prefidcnt. Sir F. 
 Bourgeois, P.J, De Louthcrbourg, R. Smirkc, J. Zoffani, J. Farring- 
 ton, G. Dance, W. Tyler, and J. Bacon, Efq. Council. J. Bacon, T. 
 Banks, W. Hamilton. R. Smirke, J.Barry, J. Northcoic, F. Whcailey, 
 H. Fufcli, and J. F. R'igaud, Eiqr*, Vifuori,
 
 ( 75 ) 
 
 tradi£lor>' and abfurd. — Thefe bold, though unqualified 
 aifertions, had a wonderful efFeft upon the auditors ; thai r 
 celeilial prejudices were abruptly effaced from their minds ; 
 the luminous powers of the god were nearly extinguifhed 
 by his extraordinary powers of rhetoric, andmore than half 
 of the dull congrefs around him retired with a conviftion 
 that the favage was the better example and the finer gentle- 
 man. They vaunt of the oral abilities of Demoflhenes ; but 
 if ever Demoflhenes did more than this, I will pledge my 
 happiness for a brafs farthing ! 
 
 Perhaps this voluntary confcITion will operate as the befl: 
 apology for his otherwife irreconcileable Portraits of the 
 Philolophers and Kings of the antique and modern ages! 
 
 Mr. West deserves much commendation for his ooldly 
 iit^dertaking to groupe an historical fafl in modern habits, 
 an attempt which originated with him in this Conutry : 
 and though I do not frequently approve of his paintings in 
 the /out ense7nble, he has arranged many of his best pieces in 
 a style th^t has excited the encomiums of the most reputa- 
 ble Artists of foreign schools, particularly his Regulus. Mr. 
 West conceives his subjeAs more happily than he executes 
 them : had he in his earlier habits studied the gaiety and 
 ♦f)agic hghtness oi Paul Veronese^ who imitated and regarded 
 nature with the eyes of Titian^ he would have lost insensi- 
 bly that dulness of tone, and heaviness of idea, which are 
 such material drawbacks on his professional importance. 
 
 I have seen but few portraits by this gentleman, and 
 those few were not honorable to his capacity ; his whole 
 lengths of Mr. Drummond, and his apotheosis of Prince 
 Odlavius, were equally hard and uncongenial with the 
 blended tints of nature : the subjed of the latter might have 
 been dispensed with in a liberal age like this, when the 
 palpable aerial voyages of the spirit are not pnly questioned 
 but derided. It is ludicrous to notice an aristocraiic Angel 
 bringing his Royal brother to a half-vyay house for congra- 
 tulation. 
 
 Mr. West, like Tarmegiant^ and PoUdore^ is in more re- 
 request on paper than canvass ; some of his sketches breathe 
 a noble air, which seems to forsake him when he embarks 
 in colouring. I prefer the arrangement of his obje<5ls mLa 
 Hogue to those in his General IVol/e, though the performance 
 was never so popular. To try the effect of the grouping, I 
 put my hand over the figure of IVolfe^ when the encirclmg 
 personages gave me the idea of spectators at a cock-fight; 
 
 In
 
 ( '6 ) 
 
 In his embodying the spectacle of La Hogue he has been 
 evidently indebted to the boat scene in the IJIe At^prentlce^ 
 and the Bedlam Scene by Hog a r t 21 . 
 
 The fine figures of the ancients are admirably calculatc^d 
 to regulate, by their graceful soberness, those impetuous 
 springs of the imagination which are visible in the earliest 
 produrtions of a Painter of innate grandeur of mind : they 
 operate, like so many tacit axioms from the elders, to cat! 
 them in the heighday of the curvettings of gfnius, to the 
 plain and beautifttl institutes of thought. The models of 
 che Greek sculptors must be studied, not lineally copied; 
 as when that is evidently the case, and we can recognise the 
 statue on canvass, we feel for the paucity of mind in that 
 Painter who m.akes so impolitic a use of those fine obje«fls 
 of study. Mr. Hamilton, of Rome, is frequently unpar- 
 donable in such vio'ations of propriety, and Mr. West, in 
 hi^ piflure oi FyJaAes and Orestes, has presented us only with 
 the Antinoits in two poifit;^ of view. The great IVIasters of 
 the Continental achools of design had as high an idea of their 
 grace and greatness as we can have, but they scorned toin- 
 mix them with their own original exertions in sounquaiitied 
 a degree. 
 
 I have heard various reasons assigned for the polite arts 
 not being cultivated here with the same success as they have 
 been in Italy, but none have appeared to me as satisfat'tory: 
 some have founded their arguments on the want of taste in 
 our Nobility, others on the indolence and inaptitude of our 
 Students, but more upon the ungenial tendencies of owr 
 climate/^ yet all these premises are partly, if not altogether 
 wrong: the great and melancholy cause of their failure is, 
 in my opinion, the dearness of the articles necessary for the 
 eager purposes of s,ubsistence ; which are here, contrasted 
 with other nations, oppre^ivcly enormous; and the dis:i- 
 plc is obliged to dedicate the larger part of his time tosoive 
 debasing attempt, by which he may acquire food: thebeiu- 
 dispensablfr measures not only retard his improvtrment, but 
 in reality vulgaiise his mind. A (iraduate, who should be 
 ' ontinually walking round the circle of the sciences, would 
 feel hiniself veiy ottta discomfited, if he was compelled bv 
 the cold and iron finger of necessity to ramble half his hours 
 in the commonand polluted paths ofiile, where the ignorant, 
 
 the 
 
 * The Abhe Dr Bos, in his rcticctioris upon this licad, has been hoJrUv 
 erroneous and ilhbcral : this lailacioujiicsi of iaea springs from preiu- 
 (dice, not thon«rht.
 
 ( n ) 
 
 the preeuriiing, and the idle, are incessantly shoving the 
 virtuous and the meritorious from their stools, and questi- 
 oning and abusing the utility of those talents they do not 
 possess. 
 
 I do not mean to be uncivil to the President, but I con- 
 fess, that hhheif labours in general appear to me but as the 
 happiest efforts of a Sign Painter of the first order : they are 
 so unjustly ordered that if they are clean they are coarse, 
 and if they are bold they are oppressive. He assuredly pos- 
 sesses but few, if any of those rare qualifications which re- 
 fine the mind to a due sense of perception, in regarding na- 
 ture, for the purpose of selecting her delicate and more sub- 
 tle beauties. He draws, in some instances, corredtly, but 
 the contour of his figures is too decided and ropy ; they fur- 
 nish the idea of an objedl edged with twist. His draperies 
 are too blanketty ; and where he clothes a lady in white, it 
 seems as if he had copied the Sowings from a marble origi- 
 nal, and not the texture of a loom. When the fancy of an 
 Artist is corrupted in this way he can with difficulty vary 
 the qualities of his draperies, even in cases where the cun- 
 ning and abrupt forms of the folds should irresistibly declare 
 the object to be satin, siik, velvet, or any other splendid 
 habiliment. Had Mr. West only sketched, and never 
 painted, his reputation would have been less doubted, as he 
 appears to me to have a more imperfect idea of harmony 
 than any other living Artist of similar expe<5lations and ere. 
 dit. The loveliness of truth, in whatever way or shape it is 
 represented, is uniformly powerful and fascinating; in some 
 situations she is more impervious than in others, but the 
 more difficulty the developement is attended with, the more 
 honor accrues to the rnanifestatioiif 
 
 Mr. LOUTHERBOURG, 
 
 J. P. DR LouTHERBOURG is a xidXiv Q oi Strofboiirgh^ in 
 Ai/ace, where his father was an Engraver. This gentleman 
 has received a mifcellaneous education; he ftudied at Paris 
 under Boucher, Vanlo, and Cajfanovo, but formed his man- 
 ner upon the principles of tlie lad. It is curious (if I may 
 be allowed the figure^, to obferve the genealogy of man- 
 ner among Artifts : Dctricci begat Cajfanovo ; Cajfanovo be- 
 gat Loutherbourg, and Loutherbourg begat Sir Francis Bour- 
 geois, and Bourgeois, it is poffible, may engender fomething 
 more equivocal than himfelf ! But thus it is in the Drama : 
 
 L Gay rick
 
 ( 78 ) 
 
 Garrick created Hender/on, who created Harley, who the 
 
 Gods may permit to create fomething even lefs meritorious. 
 
 imitatores fervum pecus ! 
 
 I have thought that the mod undeniable proof of our 
 afcribed degeneracy, is manifefted in the prefent want of 
 honorable ambition. Modern men are more willing to be 
 artful than to be noble, and vainly believe that to fteal is 
 as dignifiable as to fhudy ; but thefeare fourberies too indi- 
 cative of our profligacy and our indolence. Our greateft 
 endeavour is to fupprefs the blufhes which honed fhame 
 would infufc ; and he who is mod impadioned, feems mod 
 happy. Thus we perpetrate, and ficken and die, 
 
 *• While the fpirits of the wife fit in the clouds and mock us." 
 
 When Mr. De Loutherbourg quitted Paris he came 
 to London, and refided feveral months unnoticed, until the 
 penetrating eye of Garrick found out his merits — he en^ 
 gaged him at a falary of 500I. per annum, to fuperintend the 
 Scenery of Old Drury-Lane Theatre. He was the im- 
 prover of Stage Scenery and its effcfts, as before his 
 time it was all one dead flat ; but by introducing bits as 
 cottages, and broken diles before that fiat, he gave the 
 whole a dronger refemblance of nature. Mr. Sheridan 
 for fome time continued him at the falary Mr. Garrick. 
 gave, but on attempting to bring it down to lefs than half, 
 Mr. Loutherbourg, with becoming fpirit, refided the 
 propofal, and made anew fpecies of entertainment for the 
 Town, called an Eidophufikon j a name it judly deferved, as 
 with the afhdance of reflefting tranfparent gauzes, highly 
 illuminated, it rendered the images of Nature in fuch an 
 eminent order, as to induce Mr. Gainsborough to be 
 condant in his vifits to that extraordinary and meritorious 
 fpeftacle -, and he has been heard to declare, that he never 
 went away without receiving indruftion as well as amufe- 
 ment, from the wonderful ability which Mr. Louthek- 
 BOURG difplayed. The management of the lights and ma- 
 chinery were intruded to feme ingenious Artids who alhd- 
 ed him. This brilliant exhibition was fold by the inventor, 
 but thofe who have not feen it when under his immediate 
 ronduft, can have but an imperfeft idea of its amazing ex- 
 cellence. 
 
 Perhaps no man was ever bled with the powers of me- 
 mory in a higher degree than Mr. Loutherbourg ; he can 
 make a drawing of an objedhe had feen feveral days previous 
 
 to
 
 ( 79 ) 
 
 to the exertion, witli wonderful adroitnefs and flclU. This 
 is a fingular gift, which fhould be rendered more fervicea- 
 ble to his fame and his intereft than as he orders it : indeed 
 1 am not certain but by his too great reliance on fuch un-, 
 common ^.owers that they operate to his difad vantage, by 
 feeding him with a vain inclination to defpife thofe aids, 
 which arife from a repeated contemplation of objefts, and 
 without v/hich no man can defign with precifion, however 
 eminently he may be endowed. If the reftlefs vanities of 
 Our nature are not overpowed by a fpirit of ambition, we 
 rannot exercife our funftions with any great advantage, 
 either to ourfelves or to fociety. We fhould uniformly, (in 
 an honorable fenfe,) endeavour to become what we are 
 not, rather than repofe contentedly with thofe acquired ta- 
 lents, which it is the reftrifted lot of the moft perfeft among 
 us to enjoy. I wifh I had the power to compel this inge- 
 nious gentleman to the full exercife of his comprehenfive 
 ability. 
 
 1 have feen fome etchings, by this Mafter, which prove 
 that he can occafionally handle the needle with addrefs : 
 the fubjefts were apparently fatiric figures, partaking more 
 of caricatura than charafter ; they prove to a critical eye, 
 how very difficult it is to overcome original prejudices, for 
 though they are all meant as reprefcntatives of Britifh ec- 
 centricity, which is, in all its ramifications, a fort of hu- 
 mour peculiar to Britain, yet in thefe inftances, has the 
 early education of the Artift fo predominated over truth, 
 that they are all creatures of a doubtful origin, exhibiting 
 at once, (like Sam Foote's licentious Buck,) animals of 
 Englifh growth habited in Parifian drapery ! 
 
 There is a deftruftive defire in many perfons, emulous 
 of fame, to appear in a point of view uncongenial with their 
 natural or acquired talents : I have known fome rendered 
 very grotefque and ridiculous, by fuch obftinate efforts to 
 appear what they cannot be. From this polluted fource 
 have arifen imperfeft landfcapes by Mr. West, who has 
 much merit as an hiftorical painter, andimperfefthiflorical 
 pieces by Mr. Louthkrbourg, who has much merit as a 
 landfcape painter ! — 1 have been informed that he took un- 
 common pains with his lafl performance of The Siege of Vd- 
 Lenciennes ; it is even averred that he meant it as a chef 
 d'(Eiivre; yet, (1 think) it prefents nothing that is altogether 
 excellent in the art, though it manifefls in the performer a 
 conliderable portion of genius. This fubjeft is now under 
 L a th<*
 
 ( 8o ) 
 
 the hands of the engraver, Mr. Valentine Green ; an^ 
 I lament that when it is probably giv'en to the world, all 
 thofe laudable and proud emotions which excited the fub- 
 fcribers, in the warm glow of national honor, to fupport 
 the undertaking, will be deadened by the painful recollec- 
 tion, that the viftory it celebrates is nowabforbed in a con- 
 fequent misfortune. 
 
 There is a portion of the decalogue which enjoins us not 
 to make any image to adore, which is the likcnefs of any 
 thing that is in Heaven above, or on the earth beneath, or 
 in the waters under the earth : and to do them jufbice, if a 
 rigid obfervance of this divine inftitute is exemplary, there 
 were never a fct of more auflere Chriftians than the Artifls 
 of this nation, as of all their produftions not one in a hun- 
 dred are fimilar to the honeit iflue of nature :— to particu- 
 larize Mr. Louth ERBOURG on this point might be deemed 
 invidious, as the majority of his brethren are equally fallible: 
 but until brickdufl fore-grounds, red fields, brafs trees, and. 
 a copper horizon, are confonant with the affociation of pal- 
 pable objefts, 1 {hall perfifl in believing that our modem 
 landfcape painters, like our modern dramatifls, are more 
 indebted to the prefentments of a diflrafted brain, than any 
 exifting objefts that ever were, are, or ever will be. 
 
 There was a period when Mr. Loutherbourg was ap- 
 parently bewitched from himfelf, when the phantafies of an 
 unfcttled mind drove him upon the trial of experiments, 
 equally futile and and unprofitable; Vfh&n the. auri Jacr a 
 James made him immure himfelf from the world, to feek the 
 philofopher's (lone ; he pondered, he floundered, and he 
 was approaching faft to the threfhold of common pity, ca- 
 daverous, but not rich, when the good fense of a relative 
 faved him from local perdition ; fhe burft upon him during 
 his noftumal ftudies, when he was keenly watching the 
 deceiving progrefs of tranfmutation, in company with a 
 Charlatan, from the Lower Rhine : the reddening fair 
 caught them in the raging of the enchantment ; when they 
 were calcining Venus with the butter of the daughter ofZM?2ff, 
 and fixing Luna herfelf into Sol — fhe broke his crucible to 
 fliivers, enfranchifed the fimmcring metal, extinguifhed 
 his fires, and feizing the forceps, took his adull alTociate 
 by the nofe, and led him from the laboratory to the flreet, 
 where the enraged lady broke his head with a urinal, and 
 then difmiffed him with a timely malediftion. From this 
 eccentricity he fhortly wandered to another, originating 
 
 from
 
 ( 8i ) 
 
 from a wild benevolence of fplrit : — this inventive gentle- 
 man dreamed that he was bleft with a knowledge of the 
 Panacea, Catholicon, or remedy for all difeafcs ; he pro- 
 feffed to be an adept in the art of healing, and was believed; 
 his gates were crowded with the difeafed of all degrees, and 
 he imagined that he could eradicate their complicated mala- 
 dies by the fecret fprings of fympathy ; he ardently thought 
 himfelf '* eyes to the blind and feet to the lame ;" he en- 
 forced his fpells, but the end was not anfwerable to his hope; 
 the cripple was unrelieved, and the internally affli6ied were 
 not grateful for his attention. The miferable inmates of the 
 vicinity, rufhed like a common torrent, from Putney, 
 Brentford, Kew, and Noman'sland; the blind followed the 
 whoopings of the lame, until they congregated on the ter- 
 race at Hammerfmith. There they manifefted their wrath 
 by a yell that would have daggered Cerberus ; the Alfa- 
 tidLT]r€tlfus heard the curfe with dread, he feized his te- 
 lescope, and fcudded to the garret to reconnoitre ; the 
 liberal Chymift, (who is amiable even in his errors,) 
 leered upon the difappointed mob from the parapet of 
 his manfion, and fav/ his moft valued medicaments cafl: 
 into a fcEtid ditch : his aqua bezoartica, his catharticum 
 argentum, h\s calomelanos^ and his AcdiY pilulce panchymagoga^ 
 were hurled amid the fwine of the diftrift, while he, like 
 another Jeremiah, ftunned even Heaven with his lamenta- 
 tions, as his big manly tears ran down the gutter to the fil- 
 ver Thames ! 
 
 The ancients fuppofed there were feafons when their 
 guardian angel fiept, and left them a prey to the agents of 
 fublunar mifery : perhaps Mr, Loutherbourg was thus 
 circumftanced, and his fine genius held in the bondage of 
 error, by a fuperhuman power. 
 
 SIR WILLIAM CHAMBERS. 
 
 Sir William Chambers, Knight, r. a. is a native of 
 Sweden. He commenced his career, as a fupercargo, in a 
 trading vefTel, from Sweden to China, where he acquired 
 by his merits and his induftry, three thoufand pounds. He 
 ftudied the manners of that kingdom, and particularly their 
 ideas of building and gardening with peculiar attention; 
 from China he came to England, where he formed the re- 
 folution of going to Rome, and becoming an Architeft : 
 there he (ludied the works of the beft Greek and Italian 
 
 mastersy
 
 ( 92 ) 
 
 maftcrs. From Italy he returned to London, wliere !ie had" 
 the good fortune to become an objeft of requeft. in the eyes 
 of the King. 
 
 It is the firfh boafl of this accomplifhed Chevalier, that 
 he has ftrutted in the paths of literature; his mod valued 
 performance, was a defence of oriental gardening, which, 
 though written with much fkill and infinite attention, did 
 not obtain the preference it deferved, as unluckily it was 
 not generally underjlood ! 
 
 At the formation of the Royal Academy, this inimitable 
 gentleman was appointed treafurer, and no agency was ever 
 conduced with more dihntereftednefs, liberality, and ex- 
 ceeding caution. He fucceeded the late Mr. Robinson, as 
 Secretary to the Board of Works in i 775, at the particular 
 recommendation of his royal m.after; and furniflTed, what 
 are termed, the decorations of Kew Gardens, for the 
 Princess Dowagek of Wales. He has produced feve- 
 ral pupils of confiderable merit, among whom Mr. Gandon, 
 ■who conflrufted the new Cuflom Houfe in Dublin, may be 
 arranged as the mod perfeft. 
 
 It is reported, that the mofl magnificent work which Sir 
 "William Chambers ever produced, is Somerfet Place, 
 which has been trumpeted loudly, as involving the beft 
 parts of the Oltromantane fchools, with the mod approved 
 ftvle of antiquity ; how adroitly this wedding of contra- 
 diftions has been effefted, 1 fliall proceed to examine. 
 
 SOMERSET PLACE. 
 
 The ancient palace, which was fo prefumptuoufly brufh- 
 cd away, for this illigetimatc flrufture, was the metropolitan 
 retreat of the Duke of Somerfet, uncle to Edward the Sixth; 
 it is now the refidence of a greater and more puiffant man, 
 Henry Dl . das. 
 
 • The cunning proje6lor of this undefineable mafs, has been 
 occahonally indebted to the pure defigns which Inigo Jones 
 intended as a continuation to Whitehall, but which were 
 nevercarried intoeffeft, as the calamities ofthcfnji Charles, 
 tended todeftroy that tafte which he had introduced: thele 
 fuperb bits appear among the other parts of the pile, like 
 elegant individuals in abafmg company. 
 
 This furprifing. flupendous, and extraordinary heap of 
 flones, was called into order by the magic voice of that 
 pine-apple of knighthood. Sir William Chambers, at the 
 command of the great and fapient Council of this Realm, in 
 
 1774-
 
 ( 83 ; 
 
 1 yj/^. It occupies a fpace of 500 feet in depth, and 800 in 
 width, and is altogether a moft aftonifhin. alfemblage of 
 contradi61ory objc6ls. The entrance, or Atrium, is fo un- 
 appropriate, that it lookslike the narrow mouth of economy, 
 through which we grope our palfage to the vaft ftomach of 
 national ruin. The arcade is borrowed from the Strada del- 
 la dora Grojf'a at Turin. 
 
 At the termination of the veftlbule, is a large bronze 
 ftatue of the King, who feems placed there for no other 
 purpofe but to take cognizance of the exits and entrances 
 of the clerks and watchmen, as if he kept a day-book to 
 check their time. Beneath the nofe of the Sovereign is a 
 putredinous pool of ftagnant rain-water; I prefume this was 
 meant by the quefluory and accommodating Architect, as 
 cmblamaticof the fwinifh democracy of the realm. 1 have 
 no doubt but the effluvium from the green liquid, is more 
 peftilential than that imputed by VirgiL to the Lake AvcrnOj 
 which is reported to have killed all the birds that flew over 
 it; but as few or none vilit this vicinity, but birds oj prey^ 
 the virtuous part of fociety are not much inclined to com- 
 miferate their delirium or their woe ! — The whole of this 
 monument offends my vifion : it may be requifite for a 
 Prime-Minifter to be bronzed, but not a Monarch. There 
 is another unfortunate allufion to Royalty; the entablatures 
 of this veftibule are covered with cyphers, emblamatic and 
 appertaining to the King, Queen, and Prince of Wales, 
 Surely no true fubjeft can approve of annexing the charac- 
 ters of cyphers to fuch auguft perfonages ! If there is any 
 novelty or genius evident in this fportivenefs of fancy, it is 
 I'o thoroughly republican and indecent that it fhould be 
 immediately effaced. 
 
 From what fource of information (as Nature is entirely 
 out of the queftion) the gentle knight has drawn his Carya- 
 tides, 1 know not. They are, generally fpeaking, pifcatory 
 monfters ; more terrific and ungenial than any Horace de- 
 precated, or that ever entered into the perturbed imagina- 
 tion of deeping youth. The males have long flowing hair, 
 with large crabs and lobfters creeping through their ragged 
 locks : this is a very delightful thought, and perfeftly ori- 
 ginal, as it conveys a lively idea of marine pediculi. The 
 ladies have a peculiar fort of hcad-drefs, made up of dead 
 ialinon, lampreys, fea-weed, and other aquatic rarities, like 
 fo many diftratted mermaids. Some of the mafks are fo 
 peculiarly conciliatory and fmiling, that I think Karl Cam- 
 den
 
 ( 84 ) 
 
 »RN fliould have borrowed one on his recent cmbafTy to 
 Ireland. — This meafure could not be reafonably refifled, as 
 they might all be removed without any injury to the bafe» 
 jnent. 
 
 That part of this inconfiftent, lapidifick accumulation, 
 which is appropriated to the Polite Arts^ is admitted to be 
 unexceptionable : the principal Room dedicated to the pur- 
 pofes of lefturefhip and the annual exhibition, cannot be ap- 
 proached but by a fpiral flair-cafe, as high as Jacob's ladder; 
 which (luckily for the Lefturer and. the Exhibitors) turns 
 the heads of the vifitors, before they can either hear or exa- 
 niin«. InSir Joshua Reynolds's Prefidency, the floor gave 
 way, and funk many inches, when Burke, and a few more of 
 the iilmninati, were eagerly liflening to a theme they could 
 not comprehend: the company fhrieked, Burke prayed, 
 and the gods fuspended the mifchief. It is piteous that all 
 tbefe disaflers had not occurred more recently, as then the 
 erratic Swede might have imputed them to a partial fhock 
 from Broth ERs's predifted earthquake, and thus have co- 
 vered his honor, by coming in for a flice of the alarming 
 prophecy ! 
 
 The names of the fculptors who were employed in the 
 decoration of the exterior, are Carlini, Wilton, Ge- 
 ORACCHi, NoLLEKENS, and Bacon. I have chronicled 
 them as fculptors, not ftatuaries, as neither appear to have 
 cut ajigure in this bufinefs. 
 
 On the top of the Corps de Logis, or central part of this 
 heterogenous affociation of flones, we fee a dirty black 
 lump, which he calls a dome, and which is apparently 
 ilolen from the worfl embellifhments of that worfl of ar- 
 chitefts. Sir John Vanbrugh. It furnifhes me with no 
 other idea but an inverted punch-bowl, and peradventure 
 might be intended by Sir William as a durable fymbol of 
 fobriety, to operate upon the fenfes of the Clerks, to keep 
 ihem from tippling in the hours of duty. 
 
 It appears to me, from confequences, that any thing can 
 make an ArchiteH, as well as a Taylor ! yet, a cock fparrow 
 in his nefl, would beat them all, if fecurity is eminently 
 effential to the continuance of the flrufturc. This fplendid 
 Knight of Polind, in his eagernefs to have his buildings re- 
 plete with tafle, forgot that it was expedient they fhould 
 have flrength alfo. Theterrace of this magnificent jumble, 
 which was fo unfeelingly cut out of the muddy fides of the 
 venerable Thames, was the pride of his heart ; but, alas ! 
 
 as
 
 ( 8s ) 
 
 as It is decreed that pride fhall have a fall, it fliould not 
 create furprize that the proud eminence, like Burke's (lip- 
 pery whigs, feceded from the parental pile, and fell inglc- 
 rioufly in the dirt ! The fubterraneous apartments, it mull 
 be acknowledged, have every recommendation but light* 
 It flrikes me, that they muft have been perverted, by ac- 
 cident or neceflity, from the original dehgn of Sir Wil- 
 liam Chambers, who affuredly built them in imitation of 
 fome clajfic coal-holes ! — in thefe damp, black, and comfort- 
 lefs receifes, the clerks of the nation grope about like moles, 
 immersed in Tartarean gloom, and stamp, sign, examine, 
 indite, doze, and swear, as unconscious of the revolving sun, 
 as so many miserable demons of romance, condemned to 
 toil for ages in the centre. Methinks, I hear the Genius of 
 the Isle of Portland mourn, for this misapplication and 
 prostitution of its entrails ! 
 
 The key-stones of the arches are wonderfully carved in 
 alto-relievo, with colossal masks of the Ocean, and the 
 rivers of Britain, among which the Thames looks peculiarly 
 sulky, as not having forgot or forgave the irruptions made 
 upon his filthy domains, by this saucy edifice. There was 
 a tablet, with the Lord Mayor, and Court of Aldermen, in 
 tears, upon the same occasion, but this was omitted. 
 
 Some of the orr.aments are so obtrusive, that it is re- 
 commended to obliterate the ocean, and send the billing 
 swans to the Maids of Honor ; the Laves to Buckingham 
 House ; the cornucopias to the poor, and all the fish to 
 Billingsgate. 
 
 In each corner of the quadrangular court, is a urinal of 
 tripodical proportions, so happily and wonderfully con- 
 trived, as to form a charming coup deed for the female te~ 
 nants of the establishment, as four persons may dextrously 
 disembogue at each, and mingle their secrets and their se- 
 cretions at the same period. What a glorious contrivance 
 for the communication of ideas and the dispatch of busi- 
 ness ?— it was originally intended to introduce the Five 
 Orders, in a fandango; but the absurdity of the measure 
 was timely exposed by Mr. BoswELL, who proved to de- 
 nionstration, that they had never been taught ro dance. 
 
 This confederacy of alien attributes are like so many 
 enemies compelled to elbow each other in a mob ; they 
 seem to curse mutually in the moment of embracing, like 
 so mawy cats; it is a racemation, or cluster, of antipathies, 
 made of recremtntitious parrs— an untimely exposition of 
 M bruised
 
 ( 86 ) 
 
 bruised and battered stones, torn from the bowels of the 
 peaceful quarry — here are pillars and pilasters unconnected 
 U'ith order, chambers and avenues without usefulness, and 
 men and women without genders. 
 
 As there is no sublunary perfection, it may be no disho- 
 nor to the architect, to note, that the following alterations 
 have been suggested, and will be enforced: viz. ro carve a 
 lame Phoebus over the Coach Office ; a Piutus with one eye 
 over the Pay Office; a Sailor in stumps over the Navy 
 Office ; a Silenus in the suds over the dcor of the Treasurer 
 of the Navy ; a forestaller hung in chains over the Victual- 
 ling Office, and an incrusted chamber-pot over the Hall for 
 the Antiquarians. 
 
 At irbiiton Placcy formerly the seat of the Duke of Ar- 
 gyll, but now of the felicitous Knight himself, he has ex- 
 erted his astonishing ability in a peculiar manner, by erect- 
 ing what he denominates a temple of Esculapius, as a left- 
 handed compliment to Dr. Willis, to whose skill we are 
 indebted for the restoration of the Sovereign. As Escula- 
 pius was but the journeyman to Hygeia, and did little more 
 than carry hev spa/ula and drugs, I presume to aver, that 
 justice, as well as gallantry, should have impelled him to 
 have given the Lady the preference. But this collateral 
 criticism shall not induce me to pass over the extraordinary 
 merit attached to this building, which is contrived with 
 buch subtle address, as to be equally applicable and accept- 
 able to any god or goddess, as well as the medical old gen- 
 tleman in question; but, perhaps, Sir William may feel 
 sensations, which justify such an^extravagant tribute to the 
 powers of the maJ doctor \ for, ab the great bard has phrased 
 it, " we know what wc are, but we know not what we 
 may be." 
 
 Though it is palpable to me, that the Knight alluded to 
 has been benighted in some of his professional endeavours, 
 it remains with the wiser part of society to appreciate him 
 with correctnesss, and I sincerely hope that truth will be 
 established, although my penetration might suffer in the 
 issue. 
 
 True architecture may be resolved into the following 
 idea, viz. to connect Strength with Beauty^ and make both 
 conducive to Utility \ but our builders disdain to be 
 shackled with such antique obligations, while the liberal 
 hand of national folly fattens them into a careless indepen- 
 dence. Lord Thui^low slunabersas happily in his Sugar- 
 /mscy at Knight's Hili^^fter the fatigue oi telling money at 
 
 'the
 
 ( 87 ) 
 
 the Exchequer, as Augustus did in his proud and noble 
 pavilion. Such is the refined taste of the age of George the 
 7hir(l\ glorious aera ! And yet we have the audacity, 
 duritig the commission of such absurdities, to prate of the 
 Goths and Vandals with an unblushing scorn. 
 
 But it may be ungenerous to form a judgment of what ar- 
 chitedture is by what nioas. I shall forbeer to -rnlarge 
 upon the beauties of Fitruvius^ Mustius^ BruneUschl^ or the 
 ascribed graces of the Tuscan school. This is a wonder- 
 ful kingdom, and perhaps thebuildmgs should be wonderful 
 to squire with the genius of the land. The Gout des Nations 
 varies even more than the clime; hence arises an apology 
 for the seeming errors of our architedural professors. The 
 sleek and corpulent haberdasher regards his Gazebo as much 
 as Cicero did his T usadum^ or Pliny h'\i Lauientum\ then who 
 should wrangle upon the point of right in either dominion, 
 when all the parties are equally happy? I will venture to 
 declare, that Calltmachus ov Falladio never made a hundredth 
 part so much by their practice as Mr. Holland: and as 
 nine hundred and ninety-nine in a thousand will be more 
 profound in their obedience, and more sincere in their 
 habits of respe(ft, to the man of gold than the man of sub- 
 lime merit, it naturally follows that he is the more reputa- 
 ble chara(5ter who commands the most homage. The ac- 
 quisition of knowledge is both troublesome and unproduc- 
 tive ; and where is the man, with a sound mind, who would 
 willingly embrace so much anxiety, whtn the events of each 
 hour prove, that he is most successful who is most ignora^it, 
 and that he is most honored who is most successful r 
 
 Mn. STQDHART. 
 
 Thomas Stodhart, R. A. was born in Long-acre, 
 Siint Martin's parish, London, in 1756. This artist was 
 first apprenticed to a pattern-drawer, in Spital Fields. 
 When Mr. Stodhart was emancipated from his indentures, 
 his knowledge of the human figure was very rtstricted, byt 
 having a small annual income, and being naturally gecono- 
 mical, he took the very laudable resolution of living within 
 his income, and appropriating all his time to the study of 
 the arts. The first time he burst upon the public notice, 
 was by the designs which he so ably furnished for Mr. 
 Harrison's Novelist's Magazine; and as these designs 
 were adequately engraved, it, fortunately for him, laid the 
 foundation of a celebrity which has never been surpassed by 
 
 any
 
 { 88 ) 
 
 any native of these realms. I have heard his vignettes and 
 iaille douce pieces much commended in Paris, where the ar- 
 tists highly value themselves on their address in this pro- 
 vince of the arts, and not without reason, as Gravelot^ Eisin^ 
 and Picart, have been unrivalled in their efforts by the rest 
 t>f Europe. There is a littleness and nice attention to trifles 
 visible in French paintings, which tallies admirably with 
 iuch endeavours. The first historic picture in oil he exhi- 
 bited, was the death of the gallant Lord Robert Man- 
 JJERs, who was killed on board his own ship, the Resolu- 
 tion"; he was encouraged to this effort by Mr. Macklin, 
 t)f Fleet-street, of whom the artist speaks in terms of grati- 
 tude, for his generous and becoming conduct: but the pic- 
 ture which established his reputation, was an historical 
 subject from Mallet. This performance was very commonly 
 .admired, and Mr. Stodhart, from that moment, has con- 
 tinued ascending the acclivity of fame. He vvas elected an 
 Associate of the Royal Academy in 1791, and a Royal 
 Academician in 1794. 
 
 This Gentleman is among the very few historical painters 
 -in this realm, who appear to believe, that the undertaking 
 Is more dependent upon thought than action ; he gives his 
 -subject to the general eye with more precision than his com- 
 peers; and though, perhaps, he disdains the subordinate 
 efforts of the art too much, and particularly what is under- 
 stood by the word handling, yet is his production valuable, 
 as he gives us, in the composition of a subject, what is con- 
 solatory to an inquiring spirit, although he refufesto bestow 
 on his labours that correctness, which should be the ui;;- 
 mate desire of all who expect universal approbation. 
 
 Mr. Stodhart is of that few, who make their move- 
 ments independent of the lesser vanities of life. Every 
 'disciple should mingle as little as possible in the bustle of an 
 agitated world; his deportment should be unalterably in 
 the haunts of Peace, where he might contemplate serenely, 
 and make his professional ability illustrate and develope the 
 magic of his teeming coaception. If the animi pathemata 
 are not harmonized and attuned by the benign influence of 
 truth, the powers of thought cannot have a due share of 
 force, in the guidance of the genius to deeds of indisputed 
 honor. When the lake is contiiiually ruffled by the obtru- 
 sion of gales more or less turbulent, it cannot reflect the 
 received objects of vision with accuracy or beauty.
 
 No. IIL 
 
 • Mr. LAWRENCE. 
 
 A DDISON has obferved, that " cenfure is the tax which 
 every man pays for being eminent." This tax, though 
 always ftrenuously demanded, is, like most other taxes, not 
 always cheerfully paid. In animadverting on the merits of 
 the Royal Academicians in this detail, 1 have been reported 
 by fome as too partial, and by others as too fevere. To fport 
 a paradox, to be too partial is to be fevere, as well as to be 
 fevere is to be partial : as few take the trouble to reprove er- 
 rors but in thofe they regard :— the gardener removes with 
 care every noxious weed that might impede the growth or 
 fpoil the brilliancy of his favourite flower, but thofe he does 
 not value he refigns to the rude elements, to " wafte their 
 fweetnefs in the defert air." 
 
 I am told that fome of the R. A's have felt themfelves 
 forely hurt, and curvetted exceedingly at a little whole- 
 fome correftion which has occafionaliy dropped from my 
 pen ; while others there are who have fenfibly fmiled, and 
 freely owned that they are but men, and as public men, pro- 
 perly fubjeft to the dominion of criticifm. Notwithlland- 
 ing my afcribed uncharitablenefs, I will repeat, after the 
 Duke of Buckingham, 
 
 *' 'Tis great delight to laugh at some mens ways, 
 But a much greater to give merit praise." 
 
 Mr. or as he was then charafterifed, Mafter Thomas 
 Lawrence, began his fludies at a period when other boys 
 are at their fyntax, and at the very early age of eight made 
 fome very promifmg attempts at portrait painting ; at the 
 age of nine he was capable, without any instruction, of co- 
 pying fome historical piftures in a style that indicated great 
 genius, and gave the admiring world a compoution of his 
 own ; the fubj«d was the Denial of Chrift by Peter. About 
 this time he drew the portraits of Mr. West, the Prefident, 
 and Mr. Humphries, and finilhed both within the hour. 
 
 I will not ufe the hyperbolical falfehood which Pope 
 applied to Kneller, in faying •' he was by Heaven and not 
 a Mafter taught ;" though the compliment would be more 
 dear to truth, as KndUr was the Scholar of Frank Hals, but 
 young Lawrence, like Epicurus of old, may claim the 
 snerit of being felf taught ; if he had enjoyed the advantage 
 N <^f
 
 [ 90 ] 
 
 of fiaving ftudicd in Italy, and been bred in the fcbool of 
 the Caracci, inftcad of the feminaiies of Somerfctfliiie, I 
 think he might nave been arranged among the moft promi- 
 nent mafters in either of the Roman or Florentine academies : 
 all the afliftance he had to cultivate his genius was the unre- 
 mitting attention adminiftered by a tender father, who, 
 though he knew but little of the arts, knew much of his 
 duty : it is but juftice to Mr. Lawrencr to obferve that he 
 repays this parental kindncfs with the moft filial piety. 
 
 Among many of the moft: celebrated characters of thtf 
 times, his portraits of the Bishop of Oxford, most of the 
 ' heads of houfes, and the Nobility of the Univerfity of Ox- 
 ford were entitled to much celebrity : all this was effected 
 before he was ten years of age ; after that he fettled at Bath, 
 where all the beauty and falliion of the place conftantly pre- 
 fented themfelves to his pencil. After this he made the 
 Metropolis his conftant refidence, and commenced his ftu- 
 dies at the Royal Academy. After a limited time of proba- 
 tion, he was elcfted an Academician at the demile of Sir 
 Joshua Reynolds, and at the age of twenty-eight he suc- 
 ceeded him in the appointment of principal Painter to the 
 King. Swift in his advice to a young Divine, recommends 
 to him to abstain from attempts at wit, for that it was possi- 
 ble he might not poflefs any : for the fame reafon I would 
 recommend to Mr, Lawrence tt) discontinue his attempts 
 at the fublime in painting ; it is dangerous ground, where 
 to fall, is to be contemptible — he has not ballaft enough in 
 his mind. 
 
 The moft important effort of a young Painter fhould be 
 to yoke his imagmation in the trammels of reafon, fo that 
 the fober movements of the one may fet boundaries to the 
 •wildnefles of the other : though this is truly difficult, it muft 
 be effeftcd, or elfe the licentioufnefs of that (^uick creating 
 fpirit, will only give variegated monfters to the fight, which 
 can "never be fubfervient to hiftoric truth or moral allegory. 
 
 Mr. Lawrence in his handling, is too profufe of his 
 lights : vhere there are fo many introduced they distract 
 the attention : 1 know if his colouring is tcQ fomhre it will 
 not pleafe the ladies, but if too glaring it will offend the 
 eye of the connoiffeur. I am forry to be obliged to remark 
 of the Engiifh Artifts, that having obtained applaufc, they 
 early negleft their academic ftudies : they fliould remember 
 that Carlo Maratti, at the great age of eighty, faid he failed 
 not to improve i and Boucher the French Painter, at nearly 
 
 the
 
 t 9' 3 
 
 iKe fame age, never omitted one night's attendance on his 
 studies in the French Academy. As nature has been very 
 lavifli of hergifis to Mr. Lawrence, I heartily recom- 
 jnend it to him to omit no opportunity by ftudy to improve 
 thofe gifts : his prefent manner is too chalkey, too flutter- 
 ing, and too undetermined. 
 
 i have much reafon to believe, that this gentleman has 
 been injured in his profefTional movements, by the prcr- 
 suming interference of men who were not calculated to 
 pafs judgment upon the fine arts. The difguflmg, imperti- 
 nent affe£lation of fancy drivellers, when commenting uporx 
 fimilar productions, is a melancholy proof how far our 
 pride can fubdue our difcretion. Mr. Arthur You'^:g, 
 in a book of travels, has inferted the following paffage, 
 which is dated from bologna. " In the Church of Saint 
 Giovenne, in Monte, there is the famous Saint Cecilia of 
 Raphael^ of which Sir Pvobert Str ange has given fo fine 
 a print, and in which he* has done ample juflice to the origi- 
 nal." This is evidently an erroneous criticifm, as the En- 
 graver quoted, never poffeifed the powers of doing ample 
 juflice to the works of fo divine a Painter. Sir Robert 
 Straxge did wonders in the graphic art, confidering the 
 diiadvantages of his education, but Mr. Young fhould be 
 taught to know that no Engraver can do complete juflice to 
 the befl efforts of a Painter, who does not draw as correft- 
 ly, and underfland the human anatomy as well. The graiid 
 circumstance which elevates the perfon who defigns, from 
 him who merely copies that defign, is briefly this, that the 
 Jirjt mufl be illumined by the rare influence of genius before 
 he can be eminently confideredj but the latter may be highly 
 refpe£lable in his more fervile province, without poflefluig 
 any fuch Godlike advantages. Perhaps it would have been 
 as wife, though not fo pompous, if Mr. Young h^d writteji 
 more about Turnips and lefs of Virti;* 
 
 Mr. HOPPNER. 
 
 Mr, HorpNER, r. a. was born in London, and educated, 
 as the child of a domeflic, under the dircftion of his Ma- 
 jefly ; from which circumflance many have inferred, that 
 he is a natural oflsprnig from the royal loins, and this idea 
 has not been fufficiently weakened by hi^ own broad fug- 
 geflions, 
 
 N? la
 
 C oa ] 
 
 In the earlier part of his life, it was his good fortune tq 
 afTociate with fome of the mofh brilliant charaftersof the age, 
 at the houfe of a *Mrs. Wriglit, in Pall-Mali, whofe young- 
 eft daughter he has fince married. As Mrs. Wright was 
 celebrated for modelling the human vifage in wax, and pof- 
 leffed a ftrong and mafculine underftanding, her houfe be- 
 came the rendezvous for the Legiflator and the Artift, and 
 there 1 have often converfed with the late Lord Camden, 
 Doftor Franklin, Mr. Garrick, Samuel Foote, Dr. Dodd, 
 Mr. Weft, Silas Deane, &c. 
 
 When Mr. Hoppne r firft painted, I conceived but a 
 very limited hope of his fuccefs : he appeared to have much 
 confidence, with little ability, and his exceffive vanity fu- 
 perfeded his puny judgment: he laboured to furpafs all at 
 a period, when he could rival none, and thought the chari- 
 table praife of Mr. Henry Bunbury, was equal to all the 
 advantages refulting from the moft mature and envied re- 
 nown ! 
 
 Every Artift: has, in a greater or leffer degree, a manner 
 of execution, either peculiar, to himfelf, or imitative of 
 fome reputable example ; but this gentleman has greedily 
 aflumed the manners of many; having had no prefcribed 
 mafter, he has boldly made free with all ; and having but a 
 callow knowledge of propriety, he unfortunately preferred 
 finery to harmony, and cunning to truth ; though candor 
 impels me to acknowledge, that fome of his more recent 
 performances involve a purer air and grace, and feem to 
 promife, like the oriibns of a magdalen, that the fins and 
 blandifhments of youth, are regretted and given over. His 
 Portrait of Lady Caroline Capel was one of the befl: 
 Figures in the late exhibition. There was an air of mater- 
 nal tendernefs without afifeftation in the principal figure, 
 and the repofing Infant was delicately imagined. The face 
 of Lady Caroline appeared more like artificial bloom thaa 
 the glow of health, and there was too great apredominancQ 
 of green throughout the whole. 
 
 This gentleman may be properly faid to deal in elegant 
 littlcntjfcs ; his tafte is unqueftionably very great, as far as 
 that tafte is connefted with trilling objefts : he has made no 
 eff'ort to be grand, but has been very laborious to acquire 
 grace, and in that very defirabie province he has been par- 
 tially 
 
 * During the Amerlcar, War, I wrote many letters to Mr. Hancock, 
 Mr. Adams, &c at the exprefs cleliie and lujjgeflions of this Lady, wI;o 
 inaintained a coircfpondence, thrqugh me, with the Chieis of the Coil- 
 gre(«.
 
 C 93 1 
 
 dally fuccefsful. I could ofPer many objeftions to his cKild 
 ifh propenfityto render his objefts gaudy, but this is an illicit 
 effetl. which may be denominated as the vice of moder^ 
 Portrait Painters ; I fay modern rather emphatically, as 
 the Masters of the old Schools never praftifed it ; they 
 confidered it truly as a departure from the moded harmony 
 of Nature and appropriate ornament. We cannot fee 4 
 portrait of a pretty woman now, but it is covered with 
 enhgns and top-gallants, like a flilp of war in a national 
 gala; and they are made to feem like weak, vain creatures, 
 more dependent for attraction upon the fluttering, motley 
 trappings of vanity, than that growing fafcination which 
 refults from re_g:arding purity, and thofe bewitching propo- 
 tions which conilitute beauty, and makes us idolatrous. . 
 
 There is a determination in the outline of Vandyk. Titian^ 
 and Rembrandt^ which leaves no doubt of their capacity to 
 efteft whatever Nature and Truth prefented to their contem- 
 plation ; and yet that contour is lb cunningly and m.afterly 
 wrought, as to be palpable without being coariely edged 
 with a line, which is too much the fault of Mr. Romney ; 
 but the Portrait Painters among us aredafhing and indecifive 
 from ignorance; they copy the worft parts of Sir Joshua 
 Reynolds, who, with all his merit?, w^as happy to be llo- 
 venly, when it was not poflible that he could be perfe6t. 
 Mr. FIoppNER participates in this vicioufnefs of ilyie in a 
 very lamentable degree. 
 
 That Artift who begins his labour, with colours of a gau- 
 dy tendency, may be compared to an indifr'erent vocal per- 
 former, who commences his fong in a key too high ; and the 
 consequence with both will be, that neither can adequately 
 fulfil the pur poles of their undertaking. If I had a young 
 man, of apparent genius, under my tuition, I would care- 
 fully hide from his obferyation the produ6tions of modeni 
 Artifts, and make him ftudy only from the more excellent 
 of the old Mafters, who fcarcely ever ufcd any other than 
 earthly colours, which polTefs an inherent property, or power 
 to withftand the teft of tim.e and the elements. 
 
 In the Pictures annually expofed to fale, as iii? ported from 
 the Continent, we have, to ufc the jargon of the dealers, 
 the firjt thoughts and thefecond thoughts of eminent men ; that 
 is, fuch primary exertions of the mind, as were haftily 
 committed to canvab, to be lurvcyed and approved by the 
 Artifts, at leifure; but our BritHli Prof-iiors can feldom 
 have their works thus charafteriicdj as in whatevei* lig^.t 
 
 their
 
 [ 94 ] 
 
 t!teirprodu£lirns may be viewed, they are afluredly uniar 
 fiuenced by fentinicnt, and innocent oi thinkings 
 
 Mr. PETERS. 
 
 The Rev. ,WiLL.iAM Peters, l. l. b. r. a. is anativ^ 
 |>f Ireland; his father held an inconfiderable place in the 
 Cuftom-houCe of Dublin, and gave him fuch an education 
 as his cirjcumftances warranted; when young he was in 
 habits of intimacy with the late Mr. West, then Mafter of 
 the National Academy of Dehgn in that city, and from him 
 he acquired the £rft rudiments of drawing. 
 
 He had not made much advancement in fludy, when 
 he was fufficiently fortunate to gain the patronage of fome 
 eminent perfonages in that capital, who thinking that he 
 pofiTcffed fome traits of genius, voiy liberally contributed to 
 fend him to Italy, where, as he aflerts, the Imperial Aca- 
 demy at Florence ele6led him a Member of their inftitution. 
 
 His efforts in Italy did not create much notoriety, or in- 
 volve much promife, as to his future operations : the rfioft 
 jconfpicuous labour v/as a copy of a celebrated pifture at 
 Parma, commonly called 5<2?2 Gitrolomo, and which is now 
 placed as an altar-piece in the Church of St. Saffron Wal- 
 0en, in Eifex ; he alfo copied Rubens his pifture, of the 
 Four Philifophers, in the Pitti Valace, at Florence. 
 
 On his return to England he became patronifed by the 
 late DuK.E OF Rutland ; at whofe defire he v/ent to Paris, 
 \n 1782, to copy the famous pi^ure by Le Brun, in the 
 Carmelite C^hurch, which is a portrait of Mabame dj' la 
 Valiere, im.agined in the crifis of converfion, and as call- 
 ing from her beautiful perfon the ornaments and gewgaws of 
 falhion, previous to her entering tlie Cloiftcr. This copy 
 is at Belvoir Caftle, in Lincolniliire : the original i have 
 pfien beheld with admiratian, and ever claffed it as the 
 (hef d'ceuvre of its author, even after reviewing the Battles 
 pf Alexander from the fame powerful pencil : the only 
 flidwback upon its importance is, that I fufpedl him to have 
 been fomewhat indebted to the divine and graceful Corre- 
 6 10 for the pofition. 
 
 In the period that Mr. Peters was at Paris, the late 
 Puke of Manchester was Ambaifador from the BritifU 
 f^ourt ; feizing the occafion, the Duke requefted the Queen 
 pf France to permit Mr. Peters to make a portrfiit of the 
 
 Dauphin ;
 
 t H 1 
 
 jDau|)^in : A council was Immediately held, "where it wa» 
 ferioully decided, that the effluvium of the paint mi'>ht be 
 injurious tb the health of the infant ; and this,idea was com.- 
 municated iti a letter from Madame de Polignac to the 
 Duke, in the name of the Queen! —Perhaps the follv and 
 vanity of our nature catniot be more elf equally exemplified 
 than by contrafting fuch exceffive caution in an inftance lb 
 trivial, with thofe fuccecding calamities, which have fo 
 recently deluged that uhhappy family in blood. 
 
 'Ere Mr, Peters was enteredof Exeter College, Oxford, 
 
 he had the pyebald fortune to affociate with Earl , and 
 
 warm himfelf in the full beam of his patronage, when he 
 enafted fome offices not ftriftly confonant with rigorous 
 purity. In fuchembarraiTments Mr. Peters was compel- 
 led by events, to think more of the attitudes of the Lesbian 
 Venus than the affum.ption of the beatified Virgin, and 
 mull have blufhed himfelf into contrition. During this 
 contaminating progrefs, he was not unfrequently elbowed 
 by a vtean Mifcreant, who fed hungrily upon the dirty 
 bounties of his licentious Principal. To this creeping 
 knave Mr. Peters condefcended to be friendly; but a'- the 
 friendfhip of bad men is to be deplored even more than 
 their enmity, he foon difcovered that thi^ artful impoftor 
 was laying a train to calumniate and deftroy his bencfa£lor: 
 the truth is, that he looked with a jealous eye upon the Ion 
 of the pallet, and apprehended that he might be fuperfeded 
 in hi:> extraordinary dominion over the will of the amiable 
 Peer. Mr. Peters, (who neither wants good nature or 
 benevolence,) faw and com.prehended the whole mafs of 
 mifchief in embrio, and as a conteft, on that occafion, would 
 not have been precifely honorable, he refigned all the ad- 
 vantages refulting from fuch a Magnijico, and left his more 
 wiercz^n^*? opponent mafter of an unfough. field. This grey 
 fprig of the Peerage ha fuch rare powen of necromancy, 
 he could make his Lady a Griffin, a Painter an Ecclefiaftic, 
 sl Cobler a Groom of the Stole, and a Pimp a Magifiratc ! 
 
 When Mr. Petkrs was happily enabled, by the ordina- 
 tions of a dozy Prelate, to forego the impurities of the laity, 
 and put his foot upon the Old Man^ the van : of his ricfe 
 imagination inftantly took an oppodt?, d'reftion ; from the 
 bowers and bliffes of a foutheni Cytherea to the north pomfc 
 of chilling morality, the eleftric flafh was lefs fwift than 
 his retreat from error; he discreetly left it to junior com- 
 peers to paint to the paflion?, while he ufurped on canvafs 
 
 the
 
 f 95 3 
 
 tlie regulation of the foulr thus could this verfatilcj thougif 
 great man, exhibit in the revolution of one moon, the very 
 Tops and Bottoms of humanity. — Wonderful aera ! Amiable 
 Prieft! — Iti-, u'ith the difcerning, acircumftance ofdoubtj 
 which will be arranged, in futurity, as the more extraor- 
 dinrary occurrence, the eonverfion of Pau l at Damafcus^ 
 ©r William PtXERs in Grofvenor-Square. 
 
 Here let the voluptuary ponder and repent. This excel- 
 lent gentleman; this well wafhed Chriftian, may operate., 
 ai an inflance of fecial goodnefs, without the trouble of ex- 
 pounding Holy Writ in the Temple. 
 
 <* Example draws where pi ccept fails ; , 
 *' As sermons are less read than talcs." 
 
 He aptly banifhed the fcruples of a narrow mind, and 
 fwallowed the thirty-nine articles of faith, with the eager- 
 nefs of a famifhed Monk ; and if the falvation of his neigh- 
 bour required it, has a ftomach for thirty-nine times as 
 many. If ever there was a general fhriek in Pandemonium, 
 it rauft have been when his ample fhoulders were hallowed 
 with the f(3^a of divinity: he gratuitoufly arrays the Saints 
 in new drapery, and wipes his breech with the ballads of 
 Anacreon, 
 
 These are the deeds which fame is proud to icll, 
 None but himself can be his parailel ! 
 
 Confidering Mr. Peters as an Artift, I think his con* 
 ception imperfeft, if not vulgar ; his management of the 
 €0 flume betrays no grandeur of fentiment ; in the primary 
 cfTcntial point of Drawing he is miferably defeftive ; many 
 of his pictures in the Shakefpear Gallery seem as if copied 
 from hirmingham teaboards, and not the original efforts of 
 an R. A. his colouring is tawdry and puerile, and wholly 
 foreign to the gradual tints of Nature. 
 
 Since his holy inauguration, he has almoft exclufively 
 attempted to iliuffrate what a Milefian would phrafe, the 
 other fide of Death j there has happened' but one vain effort, 
 when he proved falfe to his acknowledged piety, and then 
 the demon inwove with his idea, and tempted him, in the 
 Ihape of Abraham Newland, to a delineation of the Merry 
 Wives of Windforj but as the execution is imperfeft, the er- 
 tor is but half accomplifhed, and a year of penance may 
 pi'-ogreffively whiten him into purity again. How eafily 
 a man may fully his jerkin, as Virgil fays, but how difii"-' 
 cult it is to fcour it to its priftine beauty. 
 
 ■ "■ ■ Facilis descensus averniy 
 ^"ied jcvicare gradum, ^c. 
 
 I have
 
 C 97 ] 
 
 , I have hear<^ it wliifpered, there are four votaries of the 
 Church, who affe6l to believe that Mr. Petf.rs is not in- 
 veterately canonical, in preferring the analyfis of Beauty to 
 his Rofary ; I know not the indifputed dogma of the Pontic 
 fix Maximus ori this head, but I will prefumejto affirm, that 
 more danger is to be dreaded from the intemperance of a 
 fwilling conclave of Vicars in a convocation, than from the 
 wanderings of a playful Artift's pencil; and efpecially one 
 who efchewed reprobation w^hen a novitiate in Alma Mater, 
 by drawing the Whore of Babylon without a fcarlet petti- 
 coat, and lighting his mundungus with the fonnets of PeUr 
 Aretint / — Hogarth was as mighty a- moralift as Bifliop Til- 
 iotfon. Oh! 1 deteft fuch puny cavillers at ingenuity, 
 who would rather fuffer the devil to ride rough-fhod and 
 unquefhioned over the privileged orders of ioc'ety, than 
 have him fhot at through any piece of artillery unstamped 
 with the diocefan arms. But Envy is fleeplefs in her vile 
 nianoEUvres; fo let the heart of W. Peters ceafe to palpi- 
 tate with the too delicate feaf of temporal fhame. 
 
 His pifliure of a Family burfting from a Sepulchre at the 
 Laft Day, like a vigorous potatoe through the encumbring 
 fod, is ludicroufly wonderful. His Angel carrying the 
 Spirit of a Child to Paradife, and their Arrival in the Aw- 
 ful Prefence, are pieces fuperior to my limited comprehen- 
 (ion. I Ihall only remark, with becoming humility, that 
 the writhing attitude of a boy brought near a fiery furnace, 
 in a ftate of nature, would be the fame as that depifted in 
 the tranquilizing Empyrean : but I confefs that fuch fub- 
 je£ls are not to be meafured by the faculties of a fmner like 
 me. Under favour, 1 think the old leaven breaks forth in 
 Mn Peters, by his uniformly pourtraying angels of the 
 fofter fex : I have fome doubts that the whole Hierarchy 
 could not juftify this paflionate partiality in their worthy 
 brother. Mr. Peters carries his gallantry and his gratitude 
 fo far, that I fhould not be amazed, if he defigned the Final 
 J^udgment, to fee the DutcHESs of Rutland in a padufoy, 
 and the Doke of Manchester- on a velvet cufhion , — but, 
 ;flS Zeno has faid, this is a pathlels track, and 1 muft wan- 
 der no farther; 1 wifh John Bun van were alive, to write 
 a criticifm upon fuch infpi ring performances; which, though 
 inexplicable to a common apprehenfion, are clear and lu- 
 minous to the regenerated. 
 
 Mr. Peters feems now to have arrived at the fummit of 
 his chafte ambition -, he is a Free Ma/on of the firft quality, 
 
 O and
 
 t ss 1 
 
 and- in the language of the brethren, may be faid to be IHc^ 
 rally tiUdin; thougli the icy thumb of death has robbed him 
 of two rum Dukes, he can retire occafionally for confolation 
 to the embraces of Jaciiin and Boaz, who commanded 
 their difciplcs to live by Rule and aft upon the Square, 
 Though this facerdotal limner is humble in his pretenfions, 
 he has a fort of local dignity thruft upon him, and is now, 
 a5 it were, in fpite of his teeth, a gulpher of Aristocratic 
 and graphic honors ; he is no lefs than a Royal Academi- 
 cian, a Bachelor of Laws ; Reftor of Woolflorp, in Lin- 
 Colnfhire, and Knipton, in Leicefterfliire ; Prebend of Lin- 
 coln ; Chaplain to his Royal Highnei's the Prince of Wales; 
 General Confeffor to the Knights of the Brufh, aud Pro- 
 vincial Grand Mailer of the County of Lincoln, 
 
 Mr. OPIE. 
 
 John Opie, r. a. is a native of Cornwall ; where he ori- 
 ginally followed the profclTion of a houfc carpenter ; he was 
 born in lyba, and in 1780 he manifcitcd an inclination to 
 burft from his menial trammels and become an Artift. The 
 firil dawnings of this honorable defire v/ere manifefled by 
 his fcrawling a rude refemblance of any particular objeft 
 with chalk, in thofe hours which individuals thus fituated, 
 but iefs gifted, and lefs induftrious, generally appropriate, 
 to mean habits of merriment, or unprohtable inertion. 
 
 The earlier fpecimens of Mr. Opie's genius were pro- 
 perly and gcncroufly encouraged by fevcral enlightened 
 gentlemen m his neighbourhood, who foflered him into the 
 ambition of painting portraits for a pecuniary reward : he 
 <:ommenced his profeirional career at Falmouth ; where he 
 was accuftomed to wait upon the padengers who were 
 windbound, and requeft them to fit for their portraits, 
 which he executed with fome addrefs, and at an humble 
 price *. From Falmouth he removed to Exeter ; where he. 
 acquired an additional polifti to hi« capacity, and from 
 thence removed to London^ 
 
 I (hall 
 
 * When Mr. Opie was purfuing his laudable attempt to become me- 
 Tstorious at Falmouth^ he felefied an old mendicant of the place, with 
 ^he features of a Patriarch, as a proper objcd for lludy, and he copied 
 his worn rineaments fo happily, thai, the Portraits were in requell, and 
 eagerly purchalcd by thofe who were indifferent to the fate of the ori- 
 ginal. One of thcfe efTorti, which Mr. Opie conceived lo be the moft 
 iuccefsful, he brought to the nictropolis, and carried xX. to Mr. WESt 
 *i9r his opinion, who appioved of u lo warmly, »{ to flwvf « t« the
 
 C 99 1 
 
 T fhall not imitate the language of his particular flatterer, 
 by calling him a ruftic Apellcs, or the firft hiftorical painter 
 of this country, becaufe he is far from deferving fuch de- 
 scription ; he has more ability than falls to the lot of the 
 million in general, but much lefs than he ought to poflef* 
 t^ven to be confidcred as an hiftorical painter of the ufual 
 degree. His colouring is flovenly, and very frequently 
 wholly inapplicable to the objeft. His drawing is hard, 
 and beft fuitcd to inelegant images. His draperies are of 
 fo coarfe a texture, as mud render them, in aftion, intole- 
 rable to the wearer, and his comprehenfion of a fubjcft is 
 fo ungracious, that he may be faid to vulgarife nature in 
 proportion as he enlarges the fphere of execution. 
 
 I have not feen any performance from Mr. Opie's pen- 
 cil, that could induce me to believe, he had ever poffefled 
 one idea of genuine female beauty. It has been alTerted, 
 that beauty, like taile, ha no unerring flandard ; but this 
 apology is more ilrongly applicable to the prejudices of va- 
 rious nations in difiimilar climates, than to the difcounte- 
 nancing that happy arrangement of features, which the 
 wife and the impailioncd of the moft refined States have 
 denominated pure beauty. That artift who can be latisfied 
 that he is pleased with an appearance, without enquiring 
 into the caufes, or feeking a developement of the elements 
 of that pleafure, will run no hazard of being quoted by 
 future claimants upon renovv'n, as an inftance that is either 
 imitative or enviable. 
 
 It 
 
 King: the confequence of this liberal meafure, from Mr. West, was a 
 defiie on the part of his Majefty to purchafe the Head. Mr. Opie, in- 
 jfluenced by the hope of having his works hung up m the Falace, con- 
 sented, with fome rcluftance, to fell his darUng production to his Ma- 
 jefty. In order to render what was valuable more attraftive, he purchaled 
 a franae fupcrbly wrought, which coft him eUiai guineas, which he bor- 
 rowed on the occafion : thus enabled, as he imagined, to claim anhand- 
 J'cme reward, he waited upon the Prefident, who informed ihe young 
 Adventurer, that his Majefty meantto purchafe the Pidture not as a King, 
 l)ut as a private Ccnt/e?nan, and required Mr. Opi e to fix the price. AtLcr 
 lome deliberation, the Cornilh expcftant faid that he would leave the 
 terms to the King. Mr. West complimented the junior Profcffor upoO 
 his difcernment, in thus relyiog upon regal honor, and lent the Pifture to 
 Buckingham Houfe. In a few days after, Mr. Ori^ called upoi> Mr, 
 West, pregnant with cxpettatious of the moft fangui>ic kind, wncr> 
 Mr. VvTest affurcd him, that the King was fo highly fatisikd witn his 
 bargain, that he had ordered him to prefent Mr Oiii wiin the contents 
 of a paper, which he at that inilant flipt into the . lembling hand of the 
 ztalous youth, who carried it triumplianily home, that he might lumir 
 inate upon the bounty of nis Sovereign: he arrived, and untoldinrr th« 
 j^aper wirh a panting heart, faw nine guintas and a half and Jix^cnce .'.'.
 
 C ICO 3 
 
 It is the common lunacy of the day, among our junior 
 arti/ls, to claim the proud and high ftation of an Hiflorical 
 Painter, in the inftant that they can draw a figure in the 
 Life Academy, with a decent analogy to truth, and feem 
 wholly regardlefs of thofe numerous collateral qualifica- 
 tions arifing from intenfe fludy, which the moft famous, 
 Mafters that ever exifted. of all nations, deemed indifpen- 
 fable ; but alas ! this Overweening prefumption is not con- 
 finqd to the Painters, but is equally applicable to a majority 
 of thofe who -have recently written upon the fubjeft, in 
 this country. Hence have arifen fuch poems and books 
 upon the arts, as common fenfe couid never recognife ; but 
 thoLjgh the authors were ignorant they were rich, and 
 wealth can obtain a palTport from prefumption, at all hours 
 and in every latitude. It is a vain endeavour for men to 
 write upon the polite arts with fuccefs, who have not been 
 proteffionally trained ; and it is equally vain for any to ex- 
 peft to be great in the fublime purfuit, who have not been 
 duly educated, and intimate with correfponding fciences. 
 
 *' Yet he that has but impudence, 
 To every thing will have pretence." 
 
 If I were to fix my judgment of Mr. Op lE. by his moft 
 laboured performances for the laft three years, I fhould af- 
 firm that he had arrived at "that acme of merit which is 
 limited by his difpofition, but not by his powers.- 1 know 
 not whether 1 Ihould afcribe this difcontinuance of exertion, 
 fo common and fo deftruftive among our Artifls of a cer- 
 tain age, to indolence or vanity ; perhaps it is a confequence 
 ifTuing from a mixture of both. As in the bufy circles of 
 life, we meet with all who wifh to be hapoier, and but few 
 who wifh to be wifer ; fo in the contrafted fcrle of piftorial 
 competition, we meet with all who wifh to be more 
 wealthy, and but few who wifh to be exemplary and truly 
 noble. 
 
 ' From the tenor of Mr. Opie's fubjefts, it appears that 
 he has felefted the terrific points of hiftory for the illuftra^ 
 tion of his pencil ; and this predile£lion is with him judi- 
 cious, as it is more confonant with a rude mind to embrace 
 terror than the graces. It is in painting as in afting, where 
 the terrible attributes are more eafily caught and exempli- 
 fied than others of a milder mien ; for whatever borders 
 upon the outtageous in either undertaking i-; more inflan* 
 taneoufly impreflive and aftive upon the paffions than the 
 more calm effeds produced by the regular progreffion of 
 
 ordinary
 
 L !•> 3 
 
 ordinary incidents ; but the operation of horror is lefs du- 
 rable, as the underftanding is more laborious to rid itfelf 
 of emotions called forth by the contemplation of a Gorgon 
 than an Angel : we are feared and entrapped into amaze-j 
 ment by the violent adminiftration of the firft, but the at- 
 tention is ieduced into an acceptable bondage by the pleat- 
 ing witcheries of the other. The mod complicated and 
 jFreezing compofition I ever fawof this tendency, \va.s Death's 
 Dance, by Holbein ; which is a capital fpecimen of the ma- 
 nagement of a dreadful groupe, and has a peculiar influence; 
 upon the mind, inafmuch as we are accuftomed to annex 
 the rage of a forked fkeleton, as exclufively bufy in the 
 ruppreffion of life. This is one of the unalienable preju- 
 dices of education, which generates a fhuddering, at the 
 expence of our firmnefs and reafon as men ; knowing that 
 to be finite, under all thofe contradiftory and diftreffing; 
 vicilTitudes which environ our chequered ftate, is an event 
 truly defirable. 
 
 His pifture of the Death of Rizzio, is prefumed to be his 
 jnafter-piece, and there are fpme parts of it which deferve 
 commendation ; though, upon the whole, it is too heavy, 
 intrufive, and caxpetty. On the material point of aerial 
 perfpeftive, this gentleman appears to give himfelf but lit- 
 tle trouble ; and certainly the lefs trouble a thing is effe^ed 
 with, the greater compliment accrues to the doer. 1 re- 
 gret that he fees Nature through the fame medium as Mr» 
 West, and the generous and produtlive wench v/a^ never 
 viewed through organs more illufory. The identity of the 
 figures in t,his Artift's performances muft deftroy the necef- 
 fary delufipn of the canyafs, as no animals are correfpon» 
 dently fimilar. We might imagine from the fombroufnefs 
 of his tints, that he was a monopolifer of briik duji and red 
 cker. He, like Mr. Wkst, feldom introduces a Patriarch or 
 a Hero, but he make : him appear to fweat under the incum- 
 brance of his drapery, which can only be enforced to float 
 upon the bofom of the air, by the operations of a ftorm : — 
 they all look as fo many porters, overladen in a blanket ma- 
 nufafliory, and as deploring the inconvenience ; each man 
 of them looks prepared for the rigorous clime of Spitfber- 
 gen! ' ' 
 
 1 would advife every Painter, who wifhes to behold an 
 occafional perfonification of the Terrible^ to vifit the Thca- 
 trc on thofe nights when Mrs. Siddoks cna6ls Lady Mac- 
 beth^ or feme charafter fimilar in d^adfui propenfity ; he 
 
 might
 
 C 10= 3 
 
 jnigKt then behold the fublimity of defperation and anguiflt, 
 more perfeclly exhibited, than it ever was i^ "^y memory, 
 by a female. If this lady can read Italian, it would be very 
 gratifying to the judicious to hear her recite Dante's Infrrno • 
 1 fhould be pleafed to liften to the tone of her voice, and 
 mark her eye and attitudes when fhe was enforcing thofe 
 fmgular and nervous pallages which have heretofore charm- 
 ed the mighty Bonarotti into a necromantic enthufiafm, that 
 lifted him above himfelf, and made him forget that he was 
 human. 
 
 Yet I fhould not fufFer this temperate eftimate of Mr. 
 Opie's ability to pafs current in fociety, without acknow- 
 ledging it as my belief that he has already atchieved won- 
 ders, confidering the difadvantages attendant upon his pro- 
 gress, and that had he been more fludious, he might have 
 been very eflimable ; his want of tafte may argue a paucity 
 of fentiment, but he might be very correft notwithftanding. 
 It is not my defire to be harfh in my fentiments towards 
 this Gentleman-; but I cannot avoid obferving, that he does 
 not, in my opinion, improve in proportion as he becomes 
 older : I have feen fome heads from his pencil in Cornwall, 
 which promifed a better harveft. I know not which would 
 be more immediately required from him by truth, the un- 
 learning much of his accuftomed erroneous manner, or tha 
 acquifition of that dignified method, through the path 
 of rigorous application, which rendered Michael AngeU 
 great, and RaJaclU divine. 
 
 Mr. WALE. 
 
 Samuel Wale, R. A. was born at Yarmouth, in Nor- 
 folk; and w:.s among the firfl Members of the Royal Aca- 
 demy, and by them appointed as Profeffor of Perfpe£live to 
 the eftablifhment: he died m Little-court, Caftle-ftreet, 
 Leicefter Fields, where he had lived for many years, and 
 was, in his day. confpicuous for his defigns for the graphic 
 embellifhment of book 5. He was much indebted for his re- 
 putation to the fine tallc of Mr, Grigkiqn *, who ufually 
 
 engraved, 
 
 * Mr. Charles Grignion ftudied in Paris, and was the pupil of 
 Le £a\y and improved in London, by Grave/ot, in concert with Gainjifim, 
 riugk and Major. This gentleman may be properly ftyled the father of 
 the Englilb 5chool of Engraving : confidering riis diladvantages he did 
 wonders : he was denied the p; ivileges and benefits refuiting from the 
 flady of corrcft deligns, and unhappily deltined to amcnd^ not/clloa;^ the
 
 eagraved, and I fhould fay, ameliorated his drawings. He 
 was one of thofe modeft few who wifhed to journey to the 
 grave through the by-paths and filcnt avenues of life, And 
 avoid that broad highway, where all who are feen are no- 
 ticeable ?.nd decried ! 
 
 To be mafter of fo refl;ri6led a fubjeft as perfpeftive, inJ- 
 plies no great compliment to the faculties of the profefforr 
 for though it be a ftudy very material to the Painter, it is of 
 that order in the fcale of thinking, which an afpiring mind 
 fcorns to be valued upon, though it mud be acquired to re- 
 gulate bolder acquihtions--it is a fort of drill ferjeant to the 
 more effeftuai attainments of an Artift, and rather-calculated 
 to keep up a due and beautiful fubordiuation among the tur- 
 bulent offspring of genius, than to make any claims itfelf 
 upon honor or even refpect. 
 
 Perfpe6live, or the Art of Seeing, is that by which we are 
 enabled to contemplate and depifl; the likenefs of all vifible 
 objefts, as they appear through the medium of the vifual 
 ray ; the manner of this fpeculation is by radiations of light, 
 direft, r»fle£led, or broken. Direft radiations arc thofe 
 which pafs between the eye and the objeft ; reflefted radia- 
 tions are thofe which appear on any fohd body, globular, 
 conical, pyramidical, or cylindrical ; broken radiations are 
 thofe which may be feen through a glafs divided into fuper- 
 fices: — the bafe of any body is the plane upon which it 
 (lands ; the altitude is the perpendicular fpace between the 
 bafe and the eye ; the vifual print is where all the beams o£ 
 the eye unite ; the horizontal line is parallel to the horizon 
 «f the earth. This is a brief outline of the art, without a 
 deep knowledge of whicn, no man can be fuccessful in imi- 
 iating nature, or the objefts that adorn and encumber it. 
 
 When I was in the habit of ftudying in the Royal Aca- 
 •iemy, Mr. Wale delivered his leftures, and in the progrefs 
 •f my exiftence, i never faw a man fo diffident in the com- 
 jnunication of what he fo well knew : he fcemed nearly pa- 
 lalyfed in a fituation, where duty and good manners en- 
 forced the meritorious to be attentive, and the prefuming to 
 be fitent. I was inclined to account for fuch a diftrc fling 
 tremor, from the belief that I beheld a modeft man drawn 
 
 from 
 
 •nintelliglble attempts at delineation by Samuel Wale, and the lumps, 
 whicuweie meant tor extremities, in the deligns of Havman. Before 
 Jhe engravings ot Mr. Grig n ion appeared, \vc had no repmable fpeci- 
 Hien c-t the graphic art in being, in this Coantry, if we exeept cnc fpirited 
 trontifpi^'ces by hdL ingenious Frenchman, L»uis Du GutrnUrjiixd whick 
 •(Tcre coarse, thou^^hiul] ot charadcr aad e;):pressioa>
 
 r 1*4 3 
 
 from tK« calm receifes of folitude into t!ie blaze of obfcrvat 
 tion, and compelled to affume a charafter in the evening of 
 his life, for which it was necedary he fhould have been pre- 
 pared by youthful ardour and conflitutional effrontery. A 
 private man may be very generally eflimable without the 
 aids of impudence, but a public man, in a public exertion, 
 cannot. 
 
 Mr. BARTOLOZZL 
 
 Francis Bartolozzi, r. a. is a nStive of Florence, in 
 Italy: he ftudied engraving under Wagner. While pur- 
 fuing his fludies at tlorente he was invited to England by 
 Mr. Dalton, who was at that period employed by his pre- 
 fent Majefty to colleft drawings in the Italian States, and 
 difcover the beft hiftoric engraver. Mr. Bartolozzi was 
 thus folicited in confequenceof a violent difpute. which kad 
 previoufly taken place between the late Lord Bute and Sir 
 Robert Strange, relative to the engraving of two por- 
 traits of the King and Lord Bute, from paintmgs bv Ram- 
 «AY, which he was requefted to perform, but eluded the 
 requeft in purfuance of a refolution he had formed to go to 
 Italy that fummer. This denial highly exafperated the vain 
 and powerful party, who dispatclied Mr. Dalton, then 
 librarian to his Majefly, upon the important expedition al- 
 luded to ; in the interim the meritorious but unfortunate 
 Wi L L I AM Wy n n e R y land prcfeuted himfelf, and did the 
 graphic deed of note and glory. 
 
 His very beautiful and correft imitations of the drawings 
 cf Gu6rcino, in the colleftion of the King, and which I think 
 his beft works, were among his firft performances on his 
 arrival here: after thcfe he engraved his Venus, Cupid, and 
 Satyr, and his near] y incomparable C/yi'iV; fince that period 
 he has fuffercd his high reputation to moulder, by admitting 
 his name to be affixed to works which he had fcarcely touch- 
 ed with his own magic graver. If fuch mcafurcs arofe from 
 his overweening goodnature, I muft pity fuch an amiable 
 "weaknefs; but if they arofe from his love of money, I re- 
 gret it, though it were acquired to ftrengthen his exce {five 
 habits of benevolence, for he folaces'all that come within 
 his gates. 
 
 According to the infl'.tutes of the Royal Academy, the 
 number of Engravers are limited to I'lx, and they are conii- 
 
 dered
 
 [ 'OS ] 
 
 der^d in the inferior fcale of comparative merit with the Pain- 
 ters. Mr. Bartolozzi, confciousof his own ftrength, pre- 
 fented himfelf as a Painter, and was admitted as fuch ; and 
 happy were they all to have fuch an acquifition. All this 
 was juft, as to denominate him as a mere Engraver would 
 be to circumfcribe my language within the limits of igno- 
 rance, as he is not only fomething more, but almofl every 
 thing that the hope of imitative fcience can embody : he 
 draws better than any other man in the world, and can give 
 a truth and durability to that defign, beyond the powers of 
 any other individual in the fame department. 
 
 The late I. K. Sherwin was the moft meritorious of his 
 pupils, but was never fuccefsful when he prefurtied to en- 
 grave from his own defigns : he had all the daringnefs of 
 genius without the accomplifhments of ftudy, and his licen- 
 tioufnefs deftroyed his powers. Meflrs. Tomkxns, Schio- 
 VANETi, Bovi, and Gillray, have been occafionally 
 attraftive, but as their flights have been uniformly in a mid- 
 dle fky, I regard their progrefs unimpreffed by either won- 
 der or repugnance. His other pupils are unworthy of their 
 great mafter. 
 
 Mr. Bartolozzi 's manner is fo rigoroufly eftablifhed, 
 that he cannot engrave portraits with all the diverfity ne- 
 Ceffary to the human charafter ; and he dcferves reproach 
 for fuffering his name to be put to fo many imperfett per- 
 formances from other pcrfons. — It is a proftitution deroga- 
 tory to his talents. 
 
 It has been violently afferted, that Bartolozzi 's prints 
 want a due tone of colour^ or (in language more compre- 
 henfive to common minds) that degree of relative force, 
 which conftitutes the fubordination of objects. The truth 
 is, that he fuffers in his celebrity, from his apprehenfion of 
 doing too much, which injure his prints, as far as the de- 
 clenfionof tint isconcerned. Sir Robert Strange and he 
 both engraved a print from the Circumcifion, by Guercino, 
 and the ingenious knight made this remark, that though he 
 confeffed the fuperiority of his rival, in the very effential 
 points of drawing; yet he believed that he fliould, in his 
 turn, triumph, from his fuperior knowledge of effeft, 
 arifing from his more liberal and bold management of the 
 graver. It mud be obferved, that it is a principle of the 
 ultramontane fchools not to make any print black ; they are 
 rooted enemies to the idea of a very deep tint, which they 
 conceive, and in my opinion wronglV; injurious to the in- 
 
 P * terefts
 
 tcreils of moi^en: nature: — this prejudice is exemplified in 
 the works of two modern Artiflsof tlie Roman fchool, Por- 
 porerii and Morchan. The famous French Engraver, Gerard 
 Audran, was never timid on this head, which gives his 
 prints fuch irreliftible and defirable force; but this great 
 man may be fitid almoft to have painted in copper ! his 
 {Irokes of the inftrument are fo free, noble, and true. 
 
 Previous to the publicity of Bartolozzi, (excepting 
 WooLLETT,^' and Ryland's works.) our prints were incon- 
 fiderable, and of little value ; but fmce that period, they 
 have formed a great article of commerce. Mr. R. Sayer^ 
 of Fleet Street, and Mr. Bowles, of St. PauFs Church- 
 yard, had occasionally trafHcked in this way ; but the efforts 
 of art which they exported, were of that trifling and unin- 
 tcrefling nature, as to affix adegradion upon the polite arts 
 of England, among the Continental obfervers. 
 
 When i connect my knowledge of his amazing induflry 
 with his philofophic difregard of riches, it produces the 
 mofh raptiuous fcnfations, and 1 glow with ardour to do 
 homage to a man who is fingularly great without vanity, 
 and fmguiarly good without oPccntation : he approaches fo 
 near to what is perfeft, that he amends whatever comes 
 within his cognizance. His decided fuperiority as an En- 
 graver, over all exifting competition, is fo manifeft, that I 
 iliould feel a particular pride in calling him a Briton ; but 
 as that gratification is denied, 1 fhall take much honor to 
 myfelf in belonging to that order of fpccics which he has 
 fo fublimed by his profeflional excellence, arid fo cherifhed 
 by his pra6lical philanthropy. When he undertook to en- 
 grave the Death of Lord Chatham, he fent for Testolini 
 from Italy, to affift him, but found him unequal to 'the 
 talk. 
 
 Mr. Bartolozzi forms a timely point for the graphic 
 difciples of the prefent day to rally round and be honeftly 
 ambitious. We have a Sharpe, a Heath, a Hall, a 
 Neagle, a FiTTLER, cum multis aliis, but we have no 
 
 claffic 
 
 "* Mr. WitLiAM WooLLETT was a native of Kent. He was the 
 pupil of Mr. TiNNEY, Engraver, of Fleet-ftreet, and had the advantage 
 of Undying in the fame houfe with Chatelain, who was the firft En- 
 graver in this Country who gave a charadler to trees. The firft Print 
 Mr. Wool LET publifhed was his celebrated Niobe., in which his fellow- 
 pupil, Anthony V/alker, engraved the figures. It is extraordinary 
 that his Death of Wolje fliould be generally preferred to his La Hogue, al- 
 though it has iefs merit. His intenfe application czuied ajifuia in ano% 
 which terminated his being. He was buried in St, Pancras Church-yard.
 
 C 107 ] 
 
 tlaffic precifion except in the produftions .of this eflimable 
 Florentine. They all feem labouring exciulively foi\ the 
 kitchen, but none for the attainment of a valued celebrity : 
 if fuch negligence becomes proverbial, fuch Artifts cannot 
 be amazed to be arranged with vulgar handicraftfmen, fuch 
 as drapers, weaver^, tinkers, and taylors. Drawing is the 
 grammar of the polite arts, and without it nothing can be 
 done. The harmonious conjunftion of ftrokes wa«j ma- 
 naged better by Strange and Ryland * than Barto- 
 Lozzi, but they were.mere ftrokes, and nothing clfe: thev 
 worked like automata, without fouls. t. An Engraver with- 
 out a thorough acquaintance with the origin and infertiou 
 of the human mulcles, is like an audacious reptile who 
 would engage to conduft a fliip, though ignorant of the 
 principles of navigation ; it is pofiible he may be right, but 
 It is wonderful if he is not wrong. Such prints as Mr. 
 Heath engraves are more captivating for the ladies, or 
 that numberlefs order of men who are fcarccly orherwile 
 than ladies inditguife: his mechanical knowledge is un- 
 qil^ftionably very high ; but Ihould the period occur when 
 truth fhall be in genelal requeft, fuch laboured, ungen- 
 dered, filky, unnatural nothingneffes will be coniigned to 
 
 the 
 
 * Mr. William Wynne Ryland was the son of a Copper-plate 
 Printer in the Old Bailey, London. He lirft ftudied under Mr. Wale, 
 and then became a difciple to Mr. Francis Ravenet, a Frenchman. 
 The tiril print he publifhed was an etching of Shuter and Wom»vv aro, 
 in BodadU ixnd Ma/lcr Stephen, alter a Drawin>; by Nathaniel Dance. 
 He went to Paris, and ihidied under Boucher, Cochin, and Le Bas, 
 where he engraved a Leda^ which eltabiilhed his fame. Shoriiy -orter 
 that pciiud lie returned to London, and was employed 10 engrave a 
 whole length of his prefent Majeily, afte*- Ramsay, which procured 
 him a peniion of two hundred pounds per annum. His great merit and 
 fuavity of manners, procured him the friendlhip of Churchill, the 
 Poet, and oiher eminent perlonages. The ingenious Mr. Rogers pub- 
 lifhtd two volumes, in imitation of the drawings of the bail Italian 
 Mailers, in whic*n work. Mr. Ryland had the ill-fortune to incroduce 
 •what is called i'nejipple ?natwer, and v/hich has proved eventually l"o de- 
 ftrudive to the dignitv of the graphic art. I fhall draw a veil over the 
 evening of his life, as the recital would be painful to every admirer of 
 excellence. 
 
 t I would advife every Engraver to work by a North light, as it is 
 more ferene and equal than any other; but wlicn the plate is finifhcd, he 
 fhould examine it by a South light, vyhich admin. iters a beam lels tlat- 
 tenng to the Artill, and more glaringly fcrutinizing. Many Engravers 
 fail in their hope of being admirable, fiom not knowing the true sLateof 
 the plate before it is finally committed to the prefs. more than from any 
 other caufe : — they feem eager to deceive themfeives, though they mult 
 k:iow upon refleftion, it is impoflible to deceive the public.
 
 E ^08 ] 
 
 the fhrines of Cloacina, while the Mufes fmg the requiem of 
 impofture. 
 
 The want of knowledge of the elements of criticifm in 
 the public is to be lamented with the deepeft regret, inaf- 
 much as it works to the introdu6tion and efhablifhment of 
 common falfehood, in every thing that is materially com- 
 bined with the Polite Arts, the Stage, and the higher claffes 
 of philofophy. As fociety exists in this realm, it is more 
 profitable to impofe than to inform ; hence is it that Ta- 
 lents and Virtue are elbov/ed in every circle in this 
 polluted ifland : and our youth, who are trained to be, 
 what is phrafed fuccefsful, are fervile in the firft infhance, 
 fallacious in the fecond, and contemptible, if not infamous, 
 in the ilTue. 
 
 Mr. SERRES. 
 The late Dominick Serres, r. a. was born at Aux, the 
 Capital of Gafcony, in France, in 1722.; he received his 
 education, which was not of the firfl order, at the public 
 feminary in that City, and was defigned to become a mem- 
 ber of a religious eftablifhment in that vicinity, but this 
 defignation of his parents being repugnant tohis owndefires, 
 he quitted his natal fpot, in the night, a la Jour dine, ^nd 
 travelled on foot to Spain, where he embarked for Sout/i 
 America, in the capacity of a common failor : having paffed 
 through the varied gradations of a feam.an, he became the 
 Mafterof a trading veffel to the Havannah, where, during 
 the war of 1752, he was taken prifpner, by a Britifb fri- 
 gate, and brought prifoner to this country. 
 '' Having received fome inftruftions in drawing, and being 
 in great diftrefs, he found it convenient to commence the 
 profeflion of an Artift, and being better acquainted with 
 naval tafticks than the human anatomy, he affumed the pro- 
 vince of a Marme Painter. 
 
 Shortly after this period, he married an Englifhwoman, 
 and then formed the refolution of refiding here for life : 
 though he commenced the intricate ftudies appertaining tp 
 fuch apurfuit when he had paffed the rneridian of his life, 
 yet by unremitting exertions, and the kind afiiflance of Mr, 
 BRroKiNG, (who was the firft Painter in that line, inGrea:t 
 Briraui) he arrived at fuch a degree of perfeftion as to be 
 honored with the patronage of the late gallant Lord Hawke, 
 andother diflinguifhed Officers of the navy. 
 
 At
 
 r 109 3 
 
 At the inftitution of the Royal Academy, Mr. Serres 
 was folicited to become one of the forty Members ; and in 
 confcquence of his painting three piftares of the naval re- 
 view at Portfmouth, in 1772, the King appointed him as 
 his Marine Painter. He terminated a life of induftry and 
 honorable fuccefs, at the advanced age of feventy-two, and 
 was interred at Paddington. it has been objefted to Mr. 
 Se?, RES, that he made a Sea of his ozvn, and that all his 
 waves appeared as lo many mufhns in a ilateof revolution: 
 — it is certain that he did not view that perturbed element 
 with fuch a correft vifion as Vandcvdde or Bachhuyfen, but 
 it is generally admitted that his fhipping were admirable. 
 
 Smce the demiie of Mr. Serres, this branch of the polite 
 arts ha^ been evidently on the decline : the moft prominent 
 efforts towards its reftoration, are thofe which have been 
 recently exhibited by Mr. Lou th e rb o u r g, and Mr. Cl e ve- 
 LY, upon the glorious incident which occurred upon the 
 firft of June, 1794 ; of vyhom it is but juftice to aver, that 
 Mr. Clevely has been the more perfe6l. Mr. Louther- 
 bourgh's picture on this popular fubj eft is too licentious 
 in the points of hiftoricfaQ: to pleafe any nautical obferve^. 
 
 Mr. Clevely's performance did not imprefs me, in- 
 flantaneoufly, with fo much pleafure as Mr. Loutiier- 
 bourg's; but ithad this very deiirable effeft, that my fa- 
 tiifaftion was flrengthened in proportion as 1 viewed it. It 
 is evi'.lent that this Artifb has a far deeper knowledge of his 
 fubjeft than his compeer, and has not violated authenticity 
 upon any material point : he has not painted to amaze but 
 to fatisfy : he has grouped both his pitlures with an admi- 
 rable tafte ; all the viivutice of the marine are rigoroufly pre- 
 ferved, and the effeft of his atmofphere at morning and 
 evening is ftriclly compatible with truth and harmony. 
 
 Mr. BACON. 
 
 John Bacon, e, a. This gentleman, lll<-G Mr. Proc- 
 tor*, is an inftance of the proficiency that mny be effected 
 without the aids of extraneous tuition : thus is his prefent 
 Hate fingularly honorable to himfelf. 
 
 He 
 
 * Mr. Proctpr was a native of Yorkfliire, and apprenticed to -.i. 
 mechanic. As an Artift he was feif educated ; but his merit was fo un- 
 common, that his works would not have been difreputable to the Grecian 
 School. He has been celebrated by the Preiidenc in his difcourfes, ^s 
 an exemplary and mighty genius. His Ixion is the hncll piece of fculj^*
 
 He worked, when young, at the artificial flonc manu- 
 faftory in Whitechapel. but in confequencc of his dawning 
 ability, was advii'ed by Mr. Moser, (the original keeper of 
 the Royal Academy,) to remove to the weft end of the 
 Metropolis, where by the dire£t and inceffant efforts of 
 ftudy and praftical application, he became foremoft in the 
 rank of national fculptors. 
 
 He got the premium of 50 guineas at the Arts and Sciences, 
 for his emblematic figure of the Ocean. 
 
 Dr. M.RKHAM, theprefent Archbifhopof York, wasfo 
 highly pleafed with his figure of Narcijfus^ which was ex- 
 hibited in the Royal Academy, that he fought the Artift at 
 his houfe in Wardour-fhrcet, and with all that glow of kind- 
 nefs which warms the liberal heart of the Metropolitan, 
 engaged him to do a buft of hi^ Majefty ; which Mr. Ba- 
 CON executed to the fatisfaclion of his good patron and the 
 Auguft Original. It is reported that he had never worked 
 in marble previous to that undertaking: this circumflance 
 led to his being employed by the Parliament and the City, 
 to raife fabricks to the memory of Lord Chatham : he had 
 '3.OCO guineas for each. 
 
 \\ hen 1 look around me for a leading proof of Mr. Ba- 
 COn's abilities, I naturally recur to the monument in Weft- 
 minfter Abbey ; and I am unhappy to obferve that the ex- 
 ecution of this mally pile does not correfpond-with my hope 
 or the honor of the country, as far as the polite ai'ts are 
 involved. I have confidered the fepulchre with due atten- 
 tion, and muft confefs that the more 1 furveyed il the more 
 I was diilatisfied : the projecting arm of Lord Chatham is 
 too long; the proportions of the River God (for it may be 
 Neptune, or the Thames, or Fleet 'Ditch, as far as fymbols 
 are concerned,) though coloiTal, are unchafte, and the 
 knee, which bending obtrudes upon the'fight, is too unde- 
 termined and too much rounded for the fatteft fubjeft ima- 
 ginable in that pofition ; the draperies, generally fpeaking, 
 are hard, and are reconcileable only in their folds, to coarfe 
 ivoollen or blankets \ the foot of the receding leg of the 
 Britannia muft be thirty inche-. in length, to agree with the 
 
 palpable 
 
 ttne ever done by a native of Britain ; and his group of Diomede devoured 
 i) ki.s oar. korfes, would have become a point of national itudy; but, alas ! 
 he dalhen \i to pieces in a fi: of dcfpair, as he could not procure fifty 
 pounds for the fublime labours of twelve months. He was preparing 
 ior a journey to Rome, but his keen forrows had fo worn his heart, 
 that he prematurely peri llied, and died, like JR^JadU, in the meridian 
 of his days, but full of honor.
 
 E •" ] 
 
 palpable direftion of the tibia in that limb. I am mortified 
 to believe that our vifitors of tafte from the Continent 
 fhould be induced by the celebrity of the fubjeft, to regard 
 this ftrufture as a fpecimen of Britifh genius in the province 
 of fculpture: the fepuichral abfurdities of Ryjbrack and old 
 Kent are fcarcely lefs admii-able. 
 
 In the management of the figure of Lord Chatham, Mr* 
 Baco N^ appears to have been fcrupuloufiy attentive to the 
 afcribed imbecilitiesof his frame ; which is an unpardonable 
 error, as he fliould have wrought his iemblance, when in 
 the zenith and full bloffom of his ability. This ftatue bears 
 the evident marks of ravages made by a chronic enemy, 
 which, though it be the truth of nature, is an abfurd choice 
 of time and circumftances, to explain that unwelcome truth; 
 he fhould have feemed as the firm delegate of Jove and 
 Virtue ; and, in. a certain degree, as foaring above mortai 
 infirmity. 
 
 <' Comely, and in a£l 
 
 Rais'd,, as of some great matter to begin. 
 
 As when of old some orator renown'd 
 
 In Athens, or free Rome, where eloquence 
 
 Flourish'd, since mute, to some great cause address'd. 
 
 Stood in hiniself colieded, while each part, 
 
 Motion, each a£t won audience o'er the tongue." 
 
 It is more immediately within the province of the fculptor 
 to excite furprife than the painter; and that ilatuary who 
 cannot in a comprehenfive group, either allegorical or hifto- 
 rical, burft upon the fenfes, and fuddenly alarm them into 
 an agitation terminating in wonder, falls far fliort of exem- 
 plifying thefublime principles of his art. 
 
 His group of Hercules and Atlas, in the aft of alternately 
 fupporting the globe on the Obfervatory at Oxford, does 
 him great credit ; it partakes of the i'pirit of Donctdlo'^ ; it is 
 worked in Portland ftone : this is one of his laft and mofb 
 perfeft produftions. 
 
 In defiance of the indigefled authority of ^''"o//rt^r^, I will 
 infill tnat France, in the proudeft days of her Monarchy, 
 never produced a fculptor of high merit, or one who could 
 deferve thofe encomiums which he has fo lavifhly, and in- 
 judicioufly befhowed upon Francis Gibardon, who is 
 quoted as the fiower of their fculptors. 1 have furveyed, 
 
 with 
 
 * Donato, called Donatello, was born at Florence, in 1383, and died 
 in 1466: was a fculptor of immense genius, and maybe faid to be one 
 of thofe who originally beamed upon the dark age*; and it is alferlcd, 
 •pcned the gates of day to Michad An^eio !
 
 C 112 ] 
 
 v>Ith particular attention, his Baths of Apollo at VerfailleS, 
 and his tomb of Cardinal Richelieu^ in the Church of the 
 Sorbonne at Paris, and could difco^er none of thofe true 
 and beautiful traces of art, to juflify the vain idea of the 
 iatyrift of Ferney, that Gi rardox equalled the ancients in 
 grandeur of imagination and correftneis of execution. I 
 Ihall here remark, that 1 think the prevailing genius of 
 England and France is manifefled in few inftances more than 
 infculpture; the produftions of t]ie Britifh Artifts being 
 generally too fombrous, clumfy, and overcharged with 
 mufcle ; while thofe of the Gallic Artifts are generally too 
 light, and convey that air of frivolity, in fome degree, 
 which charafterifes them in nearly all their movements. 
 The moft reputed of our ftatuaries make all their female 
 adults Amazonian, and the moft celebrated ftatuaries among 
 the French make them all apparently as agile as dancers, or 
 of fuch delicate proportions, that they might rife from the 
 bafe 
 
 *' On the light fantastick toe." 
 
 Every marble figure fhould be fo exquifitely wrought, as 
 to feem like a living body, from the furfacc of which the 
 blood had been fuddenly and totally driven ; the mufcles 
 fhould be fo cunningly worked, that their origin and in- 
 fertion fhould be readily afcertained, and the eye fo tho- 
 roughly deceived, as to believe that the knitting of the 
 limbs would be obedient to any violence of exertion, with- 
 out breaking or fhivering the component parts; its apt for- 
 mation fliould fcarce admit a doubt but that its prominences 
 would yield to the flight impreflion of a lady's finger; it 
 fliould be fo happily conftruftcd as to occafion a temporary 
 oblivion of truth in the obferver, who might gaze himfelf 
 into an entire deception, and eventually marvel that the 
 figure he contemplates is dumb: all this could Phidias, 
 Praxiteles, Scopas, and Cleomenes effecl ; and he 
 who cannot is either denied the fine talents appropriate for 
 a ftatuary, or too indolent to refine and exercile the envied 
 powers of his nature. 
 
 True genius is pJaftic and ramifying, and greatly de- 
 pendent for the acquifition of dignity, upon the cool and 
 reftraining powers of the judgment. When a young man's 
 life is dedicated to the higher regions of ftudy, and he wifhes 
 to be confpicuoiis for the arrangement and application of 
 rare faculties, there is no danger fo much to be avoided as 
 the powerful attra6lion of bold fallacy, which involves, in 
 
 its
 
 L "3 ] 
 
 its propelling force, all thore enervating captivations, which 
 may be einbraced by vulgar mind,^ without much abafe- 
 ment, but cannot by the honourably ambitious without 
 ruin of charafter. They who wifh to be chronicled as ex- 
 emplary, muft hold nothing as eftimable but what is unal* 
 tcrably beautiful and true. 
 
 Mrs. ANGELICA KAUFFMAN. 
 
 This accomplifhed and lingular Lady is a native of Ger- 
 many ; fhe fludied the fine Arts at a very early period. 
 At the age of twenty-five fhe vifited England, and, con- 
 fidering her age and fex, burft upon the hemifphereof paint- 
 ing as a luminous wonder, as independent of her immediate 
 profeffional qualifications, fhe can communicate her fenti- 
 mcnts in feven languages, and is an adept in Mufick ; con- 
 necting her beauty with her knowledge, and her fweet dif- 
 pofition with both, fhe is perhaps the m.oft fafcinating wo- 
 man in Europe. In the year 1775 {he vifited Dublin, and 
 was hofpitably entertained by the Nobility, and particularly 
 Mr. TisDALL, then Attoijiiey-Ceneral, at whofe houfe fhe 
 refided, and exercifcd her talonts. 
 
 It was her luckiefs fate to be deceived into marriage by 
 a Valei de -Chambre of the name of Kauffman, who pafled 
 with her for a Saxon Count, but upoa a developement of 
 the truth, llie purchafed her emancipation, but never re- 
 gained her own efieem. At this period Nathaniel Daxce 
 was fighing at her feet, and rejefted ; — fhe is faid to have 
 qualified this repulfion, on the hope of becoming Lady 
 Reynolds ; but the cold Prefident was too abilra^led in 
 thought for the intereits of the Paphian boy. After prac- 
 tifing for feveral years in London with great fuccefs, fhe re- 
 tired to Rome,* where flie condefcendcd to wed Mr. Zuc- 
 CHi, an inconfiderable Artift, but a worthy man. 
 
 Q " Confider- 
 
 * The late worthy Lord Camelford united to a ^\nQ taftc in the polite 
 Arts, a patriotic delirc to promote them in England : he exerted himfelf 
 jnuch with the Legiflature, to procure for Brituh Artifts returning from 
 their ftudics abroad, the free importation of thoir works and calls from 
 the antique :— this deiirahic objcft he had nearly completed, when his 
 lamented dca^h deprived the Arts and Artifts of their common friend. 
 It does honor to the judgment and public fpirit of Prince Augustus, that 
 he became the uni'ohcitrd protcftor of this caufe, ;ind by his interference 
 procured the indulgence in queflion. — His Royal|ij|ghnefs returning to 
 Komc, commuDicalcd to each of the Englifh A^fts, a printed copy,
 
 C "4 ] 
 
 Confidering this Lady, as an Artift, (he is too mcritori-' 
 ous to be unhonored. yet too indefinite to be exemplary : 
 file IS tolerably well acquainted with the antique, but that 
 IS not fufficicnt for an Hiftorical Painter. Her fancy does 
 not teem with variegated images, though what it generates 
 is alluring : to he candid, ^er defigns arc fo fimilar, that to 
 Ice one, is to know all. The grcatnefs of RafaeUe was 
 evinced by the variety and application of his charafters, a^ 
 is evident in the cartoons. He was unlike Mr. West and 
 Mr. Copley, who are uniformly pourtraying one old man 
 
 and 
 
 uating. the particulars af what hadbeen obtained for them, In eonfcqucncs 
 of which he was preieiited with the following Addrefs : — 
 
 Addrefs from the EnglilK Artifts in Rome, to his Royal Highnefs Prince 
 
 Auguilus 
 
 May it pleafe your Royal Highaefs, 
 
 The Englilh Artiits refident in Rome, with fentlments of the warmeft 
 gratitude, for the recent inftauce of condefcenfion they have received 
 from your Royal Highnefs, beg leave to approach you with this public 
 teilim,on\ of their acknowledgments. 
 
 Your Royal Highnefs's generous interpofitlon in procurii^g for us the 
 free adn iffion into England of our own works, is deeply impreffcd on 
 our minds, nor are we lefs fenfible of the obliging manner in which yoa 
 have been pleafed to communicate to us the refult of your exertions. 
 
 Permit us to exprcfs the happinefs we feel in your Royal Highnefs's 
 unfolicited adopaon of our caufe, and the flattering confidence we derive 
 from it, of the continuation of your patronage to the fine Arts : they 
 have been planted in England by your Hluftrious Father; they will be 
 indebted to your Royal Highnefs for engrafting on them the purity of 
 ancient tafte, and with the bemgn influence of your Royal Koufe, we 
 inay hope to fee them flouriih with the fame vigour ui^der the glorious 
 Conftitution which we enjoy, as they did in the moft celebrated ages of 
 Greece. 
 
 May your Royal Highnefs long proteft a'nd encourage the Arts, fo be- 
 neficial to the Commercial interells of our Country, fo conducive to its 
 glory, fo effential to the welVareot fociety. 
 
 We have the honor to be 
 Your Royal Highnefs's 
 
 Moll obedient and obliged Servants, 
 Gavin Hamilton John Fla.xman 
 
 James Nevay John Deare 
 
 James Foules Hugti Rubinfon 
 
 John James Rouby Chriftopner Hewetfon 
 
 Thomas Pye George Hadfield 
 
 francis Sandys George Auguftus Wallis 
 
 Alexander Day William G. On ley 
 
 Archibald Skerving Richard Wcltmacot 
 
 John Freai fon Charles Grignon 
 
 William Theed Robert Fagan 
 
 Henry Howard Guy Head. 
 
 James Dur^P^ 
 
 Rome, April 2 0, 170.V.
 
 C "5 ] 
 
 ntid one young woman ! — The females which her harmo- 
 nious, but fliacklcd fancy fuggefls, are all caft in a Circaffi- 
 an mould, which deftroys the neceffary truth of character, 
 as much as the fquabby, fwag-bellied wives of Rubens, whom 
 he has obtruded as Graces and Deities. Thofe who are 
 ambitious to delineate hiftorical fafts, fliould be exceedingly 
 attentive to national lineaments, as well as national drapery. 
 
 Though Mrs. Kaoffman has convinced the world that 
 fhe poffeiTcs much grace, fhe has not convinced them that 
 {he poffeffes much truth. Her children are not rotund, fubby, 
 and dimply, but flende^- and juvenile. Flamingo and Guer- 
 cino have given us the true charafter of infants, which Mrs. 
 Kauffmaj^ never underftood. 
 
 I have noJt feen the works of any female, who could 
 draw the human figure correftly : their fituaticn in fociety 
 and compulfive delicacy, prevents them from ftudying nudi- 
 ties, and comparing thofe ftudies with mufcuiar motion, 
 though without fuch aid, they cannot do more than this 
 Lady has cffefted, which is, to defign pretty faces and 
 graceful attitudes, without any authority from Nature to 
 v/arrant the tranfaftion ; or to fpeak more plainly, to offer 
 the blandifliments of falfhood, as an apology for necelfary 
 knowledge. 
 
 • Her draperies are generally erroneous, and have been co-^ 
 pied from the old expedient of the French school, which is 
 to clothe the lay figure with damp brown paper ; but this 
 meafure is wrong, as it makes the folds too iiumerou5, and 
 too abrupt, and wholly dillimilar to what would be pro- 
 duced by any fpecies of linen ; and to fuppofe Bacchants 
 and Wood Nymphs eternally habited in light iilks, would 
 be prepofterous and abfurd. 
 
 There are perfons who have madly affirmed thai fhe is 
 equal to Corregio, but to fucii writers I difdain to reply.— r- 
 When Polidore VirgiL declared that RaJaelU was tqual to 
 Apelles, he comrnltted a violence on his own charafter, as a 
 critic, though not perhaps upon probability; and the rea- 
 fon is, that the befh works of the Greek were deflroyed, 
 whereas the moft excellent pieces of the divine Roman were 
 extant, and open to common admiration. It was equally 
 inconfiftcni in putting ^ebafiian of Venice iti competition 
 with Rafaelk. This exceihve incenfe is offered by thofe 
 weak and mifguided perfons, who expert that the extrava- 
 gance of then- partialities fhould be warranted by a popular 
 jndorfement. and by being thus wildly zealous, o(ten deflroy 
 • - ^^^
 
 the foundation of a fair fame, by awakening cavillers to 
 queftion even thofe points of merit, in the ProfeiTor. which 
 had been previoufiy confidcrcd as admiflible. There are 
 fev\' acknowledged enemies more dcil:ruQ:ive in tneir ma- 
 lignity, than an intemperate and injudicious defender often 
 proves, by labouring to make that appear as gigantic which 
 is in verity but of common magnitude, and advancing af- 
 fertions with boldnefs, which are obliged to recede with re- 
 luctance from, the teftof fevere truth. 
 
 Mr. FUSELI. 
 
 FusELi, R. A. is a native of SvMtzerland: when 
 
 he came over to England he was patronifed or rather be- 
 friended by Mr. Cadell. thebookfelier: his firfl intentions 
 were manifefted by publifhing feveral treatifes, and it was 
 underftood that he meant to profess literature and not paint- 
 
 He exhibited his virgin eOay with the Society of Artifts, 
 at the Lyceum, in the Strand ; who continued as a refpect- 
 able body feveral years after the inftitution of the Royal 
 Academy. 
 
 Nature has bellowed upon Mr. Fuseli a vivid though 
 wild imagination ; were 1 to fay unequivocally that his 
 thoughts were fublime, I fhould err again ft truth, and were 
 I to deny that he did not occafionally approach to the fub- 
 lime, I fhould be equally falfe. To be explicit, he is a rare 
 animal, pofTeffing more than ordinary gifts, with lefs than 
 ordinary judgment ; the ardour and cnthufiafm of hisfmgu- 
 lar fancy intemperatclv burfts over the boundaries of pre- 
 fcription ; the richeft productionsof his pencil are calculated 
 for the ages of romance, as he contrives to givea fomething, 
 more agreeable to the fiery conception of an inflam.ed Knight, 
 than the fober expectations of philofophy ; and though it is 
 conveying a moft enviable compliment, he is the moft able 
 man, in my opinion, who ever exified, that could as an 
 Artift, do what Shakespeare did as an author, that is— 
 
 " give to airy po'hirg, 
 
 A local hiDitationand a nr.me, 
 b}' creating bipedal, extranatural beings, w^hof* feeming 
 form and agency excite allonifhment but not difgull. 
 
 This gentleman bears the fame analogy to hiftorical pain- 
 ters as humour bears to wit ; he is am.ong Artifts what the 
 fiditious C?/^:i;i is among Poets, an inftance to prove how very 
 
 irre-
 
 r "7 ] 
 
 hreconcileablc we inay be to common fenfcj and yetliave- 
 a nafnelcls charm for the million, which defies the power 
 of description : but though the childiih tinfelied incongru- 
 ities of Ofjian arc pertinacioufly upheld by fome Scots, and 
 the equivocal monllers of Mr/ Fuseli, by fone deranged 
 connoiileurs in this metropolis, yet will the gloom of iin- 
 gularity in each, be in f^turetliifipated, by the genial beam 
 of reafon. When he paints^an object imagined beyond the 
 boundaries of nature, I think he is occafionally highly fuc- 
 cefsful ; but when he fubftitutes fpirits for human beings, 
 and expefi;s them to p.afsmufler, as mere mortals, eiiefting 
 mortal purpofes. I begin to doubt the health of his mind. 
 
 As truth is unalterable, fuch liberties cannot bejuflilied* 
 If Raphael is admirable, Fuseli is not. If Nicholas 
 FoussiN underflood the right of compofition, the eccentric 
 Artiil under coniideration does not. It is the peculiar boafl 
 of us that SHAKi'oPLARE could delineate the natural and 
 preternatujal w-itli equal effeft upon the organization of a 
 judicious audience ; but if he had unluckily attempted to 
 be more than a mortal, pOiTefTing not more than the hack- 
 neyed powers of humanity, his memory would be attended 
 with rid'cule, inuead of unlimited honor. There is no 
 correct judgment that will admit of excefles in defign where 
 the illuitration of hiftory is dependant upon the fancy of the 
 painter •, we natural-ly recur from the page to the print or 
 the painting, and if the analogy is imperfeft, turn away 
 with fentiments of difappointment, if not contempt. From 
 the contour of Mr. Fusi-n's figures, fpeaking generally, I 
 fliould imagine that his nurfe had been proverbially fuper- 
 flitious, and that goblins and demons had been brought for- 
 ward to embarrafs his growing mind^; he feems eternally on 
 fairy ground or m the Tartarean abodes, and without hefi- 
 tation departs on all poITible occafions from the human ana- 
 tomy and its common attributes. Yet 1 will not have it ad- 
 mitted that Mr. Fuslli wants genius, though the extrava- 
 gance of his conception outruns the m.odefty of fnnple truth: 
 were Salvater Rosa's underftanding disjointed, I Ihould 
 expeft a fimilar produtlion from his pencil with thofe I have 
 feen of Mr. Fusel i ; and as fupreme genius is nearly allied 
 to madnefs, 1 truft thefe obfervations will not bear that 
 complexion of feverity to the judicious which the envious 
 will be eager to difcover. 
 
 Though it works to a reduftion of our individual dignit)', 
 I cannot avoid obferving, that genius is of fuch a doubtful 
 
 nature
 
 C "8 ] 
 
 nature that wc receive ninety-nine ideas 'ere we engender 
 one ; yet the flovenly man of genius is disregarded, when 
 the fedulous imatatorofprevious excellence is greatly prized 
 and particularly recompenfed. The test of a perfeft pifture 
 is manifeifed by the emotions of the heart» We fee to be 
 deceived, but we feel to begratifiedf 
 
 ♦, 
 
 Mr. COSWAY, ^^' 
 
 RiCHASD CossvAY, R. A. was bom at Tiverton, in De- 
 vonfhire, where he was patronifed by Dr. Newte, and 
 under whofc kind aulpiccs, he made the firfl developement 
 of his ability. 
 
 In 17S3 he married Mifs Maria Hadf/eld, a native of 
 Florence, where her father and mother, who were Irifh, 
 kept an Auberge. In the early part of her life fhe was be- 
 trothed to Dr. Parsons, the Compofer, who was enamour- 
 ed of her while in Italy ; but on her arrival in London, the 
 Tufcan Daphne abandoned her mufical Apollo to defpair, 
 and wedded Mr. Cos way. The ceremony took place at 
 the houfe of the late Mr. Cipriani. This capricious lady 
 has been the theme of much animadverhon •, fhe poffefTes 
 great ta'te both as an Artift and a Mufician; yet to fpcak 
 plainly fhe has been thruft too often upon the public eye, 
 which is a fituation none can bear long with credit, butthofe 
 who are unequivocally pure and lummcufly endowed. 
 
 Mr. CosvvAY has been too much in the habit of culling 
 from his port-folio the moft beautiful TKctchesof the Caracci, 
 and applying them to the perfonification of himfelf and his 
 accompiiihed Maria. Thefe meafures were generally con- 
 fidered as a facri£cc to oii:entacion at the expence of his 
 difcretion : but vanity is a kind of lafciviouihefs of the mind, 
 which is feldom terminated but in the ruin of itsownfource. 
 
 His mufe is not of that chafte and fober fort which can 
 gratify the fcnfes long, after the firft eftefts of captivation 
 are weakened by the judgment. His manner, or rather the 
 manner he has adopted from others, partakes more of the 
 beautiful than the noble. He has fludied moft rigoroufly 
 in his tim.e. but thole fludies have been too much direfted 
 to the accornplifhment of trifles, and have involved more of 
 a feminine than a masculine ambition. As a Colourift he is 
 fallacious : his tints are not fo harmonious as Nature, but 
 are more glaring and uncongenial v/ithlhe pure principles of 
 
 optics.
 
 C "9 ] 
 
 optics. Mr. Co SWAY feems to have imbibed tbe notion that 
 he can make an objcft prettier even than truth : this is * 
 modern kind of lunacy, but not uncommon. Many of ovir 
 junior Artifts copy the works of. a gteat Mailer ib intenfely 
 as if they believed that it was poflible for an eminent Painter 
 to be fupeiior to Nature herfelf : this is a mofh abominable 
 fpecies of fhudy : it is paying a greater compliment to man 
 than to God : it is a sort of blalphemy on canvafs, and marks 
 equally the folly and the arrogance of the Profeffor. 
 
 It is particularly to be regretted, when fuch men as Mr. 
 CoswAY are meretricious in their habits; inafrauch as h« 
 has the ruinous ability to make even his faults in fome degree 
 attraftive, by the accompanying gracefulnefs which he can 
 difplay even in the commiluon of the mod dangerous errors. 
 There is a fort of cafuillry in painting as well as argument, 
 which (;tinning]y managed, will fcduce the half-obfervant 
 from the plain laws of modeft propriety. His works are 
 ipecious but not true : he is a flafhy but a fophifticated 
 Painter. I would rather have an inch of canvafs covered 
 by the fimple pencil of Paul Potter, than a yard embellifhed 
 by tliis fpirited deceiver. 
 
 Mr. CoswAY is, as a Miniature Painter, what Reynolds 
 was in his mightier capacity : he has acquired from the con- 
 templation of the bed Mailers, the habit of giving dignity 
 to milignificance and grace to rufticity : he has more analog/ 
 in his labours with the antique, than any of his compeers ; 
 but 1 think his attempt- at Hiflcrical Painting are nearly 
 abortive. Upon con ii deration I do not conceive it probable, 
 that any Miniature Painter who has paifcd the m.eridian of 
 his day in flattering.- with a licentious pencil, the rouged 
 beauties of a Court, can (when thefe habits of falfehoodarc 
 confirmed) turn his imagination in the evening of his life, to 
 the true reprcfentaticu of fcenes, where Nature mull be 
 depifted as uriadulteiate, variegated, and expreiPive. Ta 
 an eye fo debauched by exTranatiral tints and aftc6ted atti- 
 tudes, as every Miniature Painter's in this Capital muft 
 be, no part of fimplicity can be completely lovely :— -it is 
 With them as with repenting courtezans, all their movements, 
 even confequent to the renunciation of a perpetrated fault, 
 will occahonally fmack of the original 'fm. 
 
 There was a period when he was mentally convulfcd 
 with the horrors of a^ilcowrtf fight ; then he delivered lermons 
 weekly upon Ckiromantirat aphorifms', and delineated with 
 the accuracy of magic, the good, and evil lines of humanity, 
 
 and
 
 [ === ] 
 
 8n(? became an adept In the Crplican Art* ; iic \v2!i a bigot 
 in the faith of Gcojfry Faujius^ and Margery Shipton ; when 
 he wanted a lodging he calmly afcendcd to the tinrd 
 houfe, and fojourned and feaftcd among the ftars. I fhall 
 conclude thefe memoirs of Mr. Co sway by affirming, that 
 no manpoireifes the liberal merit of endeavouring to elevate 
 the characters of his rivals in a greater degree thanhimfelf : 
 he is gentlemanly in his demeanor, and kind in his princi- 
 ple ; yet every admirer of genius mufh regret, that a phi- 
 lanthropifl; fo eager to confer a benefit upon his neighbour, 
 fnould havehis mind ficklied over with a fuperftitious dread, 
 that, for the honor of our fyftem, fhould be only'vifible in 
 an old v/oman. 
 
 Mr. 
 
 * The Orphean Scif-ncc, or the Art of Predigcs, as sdminidered by 
 the Ancients, in the days of Sorcery, enabled the Phiiofopher to subject 
 to his will, the attion of every animated, organized being, or indivi- 
 dual, as iikewife of all other fubftances, fuch as iloncs, minerals, &c. 
 &c. contributing to produce the moll furprifing phaenomcna. 
 
 Such a necromancer could produce wonders, and excite the greatcft 
 aftonifamcnt ; he could prove the origin of human errors, as originating 
 irom the fenfes, which may be fo exalted, and deluded, as to make 
 mortals fenfihle of objefts perfectly ur.conneflcd with thoie very fenfes : 
 he could (liew the pofiibility of producing a Concert of many, from a 
 fingle inftrumcnt ; as alio of fubjectilig the other organsto illufions equal- 
 ly wonderful ; he could charm away maladies, and tranquiliie a broken 
 heart. He could call from the fepulchre into indantancou'S exiftence, any 
 required objecf , and make the duff of the antediluvian world commu- 
 nicable ; he could expand the heart of avarice, and bephilter the broth 
 ©f virginity. He could provd, to demonitrat'on, that the internal, as 
 ■well as the external fenfes, can be brought to a degree of perkction, 
 •which it is inipollible for man»to arrive at in his natural {fate; and that 
 every individual' fenfc can fo far be rendered energetic, as to fypply the 
 place of all others; and make it evidently plain, that Man, togeiner with 
 all other animals, have but one fingle ieufe, that of feeling, of which 
 the others are mere modifications, productive of agreement and harmony 
 amongil the other fuppofed fenfes, and refer to the foul its various affec- 
 tions, in a due proportion with thedifcordauce deftrudive of that abovs- 
 mentipned hai u)ony. 
 
 But with regard to the internal fenfes, which conflitute the third har- 
 monic Oclavc, anfwering lo i8: Diapafon of the firit of the Microcofm, 
 the Phiiofopher could so far operate by the Hermetic Art, and the 
 Science of talifmans, as to lull afleep the external fenfes, and incorpo- 
 rate man in a proper relation, not only with all organifcd individuals 
 belonging to the inferior or fenfible World, but alio with the ipirits of 
 man, and other intellectual beings, called by him the Superior Woi Id. 
 The individuals fubjcfted to thcfe extatic raptures acquire, whilit la- 
 bouring under them, fentiments of prefcicnce ; they difcover the thought* 
 ol thole who are put in relation with thcnuelves, lee whatever is tranl- 
 acfced at a dillance, and become endowed with univerfal knowledge, to 
 inch a degree as to be able to fpeak veritably upon the moil abllruif 
 iu^jeds, as li they had lludicd ihem. .a academic groves for a^es I 1 !
 
 r ^21 ] 
 
 Mr. HUMPHRYS. 
 
 OziAS Humph RYs, r. a. is a native of Honlton^ in De- 
 vonfiiire, a diftinguifhed County, to which the admirers of 
 genius have been indebted for a Reynolds in painting, and 
 a Jackson in mufick. 
 
 The earlier profefiional efforts of Mr. Humphry v/ere 
 regulated by a Mr. Collins, who painted miniatures at 
 Bath, and was, in his time, in high repute. 'Ere Mr. 
 Humph RYS had acquired a fufEcient portion of excellence 
 to depend upon himfelf he vifited the metropolis, and ftudi- 
 ed drawing with Mr. Pahs, who kept a fchool for defiga 
 near Beaufort Buildings, in the Strand. 
 
 The firft pifture by which he gained celebrity was an ex- 
 quifite miniature portrait of John^ the Porter of the Royal 
 Academy; which the King purchafed for looguineas; after 
 that event he was employed to make a likenef. of the Oueen, 
 which was exceedingly admired. At this period he con- 
 ceived the idea that his eyes were not fhrong enough to fus- 
 tain the keen and fevere duties of miniature painting, and 
 in confequence formed the refolution of going to Rome, to 
 ftudy the principles of oil painting, and the calm beauties 
 of the antique ; but he did not fucceed equal to the wifhcs 
 of his admirers. 
 
 On his return to England he was invited ro the Eaft In- 
 dies, where he remained four years, and realized a hand- 
 some fortune, but was compelled to return from a decay of 
 his health. 
 
 On his arrival from the oriental world he was engaged by 
 the Duke of Dorset, to paint a Cabinet with likenelfes of 
 the Duke's anceftors ; but when he had finifhed nearly fifty, 
 in a fine flyle, his eyes became fo weakened by inceflani: 
 application as to induce him to relinquifh the labour. vSince 
 the reftoration of his vifion he has adopted crayon painting, 
 which is a facile purfuit, which no eminent genius will 
 pradice willingly. 
 
 Mr. WILSON. 
 
 Richard Wilson, r. a. was a native of Wales: he flu- 
 died originally under Hudson, and purfued portrait pain- 
 ting until he was fent to Rome ; where his frequent con- 
 templation of the ferene beauties of the environs of Tivoli 
 excited him to forego the meafurement of the human fi- 
 *gure, and wander fcquestered from fociety, among the iiilis, 
 the vales, and lakes of clafTic note. On his return to Lon- 
 don he began to embody his fludies. and furprifed the world 
 
 R with
 
 C "= ] 
 
 with his Niobe, and Celadon and Amelia ; which were exe-» 
 cuted in a ftyle equally novel and fatisfaftory. 
 
 It was the misfortune of Mr. Wilson that he poffefTed 
 iriore modefty than is profitable for any agent in this conta- 
 minated asra; and this dread of inequality propelled him to 
 abfent himfelf, too frequently, from the rich and titular part 
 of mankind, and mingle with his profeffional brethren at 
 the Turk's Head Tavern, Gerard-ftreet, Soho; the common 
 rendezvous, at that period, for all the metropolitan Artifts 
 who pofTeffed ability approximating to renown. It was his 
 good fortune, in the evening of his life, to be appointed li- 
 brarian to the Royal Academy ; but finking into a fhate of 
 fecond childhood, he was rendered unfit for the ftation, 
 when the King generoufly allr)wed him an annuity, frorri 
 his privy purfe ; with which he retired into Montgomery- 
 fhire, and there terminated a being, unpropitious, though 
 honored, and miferable, though virtuous. 
 
 His choice of nature was hngular and admirable; in his 
 more tiniflied piftures, he united the force and fire of Salva- 
 ior Rofa with the delicacy of Claude Lorrain : and it was his 
 peculiar excellence to have lefs of that ruinous tendency 
 which is called manner, in the diflribution of obje£ls, than 
 any other Landfcape Painter of this age. His breadths have 
 an aptitude and force above all rivalry. His vifion was lefs 
 jaundiced by prejudices, and he viewed his fcenery and fi- 
 gures more cunningly and deeply than his competitors. It 
 has been objefted to him, that he was flovenly, inafmuch as 
 he painted more for effeft than precifion ; and to become 
 grand, forgot or difdained the littleneffes of the art. He 
 conceived his fubjeft even with as much dignity of mind as 
 Claude J though he failed to equal him in the harmony and 
 mellownefs of his tints. His pencilling was decifive, and 
 though rough, had many captivations. He was mighty and 
 charming, though negligent. He poffeffed a bold and impe- 
 tuous genius. When he committed his thoughts to the canr 
 vass, he may be rather faid to have dajlied in his objcfts than 
 accurately defined them ; yet he managed the combination 
 with fuch addrefs, as to delude the obfervant into a belief, 
 that if nature was not exactly as he had pourtrayed her, it 
 would be better if fhe were ; that more abruptnefs would 
 make her more lovely, and that flie looked with more ma- 
 jedy when convulfed, than when pacific. 
 
 Mr. CIPRIANI. 
 I. B.Cipriani, r. a. was a native of Italy : intheearlier 
 part of his life he quitted hi^ native foil, and after travelling 
 
 through
 
 C 123 ] 
 
 through a confiderable part of Europe, settled in London, 
 where he lived and died at a houle in Hedge-lane, near 
 Charing Crofs. 
 
 Previous to the arrival of Mr. Cipriani in Britain, our 
 Artifls were flovenly and incorreft in their reprefentations 
 of the human figure : and it muft be confeffed, that even Sir 
 James Thornhill, who was the mod perfeft Hiftorical 
 Painter we had before that period, was very iniufficlent in 
 that province of the art : but this elegant Italian uitroduced 
 a ftyle of correftnefs in the extremities, which has tended 
 gradually to improve our defigns, and excite a fpirit of ar- 
 dent emulation : he opened the door of enquiry after truth, 
 in drawing, more broadly than any man had done before 
 him, in this Country. It was, notwithftanding, the failing 
 of Cipriani, that he made his figures more agreably to his 
 own ideas of human beauty than as they really are. Though 
 it muft be admitted that we are all wonderfully knit, there 
 are few among us who are unexceptionable in their propor- 
 tions : and he carried his ideas of perfeftion fo far, as to def- 
 troy that diverfity of charafter in his hiftorical compofi- 
 tions, which is conftantly apparent in every Country where 
 poverty and diicafemuft neceftarily violate that form in men 
 and women, v/hich was originally inftituted by nature. It 
 is from this want of truth, that his compofitions fail in mak- 
 ing that general impreflion upon the minds of obfervers, 
 which is and has been attained by men of leiler talent, with 
 more accuracy of attention to the human vifage. La Fage^ 
 v/ho was bred a furgeon, would probably have difgufted us 
 with his afteded difplay of anatomy, had he painted, and 
 not made drawings. Bonarotti, with all his majesty of mind, 
 was not unfrequently faulty on this head : he was too often- 
 tatious of his knowledge of the mufcles. 
 
 In the mechanical parts of the art, Mr. Cipriani was 
 not fuccefsful : he aflbciated his objefts too inartificially, 
 and hio colouring was more faulty than his conception. It 
 Ihould be regretted that he fpent his time too much about 
 trifles. The moft remarkable of his performances are the 
 works in chiaro obfcuro, on the walls and cieimgsof the Roy- 
 al Academy, and his rape of Orithyea. He was employed 
 by the Government, to repair the fine works of Rubers, at 
 the Banqueting-houfe, Whitehall; for wliich he had three 
 thoufand guineas. His deiign for the academic diploma will 
 be an honorable teftimonial of his knowledge, fo long as 
 the frail memorial of a print can oppofe the ruin of time. 
 
 1 fhail not arrange Mr. Cipriani as a great genius, 
 
 though he w^s a great mafter ; as his imagination was lefs 
 
 • powerful
 
 C 124 ] 
 
 |50werful than his judgment : and it fiiould work as an high 
 incentive to induftry, in our modern ftudents, to know, that 
 he was principally indebted for his envied reputation to his 
 knowledge of the value of time. Every individual who 
 wifhes or expefts to become eminent, muft confider his 
 TIME as the moft important part of his property; it is the 
 channel which under a proper navigation, leads fmoothly 
 to the port of honor; it is a fort of univerfal patrimony, 
 which is received by the creature from Omnipotence, in a 
 greater or IcHer portion ; and they alone are wife and happy, 
 \rho uniformly marfhal it to the purpofes of improvement 
 and content. 
 
 Mr. STUBBS. 
 
 George Stubbs, r. a. is thefonof a reputable furgeon, 
 and was born at Liverpool, in Lancafhire. It is reported 
 of him, that when a boy, he exceedingly delighted in ana- 
 tomizing every order of animal, but more particularly the 
 horfe, to which fubjeft he has fmce devoted himfelf with 
 the higheft fuccefs. 
 
 Previous to the profefTional emanations of this gentleman, 
 we were fo barbarifed as to regard with pleafure the works 
 of Seymour ! thereby giving to what was bad, a fanftion only 
 due to merit. I do not believe an incapable Painter would 
 have any encouragement to maintain his purfuit, if the com- 
 mon perception ofmankind were not fodifaftrouflyimperfeft; 
 the adminiftration of thefenfes is expeftedto produce delight, 
 and if that felicity can be received through a falfe medium, 
 the vulgar are contented to be thus deceived, as they are 
 never folicitous to appeal to the underflanding, to analyfe or 
 juflify their grofs habitudes in thought and deed. 
 
 Perhaps it is not urging too much to aver, that Mr, 
 Stubbs has done his nation honor, inafmuch as he has be- 
 come, by his genius and his refearches, the example of 
 Europe, in his particular department. No Painter, whofe 
 works are now extant, had fo complete a knowledge of the 
 anatomy of the hoife; and the models of horfes, in fuch 
 parts of the antique works as 1 have feen, are far from be- 
 ing rigoroufly true : Lc Briui, Rubens, Cuyp, Wowvermaiis^ 
 and Redinger, had each a ftrong idea of the appearance of a 
 horfe, yet none of them were accurately acquainted with 
 their organization: — I have heard fome perfons alTert, that 
 Mr. Gilpin Vv'as equal to Mr. Stubbs in this arduous ftudy; 
 but that is not the faft ; Mr. Gilpin may have more genius 
 than Mr. Stubbs, but he is certainly lefs iludied in the 
 proportions of that noble animal.
 
 ( iss ) 
 
 Mr, BARRY. 
 
 James Barry, R. A. is a pative of Cork, in Ireland: he 
 vifited the capital of England in his youth, and v^as profeffionally 
 introduced to fociety by Mr. Stuart, who was at that period 
 pnblifliing his Views of Athens, which were embelliflied by the 
 virgin pencil of Mr. Barry. — In the fame year he went to Rome, 
 under the protection of the Diletanti^ and ftudied in the Vatican 
 and the Italian academies with particular induftry.-^At his return 
 to Britain, he was warmly patronifed by his countryman Mr. 
 Edmund Burke, who introduced him to Sir Joshua Rey- 
 nolds ; which laid the corner-flone of his appointment to the 
 Profejforjhip ofPaintin^^ to which fituation he was eleded on the 
 death of Mr. Penny. 
 
 The mofl material work Mr. Barry has exhibited to mankind, 
 are the ferics of pidures which he painted for the Society of Arts, 
 &e. in the Adelphi ; they conlift of fix piftures — The Story of 
 Orpheus, not treated according; to poetical metaphor, but reprc- 
 fented trulVj as the founder of Grecian theology ;— -^ Harveft» 
 Home, or thankfgiving to Ceres and Bacchns ; — The croivning of 
 the Ficlors. at Olympia ; — The Triumph of the Thames ; — The Difri* 
 hution of Premiums by the Society, in which are introduced various 
 portraits •— and the laft and mofl: perfedi is Elyfum, or the Hate 
 of final retribution to the great and good. This pidture is a com- 
 pofition of folemn import, and muft ever be confidered as the 
 emanation of a comprehcnfive and lettered mind. 
 
 Mr. Barry has recently etched plates from this work, which 
 he publiflied by fubfcription : they are executed with fpirit ; and 
 though not managed with the flow and force oi Marc Antonio^ arc 
 neverthelefs very creditable to the talents of their author. 
 
 As a Lefturer, his manner is awkward, cold, and unimpreflive ; 
 but his matter is interefling, and fraught with information. Per« 
 haps there is no province of painting which Britifli Artifts com- 
 prehend fo impcrfedly as the do^flrine of colours. It appears 
 that if the mofl fubtle among them can make an impofing and 
 perifliable fubfl:itute with varniflbes, for the brilliancy of Ruhens^ 
 or the folid pencilling and labour of Demieri, they are contented. 
 They meanly manufa(5ture their pidlures for immediate fale, and 
 not eventual admiration. I believe the colouring of the Venetian 
 fchool, which has been fo much envied and applauded, was effeded 
 more by the ufe of thin and refined oils, than any other caufe ; 
 at leaft the commonly afcribed caufes are evidently delnfive, as 
 all efficient colours originate in gold, or fher, or iron, or lead', 
 and all thofe apparently derived from animal or vegetable fources 
 Cannot be effedive or durable, unlefs mingled or influenced by 
 forjie of the orders of metals : but I confine this alTcrt on ro a 
 
 S palpable
 
 ( 1^6 ) 
 
 palpable colour, as tints may be fo modified and extended, as to 
 envelope and deftroy the parental hue. But, alas, we are fo 
 thoroughly atmofpheric and partially difeafed, that a man may 
 fee truly in June, who cannot in November! And fome are fo 
 confirmed in fallacy, as to be never accurate. Some have in- 
 filled, that the feveral dillind ideas of colours, which enter by the 
 eyes, are really different from each other, though at the fame 
 time refembiing. — Yet, after all our reafoning, who can afcertain 
 what colour is, or is not ?* Whoever regards a glafs luftre mufl 
 know, that as it is turned or moved, it prefents various and un- 
 expeded tints to the eye ; and, by a parity of idea, why may not 
 the buoyant atoms fo continually before our vifion, adminiAer a 
 colour independent of our defire or our invefligation ? The dif- 
 ferent Hiades of colours are affuredly compounded of the original 
 caufe of the tint, and the light acting upon that caufe. Hence 
 the Newtonia?! axiom is jufl, that every colour is manifefled by 
 light ; but what that light is, the wifefl being I ever knew can- 
 not conjecture. 
 
 Though Mr. Barry is, generally fp^aking, intelledually fii- 
 perior to his brethren, he is not pradtically fo — he appears to me, 
 like Caefar's mother, to conceive too powerfully for the ordinary 
 
 methods of deliverance. He is often accurate in defign, but 
 
 never abfurd ; — he has all Michael A-ngelo'^ propenfities, with a 
 fmiall portion of his flrength ; — he has more knowledge in his 
 mind than his pencil ; — his thought is too ponderous for his 
 mechanifm. When he falls lowcfl, it is in his labour to delineate 
 
 what 
 
 * II y a line harmonie Sc une dlfTonafice dans les erpecesdecou!eurs,c»mme 
 il y en a dans les ton* de mufique : dc meme que dans une compofition de 
 mufique, il ne faut pas fculement que les notes y folent jufie^, mai^ encore 
 que dans rexecurion les ipftrumens ibient d'actord ; &comme les infirumens 
 de mufique ne conviennent pas toujours les unsaux autres; par example, les 
 luth avec rhautbois, ni le claveffin avec la muzette ; de la meme maniere, 
 il y a des couleurs qui ne peuvent denaeurer cnfemble fans offenfer la vue, 
 comme le vermillion avec les verds, les bleus, &. les jaunes. Mais audi 
 comme les inftrumens les plus aigus fe lauvent parmi une quantite d'autres, 
 & font quelquefois un tres bon eifet : ainfi les cculeurs les plus cppofecs, 
 etant placees b:en a propo* entre plufieurs autres qui fc nt en union, rendent 
 certains endroits plus ienfibles, lefquels doivent dominer iur les autres, & 
 attirer les regards. 
 
 Titien en a ufe ainfi dans le tableau qu'il a fait du triomphe dc Bacchus, cu 
 ayant place Ariadne lur un des cotez du tableau, & re pouvant pour cette 
 railbn la fuire remarquer par les eclats ile la lumiere qu'il a voulu conferver 
 dans le milieu, lui a donne une echarpe de vermillion fur une tlraperie bleue, 
 lant pour la detacher de fon fona, qui eft deja une mer bleue, qu'a caufe que 
 c'eft une des principales figures du fujet,fur laquelle il veut que Poeil foit attire. 
 Paul Veronefe, dans fa Koce de Cana, parce que le Chrift, qui eft la princi- 
 pale figure du fujet, efb un peu cnfonce dans le tableau, & qu'il n'a pu le fairc 
 remarquer par le brillant du clair-obfcur, Ta vetu de bleu & de vermillionj, 
 afui que b vue fe portut fur cette figure, Ftlibien^ Tome VI.
 
 ( 127 > 
 
 what conftitutcs beauty — his ideas are too rebellious to harmony, 
 to admit the calm perfonification of beauty; its waters are too 
 often ruffled for the purpofes of refledion upon genuine loveli- 
 nefs : all his nymphs are Bacchants, and, agreeably to my 
 thought, there can be no female beauty, where the objei^ is de- 
 void of innocence of heart: a confcioufnefs of guilt will deflroy 
 harmony m the moft alluring combination of features that were 
 ever arranged by nature; inafmuch as it breathes an air of meretri- 
 cioufnefs in the gefture, and defiance in the eye. 
 
 I have {sen a fpirited Iketch by Mr. Barry, which he, in imi- 
 tation of fucli nervelefs poets as Mason and WnARToisr, &c. 
 called the Rojy Hours, This was a neat but weak perfonification 
 of an ideal abfurdity. It fliould be remembered, that the artills 
 of latter times have been peculiarly fond of noticing the Ro/y 
 Hours ; though it mufl be admitted, that appearances have been 
 violently againll the notion, that they have been eminently roJy 
 or felicitous to them. The truth is, that we are all now either 
 fo fallen in our nature, or fo unfortunate in our circumftances, 
 that the fymbol of rofes to illuflrate the hours is no longer fuffer- 
 able. I hope the next artill who undertakes to denominate their 
 qualities, or array the Hours, will hang them round with the 
 Flowers of Camomikf and not Ro/fs, 
 
 He lives in a flate of apparent antipathy with the bufy world ; 
 — compared vv'ith the many, he is a reclufe ; yet, though lingu- 
 lar, he is not morofe ; and no man can be degraded by any habit, 
 that does not make an inroad upon morality, or the well-being of 
 his neighbour. The threfliold of his door in Caltle-llreet is fo 
 little trodden by friendly vifitation, that rank blades of grafs ilTue 
 between every flone ; and many a vagrant heifer wanders from 
 Oxford-market to browfe upon the herbage. — He does not hang 
 his peace upon the fame hook with his viands.—-! believe he has 
 fo far fiiblimed his nature by phllofophy, as to defpife an extra- 
 neous appetite : he allays his hunger and his thirll ; but fcorns 
 to promote a luxury appertaining to our vile^^bodies. — His man- 
 ners are feemingly auftere, but radically kind — it is an incruflation 
 on a gem ! 
 
 Mr. Barry invited Mr. Burke, a few years fin ce, to dine 
 with him on beef ileaks and porter ; and literally made Mr. 
 Burke cook the viftuals, while he went to the ale-houfe for the 
 beer. Perhaps he did this in imitation of Nicholas Poriffia, with 
 whom a cardinal dined ; and obferving that the artifl had no fer« 
 vants, the prieft was lamenting his fituation ; when Ponfjin replied 
 figniiicantly, that he was forry his eminence had any ! 
 
 S 2 Mr,
 
 ( 128 ) 
 
 Mr. RUSSEL. 
 
 John RiTssEL, R.A. was born at Kingfton upon Thames j 
 he iludied under Francis Coates, who was, perhaps, the belt 
 painter in crayons that was ever born ; he was infinitely (uperior 
 to Rofalha ; he had a more comprehenfive mind, and a finer tafte ; 
 his portrait of the queen, from which the unfortunate William 
 Wynne Ryland engraved a print^ as a companion to the king, 
 after a painting by Ramsay, is the firil example of the kind in 
 the world 
 
 To invelligate the merits of miniature and crayon painters, is 
 fcarcely a toil worthy the pen of a biographer. There is no pro- 
 vince of the polite arts fo thoroughly gulling and imp«fing as 
 crayon painting ; it captivates the vulgar eye, by a fmoothnefs 
 and gaudinefs whick Ihould render it difguiling ; and even a bad 
 artift may pafs mufter in this purfuit, who would be fcouted in 
 any other. Ir requires a great portion of fkill not to make the 
 tints too garifii fornature; aud that fpecies of knowledge no man 
 poiTtlled in fo eminent a degree as Mr. Coates, and even he 
 was not flriflly correft on this clTential point. 
 
 The chef d'^ceii'vre of Mr. Ruflei is a child feeding a rabbit, 
 I have fccn two high-finiflied portraits of the Prince of Wale* 
 and Mrs. Wells, from the fame author; but as he was not 
 guilty of making an impreffive likenefs of either, I cannot arrange 
 them as very creditable to his talents. 
 
 In the lafl exhibition INIr. Russel laboured to foar above him- 
 felf, in a deiign for a frontifpiecc to an Illuftraiion of the Sexua^ 
 Syflem ; it involved the bull: oi Linnaus. At the pedeilal was a 
 Cupid, Indifting the following exprelTive and explanatory lines 
 •with his arrow 
 
 f* Ah ! let not the oppreflive huge Savoy 
 Touch the f )ft fibres of yon female Plant^ 
 (Like Polypheme oa Galatea'' s breail ;) 
 Such premature embraces I abhor. 
 Oh! let the vegetative Maid alone, 
 Nor watch her at the coming on of eve, 
 AVhen flie would naked lave arnid the dew.*' 
 
 I rnuil take this occafion to exprefs my complete difapproba- 
 tion of the unqualified ufes which are momentarily made of the 
 ingenuity of the philofophic Swede. Would it not offend both 
 Gods and men, to behold an F. R. S. crawling, in the blaze of 
 day, upon his hands and feet, through the mazes of a flower 
 garden, to operate as the he-bawd to an Atirkula^ or peep up the 
 pttticoats of a Tulips to afcertain the gender ?— It mufl be ex- 
 tremely mortifying to the Fegetahlc Jforld to know, that, after 
 
 ^lidine
 
 ( i»9 ) 
 
 biding their amours {o many thoufand years, they are now 
 iubjedt to the impertinent cariofity ot every prying Nfaturalill:, 
 in the face of heaven ; and that an impaffioned.7«r?z/)) cannot 
 pay his devoirs to an Artichoke^ or a Crah-trcc t© ^Gaofeherry bufh^ 
 but there arc a thoufand microfcopes directed to the fcene ; not 
 merely to difcovcr, but moft indelicately to aggrandize, that 
 exertion which, according to my liberal opinion, fliould be con* 
 fidcred as mviiic, and held as facred 1 
 
 Mr. SMIRKE. 
 
 Ror,ERT SmIrke, R. a. This gentleman was originally ap- 
 prenticed to a coach painter, and is a ftriking proof how very dif- 
 ficult it is, even with men polTeHing more than ordinary talents, 
 to overcome thofe habits which the mind, as it may be urged, 
 weds, on her firil ilruggles,to gain the applaufes of the difcerning 
 part of fociety. 
 
 The earlier efforts of IVfr. Smirke, as a public candidate for 
 renown, were fome fmall oval defigns, illuftrative of the leading 
 fcenes of Shakefpcare-s drair.a : thefe pieces were engraved by 
 Mr. Taylor, and are not altogether ill conceived, though the 
 executive part of the engraving, vv^hich was the organ through 
 which I foi'med my judgment, has not, I believe, amended the 
 ideas of the painter ; the nerve of the defigns has been conlide- 
 rably relaxed by his graphic coadjutor; but fuch inflances arc 
 not uncommon. It is a very debaling circumllance to a painter^ 
 when his labours are perrerted by the ignorance and vanity of the 
 engraver, who, not being qualified to copy withjuftnefs, debauches 
 the beauty of the original, and totally removes the keen expref- 
 fion and fine fentiment prevalent on the canvafs of the painter. 
 
 The pernicious effects arifingfrom a ductility of mind, are par- 
 ticularly exemplified in Mr. Smirk's befl produdions, which all 
 fmack of the firil principles of his education ; and wiiether he 
 paints on canvafs or wood, the hard -manner which all who exe- 
 cute on coach pannels imbibe is evident. If I thought it iinpof' 
 fiblc to rid the conception of fuch vile peculiarities, 1 would ceafc 
 to remark upon the irrefilHble prejudice : but as I am convinced 
 that our organization is equal to the complete overthrow of any 
 abfurdity received through the medium of attainment, I fliall not 
 hefitate to reprove thofe who fuffer the falfe rudiments of a cor* 
 ruptcd tuition to enchain the nobleit energies of the underlland- 
 ing : though it be clear, that every painter is a manneriil in a 
 greater or lelTer degree, it is one of thofe points of melancholy 
 conviftion, which, as hoftile to human genius, fliould be invariably 
 oppofed in practice ; and this can be eftedualiy done by fludying 
 deeply, not fuperficially, the cunning but beautiful varieties of 
 ■ nature,
 
 ( 130 ) 
 
 nature, who, in her multifarious operations, never made two pro* 
 du(5lions even of the fame gender unalterably (imilar. Thus it 
 appears, that to copy nature is to make all her clafTes of objects 
 dilTimilar to each other in the ramifications, though not in the 
 foundation or primordial features of their being. The vulgar and 
 the inconfiderate cannot comprehend thefe necefTary and refined 
 dift nations of the duties of fludy ; the indolent and the felf-fuf- • 
 ficient will not : thus it appertains to the honorably ambitious 
 only to uplift themfelves, and become exemplary and eftimable, 
 by incefTantly feeking after truth, 
 
 I have feen fome emblematic performances lately, upon the 
 pannels of the carriages of the City Magiftrates, which, inde- 
 pendent of their want of a due portion of relievo^ do Mr. Smirke 
 credit ; but the doctrine of relief feems not to have made any 
 material part of his ftudy ; in confequence, his figures want that 
 rotundity eflentiai for the purpofe of deceiving the eye. In the 
 pieces which he has executed for the S/ja.leJprare Gallery^ and vvh'ch 
 he appears to have laboured to make his mailerpieces, there is, 
 notwithilanding the fubjetfts are of a viilaar tendency, too much 
 of the grotrfque for any exhibition of natural truth, where the 
 figures are not fludioufly feietled from among the crippled and 
 diftorted inembers of (ociety. Mr. vSmirke has more of Hem* 
 Jkirh than Hogarth in his imagination, and prefers the extravagant 
 ilTue of misfortune, which moves our pity, to ordre features, un- 
 conneded with depreflion of thought, which excite our ridicule : 
 he feems to be fomcwhat too m.uch indebted for his ideas to Cal- 
 i§t^s beggars. I have fcarcely ever examined any of the recent 
 produftions of this artift, without having my curiofity terminate 
 in a regret, that fo much correct execution (liould be proftitutec^ 
 to enforce the embody mg of a vulgar idea. 
 
 Many artills of different nations, but particularly England 
 and Flanders, appear to have thought that the kind of fatirical 
 perfonification which we denominate by the term humour, con- 
 lifts only in violent exprefficn, and that when they are extremely 
 unnatural, they are extrcmiely comical and fatistadory. Such 
 have illaudably endeavoured to alfimilate belliality with huma- 
 nity, and valued themfelves upon their powers and addrefs, when 
 they could make it in any degree apparent, that the vifage of a 
 monkey, a bear, a horfc, or an ov/l, could approxim.ate by ma* 
 nagem.ent to the likenefs of our own kind. When fuch arts are 
 ufed to give a ludicrous illuftration of the Pythagorean fyfrcm, 
 they are commendable on the fcore of ingenuity, as applicable by 
 prejudice ; but when they are dragged and arranged upon the 
 canvafs to illuminate an hiftoric event, which ftiould be feverely 
 regulated by chaftity of imagination, the judicious obferver will 
 turn away in difgufl. As this debafing fort of fludy polluted the 
 tafte of Leonardo da Finci^ it furely cannot be highly profitable to 
 Mr. Smirke, The
 
 { I3X > 
 
 The interefts of difcretion and delicacy fliould be as carefully 
 prefcrved in the movements of an hiftorical painter as a moraiift. 
 Le Brim had a fiery and overbearing genius, but wanted that 
 judgment which regulated the works of Nicholas Poussin, I am 
 perfuaded that the celebrated Battles of Alexander by the former 
 would excite more admiration among the undifcerning parts of 
 fociety, than even the cartoons oi Rafaelle ; becaufe the lubje6ts 
 are more ftriking and congenial vv'ith the immature expcjl^ation 
 of a fettered and common mind. But we look in vain for that 
 dignified fobriety which is the fruit of deep thinking. There 
 can be no true harmony of compofition, when the fancy is more 
 prevalent than the reflcdion. Genius is to the under.ftanding 
 what the courfers are to the charioteer ; it is a power that can- 
 not a6l with glory when unreiirained by the checks of an, invef- 
 tigating fpirit. To combine figures of varied age and quality, 
 and to beilow upon each that feparate degree of interell wtiich 
 is fuitable to their leveral characters, and yet to order the: coun- 
 tenance and geflure of each fo juftly, that all fliall be fubiervient 
 to the grand defign, is not, nor cannot be, within the fphere of 
 ability of any, whofe intellects are not enlarged and brig;htened 
 by unceafing ftudy. 
 
 That candidate for renown who would wifli to become great, 
 as an hiilorical painter, muft endeavour, with a fort of noble 
 phrenzy, to leap over the barriers of humanity — he mmfl exer- 
 cife his pencil with the defines of an ambitious foul, and grafp at 
 beautiful phantoms which he believes to be. There cannot be a 
 doubt but that the imagination has been infinitely indebted to 
 fuperftition ; and when the painters of the oltromontan'C fchools 
 exercifed their fine talents in embodying the hallowed pe^rfcnages 
 inftrumental to the eftabliiliment of their faith, it begat an en- 
 thufiafm and undefcribable ardour in their boforns^ which a 
 meaner theme unqueftionably could not infpire. 
 
 Mr. HAYMAN. 
 
 Francis Hayman, R. A. was the dcfcendant from a reput- 
 able family in the vvell of England ; he originally ftu died under 
 Mr. Robert Brown, an inconfiderable painter of portraits, 
 whofe merits may be properly afcertained by two mezzotinto 
 prints of children, copied trom his works by Macardell. 
 
 In point of fenioriry, Mr. hi ayman fliould have been placed 
 at the head of the Knglifli fchool of Hiflorical Painters ; and the 
 more efpecially of the prefent Royal Academicians, of whom he 
 may with propriety be coufidered as the father : it if. neceflary to 
 note, that he was the firfi: librarian of the RoyaM.cademy ; he 
 was appointed to this fituation, with its emoluments, in confide- 
 
 ratioa
 
 ( 13^ ) 
 
 ration of his bodily infirmities, which in the evening of his life 
 prefTed him hardly : he died a martyr to the gout, and his death 
 was fmcerely regretted by all who had the felicity to know him. 
 
 Frank Hayman pofleiTed all the volatility of youth to his 
 lafl hour, much fterling fenfe, and an a^jreeablc pleafant manner, 
 which early introduced him to an intimacy w ith the hon t'ivmits 
 of the age in which he lived ; among the refl Fleetwood, then 
 manager of Drury-lane Theatre, paid him particular attention ; 
 he ii>a manner domefticated himfelfwith him, painted his fcenes, 
 and after his death married his w^idow. 
 
 Hayman feems to have modelled his manner in the old En- 
 glifh ichool : a rough blunt fmcerity befpoke the man : he pof- 
 ielTed a large fund of good humour, with fomething more than a 
 common portion of wit ; and had fo much poignancy of fatire in 
 his compofition, as to make his enemies afraid ef his force : even 
 Hfigarth was fo fenfible of this, that he always foftened down his 
 accuflomcd fnarlings againll the ancient mailers when in the pre- 
 fence of Hayman, who, thougii denied the adv.mtages of 
 an Italian pidorial education, unifoiiijly paid the higheft com- 
 pliments to the merits ^i Michael A-ngelo^ Raphael^ and the reft of 
 that ilhiflrious groupe ; and had he polIefTcd thofe privileges 
 which his pupil Nathaniel Dance tn]oyGd, of finifliwig his ftudies 
 at Kome, in the claific b^fom of the arts, would have done 
 honor to the Englifh fchool. To eftablifli this aficr'ion, we have 
 only to recur to his embelliftiments of Sir Thomas Hanmer\ 
 Shakefpeare, which he illuminated in conjunction with Gravclot. 
 and though a more fplendid illuftration of the woiks of our im- 
 mortal bard is now in a fi«te of luminous progrelTion, I do not 
 believe tliat the fenfe of the divine poet has been more completely 
 Vnderftood : indeed I do not hcfitate to give it as my opinion, 
 that his Falftafi\ in the fcene between the Prince and Foii/s, will 
 ftand the icll of the fevertft criticifm, as far as character and ex- 
 prellion are involved. 
 
 Thougti his domcftic and dramatic reprefcntations, w hich now 
 decorate tlie boxes of Vaux-hall Gardens, and the grand room, 
 have been decried, and jufrly, upon the fcore of hca\inefs and un- 
 appropriatt; colouring, yet there arc points of merit vifible in 
 them, which it would be difficult for our beil living artills to fur- 
 pafs : the cc^mpofition is generally agrcenbly managed, and though 
 the drawing oi the extremities is partially clumfy and imperfect, 
 we can fee enough to conviuce us, that Hayman was a man of 
 genius, if n4)t a perfe(ft painter : he was as an artift, what Lord 
 Bacon was as- a philofopher, the reviver, if not parent, of a new 
 and better fp)ecies of hiitoric ihidy. 
 
 When Hayman -was painting his picture of the Britifli heroes 
 for the room above-menrif ned, the gallant and good-natiircd 
 iVlarquis of G ranby paid him a yiiit ai his hoiifc in S:. Martin's-
 
 ( J33 ) 
 
 lane, and told him lie came at the defire of his friend Tycrs (the 
 proprietor of Vanx-hall Gardens) to lit to him for his portrait ; 
 " But Frank," laid the hero of Minden, " before I Jit to you, 
 *' I infill on having a fct-to with you." Hayman^ not under- 
 ftanduig him, and appearing fiirprifed at the oddity ot his decla- 
 ration, the Marquis thus explained himfelf : " I have been told 
 yon were one of the belt boxers of the fchool oi Broi^gbton^ and 
 i am not altogether deficient in the pugilillic art, but lince I have 
 been in Germany I am a little out of prai^iice ; therefore we'ii 
 have a fair trial of Itrength and ilsiilL" Hayman pleaded his age 
 and gout as infuperable obllaclcs. To the full polition the iMar- 
 quis replied, "there was very little difference between them ;"to 
 the latter, " that exercife was a fpecific remedy ;" and added^ 
 *' that a few rounds would caufe a glow oi countenance that 
 would give an animation to the canvass." At length, to it they 
 fell; a ud after an exertion of much Ikill and llrtngth on both 
 iides, Hayiman put in fuch a blow in the ilomach, or, as it is 
 phrafed by boxers, hrcadhajlet^ of the Marquis, that they both 
 fell with a tremendous noile, and brought the affrighted Mrs. 
 Hayman up Hairs, who found them rolling over each other on 
 the carpet, like two enraged bears. 
 
 In the great point of profellional talle, Hayman could not be 
 arranged as exemplary. Yet I have many doubts if taffe is in 
 any inllance wholly intuitive ; and am inclined to think that we 
 acquire lafte by the progrelfive movements of early perception,' 
 which, by frequent fubtle inroads upon the mind, make, in the 
 ilTue, an ellablilhmcnt, and give a iyllem and a hue to thoughto 
 We may difcover original genius in a favage, but never any 
 fymptom of that corred aflo.iation of idea and a61ion, which 
 conftitute that pradical excellence which we denominate talle. 
 Thisdefirable endowment or grace of deed is a beautiful offspring 
 engendered by the judgment upon imagination, and •ifTuiedly 
 cannot fcavc a being with thofe who have not been ftimulateci 
 more by honor than necellity. Yet we are fo rclirided in faculty, 
 as not to enjoy a perfe6t equipoife between the fuggeffions of the 
 ii.wc'^ and the authority of the imderihnding. 
 
 Mr. HAMILTON. 
 
 William Hamilton, R. A. bears an accompanying apology 
 for his infuiHciency, as he was the pupil of Zucchi, from whom 
 no fufficiency in the art could be manifeffed. 
 
 This gentleman, as a colourill, has a confiderable portion of 
 merit, although his manner is a melange^ made up from the man- 
 ners of many ; his drawing and his conception are fuljed to 
 «iuch animadverlion, as his figures are too long for nature, and 
 
 T too
 
 ( I 
 
 of 
 
 too fantaftic for human agency : he feeras to have been bit by 
 Mr. FtZtM, and to have imbibed all his extravagance, without 
 any of his fire. I do not think the attitudes of his perfonages 
 appropriate, or their cxpreffion conducive to the purpofes of the 
 biiionan or the poet. When he aims to be elegant, we have the 
 CircaiUan ladies of Mrs. Kai^ifnvan at fecond hand. Mr. Ha- 
 MtLroN, in common wi;h his brethren, feems to imagine that no 
 female can pollcfs lovely blandifliments, who does not appear as 
 having recently ilTued from the Haram of a Sultan : but our 
 modern artiits, like cur modsrn women, debauch each other. 
 True beauty is as much dependent upo^ virtue for the points of 
 lober admiration, as the moon is upon the fun for its illumination. 
 
 In his delii^ns for 'vignettes^ he appears to me as the moll: ingC' 
 nious pilferer I ever knew : but as this objection applies to nearly 
 all our hiitorical painters, and «// our mulical compofers, I will 
 not dwell upon the theme. In this province of the arr, which is 
 fo much proltituted by garifti pretenders, who can neither 
 think or delineate^ there arc but tuo perfons who are equal tp the 
 illuilration of an author, MelTrs. Stodhart and Kirk.* 
 
 This indecifive, but fortunate gentleman, had fix hundred 
 guineas for decorating the panncls of Lord Fit'zgihho7i*s ilatc 
 coach ; and had he continued as a coach painter, he would have 
 had more of my approbation. His whole-length portrait of Mr. 
 Ktmhle in RiLcard the Third^ is a glaring inilance of his temerity, 
 as all the limbs are either disjointed or broken ; it is necelTary to 
 obferve that it appears even thus in the print, although engraved 
 by Mr. Bartolo-z.-zi. It is cunous that Michael Angela^ who was 
 the beft and greatell: mafter of his time, fnould have his works 
 fo imperfectly copied, as to be nearly worthiefs, and that fuch 
 ir.en as Mr. IVeJl^ Mr. Hamilton^ &c. fliould have their works 
 fo brilliantly executed, as frequently to envelope the original 
 errors of the painter ! 
 
 His portraits do not poflefs much of the required qualifications : 
 they are in common hard and diffimilaj"; it appears that in his 
 efforts to make the litters more than human, he makes them lefs. 
 I do not knoiv any living artiil to whom I would fo eagerly fit 
 for an immediate and faithful refemblance, as Mr. Gahriel Stuart -\-^ 
 as, I believe, he fees his objedf, and the infinity of tints confti- 
 
 tuting 
 
 * Mr. KirLe fludied under Mr. Cofway, and does his mafler honour ; he has 
 given an higher charadler to the illuflrative vignettes of ournation, than any of 
 his competitors, excepting Mr. Sfidhart ; and this alfertion is clearly exem- 
 plified in C'yjke% beautiful edition of the Poets. 
 
 f Mr. Gahriel Stuart h an American ; he lludied in the principles of the 
 art under Wv^WcJi; he pradlifed portrait painnn;:; with much fu reefs in 
 London ; but, from motives of either caprice or neceflity, he removed t» 
 Dublin; and frona thence to New York; wheie he now refiuei.
 
 ( 135 ) 
 
 tilting that object, with more perfpicuity than any other exilling 
 portrait painter. But I {hoiild add, that he is indebted for this 
 faculty to the paucity of invention ; having no fancy that impels 
 him to fport with the inveterate accuracy of lineament. 
 
 Mr. WHEATLEY. 
 
 Francis Wheatley, R. A. The firll eflays of this gentle- 
 man were of that inferior clafs as not to eniure much promife : 
 his original principles of the art were exceedingly erroneous ; and 
 I have much reaibn to believe that his priTicipal attainments have 
 been made (ince he turned the corner of his thirtieth year. 
 
 Mr. U'^hcatley was long favoured with the intim.acy of the late 
 regretted Mr. Mortimer"^ ; who was a difciple oi Ihidjoni^ and an 
 Hiltorical painter of the firll order in Great Britain. He drew 
 better than any other man in England in his time ; and though 
 Ibmewhat too indolent, his inadivity did nor preclude him from 
 diftancing bis competitors: he was a great cricketer, a bon I'i'-uanf^ 
 and a gentleman. Mr. Wheatley did not fuffer this acquaintance 
 to pafs away without reaping fom.e advantages from the connexion ; 
 as by continually copying his drawings and paintings, he gra- 
 dually acquired a flyle more pure than that which he originally 
 pradifed, which was fomething between the manner oi Hay?rian 
 and Gra^jelot, 
 
 About twenty years fince Mr. IFheatlcy paid a vifit to our filler 
 kingdom, and met with great encouragement from the perfons of 
 taile and fafliion in Ireland : he chiefly painted likenelTes in fmall 
 whole lengths, and gained fome reputation by his picture of the 
 interior of the IriOi Houfs of Comm.ons, with portraits of nearly 
 all the members. The point of time he chofe was when Mr. 
 Grattan was making his motion for a repeal of Poyning\ Av5t. 
 This picture was afterwards difpofed of by raffle in the citv of 
 Dublin. 
 
 On Mr. Wheatley % return to Engbind, he endeavoured to alter 
 tils manner, by copying Greuze^ a French artift of much noto- 
 riety in domcilic fcenes : and in this fort of purf'iit he has con- 
 tinued with but few interruptions ever fince: he appears to have 
 imbibed the prejudices of Mr. Greuze fo far as to give his low 
 
 fubjeds 
 
 ♦ John Mortimer ftudied at the Academy for Defign, inftituted by Sir Jartjfi 
 Tburnhill^ in St. Martin's-bnc ; the terms were one guinea and a half per 
 annunn, for the privilege of fludying after life. Here he attended fo rigor- 
 cufly, that it was believed he never miffed a night in the moft inclement wea- 
 ther. This gentleman, in concert with Mr. H'^eatley and Mr. Dumo^ were 
 employed by Lord Melbourne to decorate his fine feat at Brocket-hall, in Hert'.. 
 He married a Lady in Norfolk-ftreet, in the Strand ; where, previous to his 
 deah, he etched fome charaiteriHic heads frorn Shakefpeare's drama; he wa> 
 thirty-five years of age when he died, and left a high reputation behind him 
 as an hiHorlc painter, 
 
 T 2
 
 ( 136 ) 
 
 fubjefi-s the air? of French peafantiy. It is but bare jnftice to 
 pbferve, that Mr. IVhcatky has infiniieiy more lutiire, as Grcu%c 
 is hard and ftony. 
 
 Mr. Wheatlcy is a very indifferent colonrii^» and does not feem 
 to view nature with a corrcft vilion. Of all the fenfes we ci.-.ii- 
 rnonly enjoy, in the ordinary fcale of humanity, there are none 
 which are fo varioufly deceptive as See'uig : it js from this imperftdl 
 organization that we have fo many bad painters and bad critics. 
 As a drawback on his merits, Mr. JVhsathy is too much a man- 
 ncriil. 
 
 This gentleman appeirs to have too fmal) a portion of ambition 
 in his fyilem, to accomphfli any great and durable undertaking : 
 to copy a mean model lat'isfies his unafpiring foul. To be coldly 
 perfecl on a vulgar theme was the peculiar charafterillic of the 
 f lemifli fchool ; yet the productions of that fchool are not of the 
 firft order ; and if we except Rcuhcns^ Vandyle^ and Jordacnsy 
 they had fcarce any alTociation of ideas, originating from a nice 
 obfervance of nature, and regulated by the glow of fancy, and 
 prevalence of abOrad: thinking ; for even TemerSf with ail his 
 merit, was a painter without learning. 
 
 His grouping of the figures, in his pidure o^The Rhts'm 17S0, 
 is not truly commendable. There has been a print engraved 
 from this pi6ture by Mr. Heath, When I firll: faw it, it (truck me 
 as an attempt to prove how very completely an artirt could make 
 a SJ^y in a compofition eclipfe every other confideration. Mr. 
 Wheatlcy has recently painted fome hiilorical fubje6ts for the 
 ^hakefpeare Gallery, with more addrefs than ufual : perhaps the 
 fpur of competition impelled him to be more induilrious than he 
 was accullomed to be. But it is an undecided point, whether 
 that fpirit of circumvention which we denominate by the foft terrq 
 emulation., proceeds from the rei:ard we have for our own reputa- 
 tion, or the hatred which we call forth to refift the triumph of a 
 rival. 
 
 Mr. COPLEY 
 
 John Stngleton Coplev, R. A. is by birth an American : 
 he is indebted to his countryman Mr. M^eji, tor his initiation into 
 the praftical knowledge of painting, which he poflelTes in no in- 
 conliderable degree. — The gale v/hich wafted him acrofs the At- 
 lantic to the clifis of Britain, wa- delegated by his good fortune ; 
 the colonies which nurfed him being then too immature for the 
 adoption of that public fpiritednefs, without which the more ele- 
 gant Mufes muft pine and periili. 
 
 The firft piece which drew Mr. Copley from filent infignificance 
 to the beam of general notice, was his performance of The ^harh 
 hiting off the Umh of Mr. Brook IVatfon \ and fingular as the opi- 
 nion
 
 ( 137 ) 
 
 nion may be, I thinw: it is equal, if not fnperior, reviewed as a 
 whole pi6iure, to any thing he has publiflied ; it certainly has 
 fewer faults, if it is not fo glaringly obtrufive. 
 
 His p'diire of The Holy Nativity is unqueftionably deficient in 
 all the incumbent reqiiiiites for fuch a work ; the immaculate 
 mother reclines imconfcious of her divinity, and is made to re- 
 gard the Sahator Mundi with an air of defpondency, rather than 
 ineffable joy ; and her white drapery is io inveterately modern, 
 that it furniflies a lively notion of a female haberdallier in the 
 third week of her accouchement. Had the Virgin never conceived 
 more miracnloufly than Mv, Copley^ 1 miifl: apprehend the tribes 
 of Chrill Vv^)uld have been in a dolorous fituation. 
 
 His portrait of The hifant Frincejfes is all flutter and folly, 
 flowers and ribbands ; it leems, at a diilance, like a bed of tulips 
 difturbed by the wind ; and is certainly more calculated for the 
 meridian of taile at Coventry or Cranbcurn-alley than a Royal 
 Palace. When 1 firil regarded this pidure, I was compelled by 
 its prefuming tone of colouring to wink involuntarily ; yet what 
 does all this overcharged ilyle of tinting, this levity of pencilling 
 prove, but a fedulous attempt to make finery overthrow truth ? 
 There is a fober lovelinefs in ail nature, which difdains to allign 
 fuch pert tav.drinefs, fo intolerant a command over the {tx\{t%, 
 
 I fliall forbear to criticiie, at prefent, upon his Death of Major 
 Pearfon and his Siege of Gibraltar^ as my comments might be 
 more injurious to the encouragers of the arts than the immediate 
 Artif}-. His Death of the late Earl of Chatham is conlidered to be 
 his beil and moil finifhed performance. This piece, viewed gene- 
 rally as a compofition^ is not difrcputable ; but in a partial fenfe 
 a^t grouping is erroneous ; the dejign, which I mean fliould com- 
 prehend the laws of perfpedive, is falfe almoft to puerility, as 
 the figures congregating under the throne, are too much dimi- 
 niflied, when contralled with the figures in the fore-ground, for 
 any fcale of a6lion fo very limited as the Houfe of Peers ^vithin 
 the bar. The Repofe of this pic'^ure will beconie proverbial ,* it 
 may be almoft delcribed as "darknefs vifible," and we may fairly 
 prefume that moff of the com.pany are afraid of meeting the light. 
 
 The local accompaniments to an hiilorical painting, but elpe- 
 cially where the interefls of death are involved, fhould be, like the 
 icore to a folemn piece of mufic, all forcibly rudiing on the fenfes, 
 to accomplifli the end of the material defign, and to regulate and 
 harmonize the whole. The exadnefs of analogy in the compo- 
 nent parts of a produdion like thi--, ought to be correfpondent 
 even to the lall demands of fcrupuloulneis. The optic vifion 
 /liould convey the imiages fatisfa^t'irily to the eve of the mind ; 
 which cannot be when the palpable agency of the fi^ ires is unde- 
 voted to the maintenance of the grand lubjc6l : — there can be no 
 apology offered adequate to the omiflioa of fuch required intel- 
 ligence.
 
 ( 138 ) 
 
 ligence. I would recommend to the notice of fuch an Artiil, in 
 Inch circumftances, The Death of Germanicus^ by Nicholas Poussifi, 
 
 I believe it will be admitted, that Mr. Co/)Iey is a man of imi- 
 tation, but not a man of genius ; he is a man of thinking, but not 
 a man of fingular conception : his profellional acquiiitions are 
 a greater compliment to his affiduity than his powers of fancy : 
 perhaps no artill exift'ng underftnnds the mechanical part of his 
 profeffion better, or the cojinme lefs ; and if celebrity could be 
 attached to him who copies Still Life with corredtnefs, this gen- 
 tleman might not dread the unpleafantnefs of being fuperceded by 
 any of the modern fchools, 
 
 INIr, Copley appears contented to pafs through life (to ufe 
 nautical language) in the wake of his countryman Mr. Wef ; he 
 has the fame hardnefs of execution, the fame veneration for but- 
 tons and button-holes, and that accuracy of ornament fo dear to 
 the failidious genius of Bedfordbury ; and the fame apprehen- 
 fions of having any reliance upon the vigour of his intellects. In 
 a limited fenfe fuch caution would be commendable ; bu: it fhould 
 not form the primary excellence of any who proudly aflume the 
 appellation of an Hiilorical Painter — to whofe character we mult 
 annex a portion of the fublime, 'ere wc can confent to fet an high 
 value upon the fruits of his pencil. That artifl who cannot paint 
 well in the abfence of a model, has widely miftakeu the inclina- 
 tions of his ability, and makes what he wiflies to be, a fatire upon 
 what he really is. 
 
 As an obferving inveterate drudge, who is true to trifles, from 
 a convi^^ion that he can never be great — who attends to all the 
 mechanifm of colouring, without welcoming a thought that would 
 be honorable to the imagination, and dear to \\\t poetry of can^jafs^ 
 I fliall not helitate to arrange Mr. Copley as among the firft of 
 modern artifts. Yet perhaps this may be ccntidered as adminif- 
 tering a compliment to his difcretion, at the expence of thofe 
 noble faculties which, it is concluded, make up a great genius. 
 But, to talk of any man pofTelfing genius, who is fo immoderately 
 fond of money, is prepofierous : the warm beams of genius 
 thaw the icy altars of avarice \ and to have genius, and be un- 
 generous, is impoliible, 
 
 Mr. WESTALL. 
 
 Richard Westall, R. A. \\\i^ Hogarth^ was originally an 
 engraver on filver ; and deferves much credit for the refolution 
 he has mianifeiled, by burfling from the vulgar conlines of fuch 
 an employment. 
 
 As Pope was a poet who preferred the nice arrangement of 
 words to the general conilrudion of lound fenfe, fo Mr. Wefrall 
 adopts, with the moll fcrupulous affe(5lation, all the littlenefs of 
 the art, and feems refolved to make that fin?, which he cannot
 
 ( 139 ) 
 
 make foberly grand. Had t known the private hiftory of this 
 gentleman lefs, I fliould have believed that he had been exclu- 
 lively educated among ladies, and rendered, by the means of a 
 perverted tuition, more dehcate than afpiring ; and could nor, 
 like the mighty fon of Peleus, evince his native fire, when eman- 
 cipated from the feminine circle. As the younger part of females 
 are more folicitous about the external graces ot their lovers than 
 the morality of artion, fo do thefe Retainers of the RruJ}? exprefs 
 more eagernefs about that naufeous tawdrinefs of colouring,which 
 is highly difgufling to a pure taite, than that calm and dignified 
 repofe and harmony of tint, which renders the works of 7i//«« 
 and Claude oi Lorraine^ fo charmingly imprellive and fafcinating. 
 
 I never faw a tinted drav>'ing by Mr. Wejiall^ without recur- 
 ring to the idea of a pretty painting upon a fan or china. I could 
 not perceive in any, thofe touches or traits which chara6!erife the 
 produdions of a potent imagination. Mr. M^^'cjiall appears too 
 limited in knowledge to have any perfed idea of grace : this 
 alluring property of motion is often vifible in an infant and a 
 farjage^ becaufe they are unfophifticated by the prevalence of 
 artificial thinking or adion. No animal departs fo much from 
 i^i\t grace of nature in attitude, as an uneducated human being 
 in what we call civil fociety ; and this arifes from the impulic 
 of an ifnhihed ^YSiViiQ^ ilTuing from a falfe fcnfe of error. — His De- 
 jigns, to iliullrate Milton^ are not of that fafcinating fort, which 
 come under the denomination of capita! : they are replete with 
 delicacy, it is true, but are not in any point communicative of 
 that grandeur, which fliouid be irrefiftibly evident, when the 
 Artift boldly undertakes to embody the Demon and his flaflies of 
 diabolifm. The unlicenced extravagancies of ^Ix.FwzcU .vould 
 be even more congenial with the ideal, though abfurd Ifruggle 
 for dominion between the holb of heaven and hell : we may en- 
 tertain a notion of the opinion which Michael Angela would fulmi- 
 nate on a review of fuch produdions from the well known de- 
 ineaaour of the Ex-chancellor to a coxcomb. 
 
 In the prolecution of this light and trivial kind of ftudy, our 
 young artifts are not fo blameable as the public, who are io pre- 
 polleroufly eager to countenance what fliould be fyilematically 
 rejected. There is a frivolity in the age, which is baneful to the 
 intereils of modeffy and merit : — ",t is in literature as in the arts, 
 thofe volumes are the more eagerly perufed, which meet the eye 
 in the fnapc of what are termed novels, though the language'is 
 flimfy and unclaflical, and the argument contaminating ; while 
 the folid effufions of wifdom are negleded, as too heavy for the 
 imderflanding, and too inimical to indolence and gallantry ! 
 
 The moll fpirited Iketch I have feen from this gentleman's 
 pencil, was in the laif Academic Exhibition. It was A Scene 
 after a Battle in Abhyssitiia, The vultures feemed replete with 
 all the rage of hunger, and flitting over the fallen facrifices w th 
 
 becoming
 
 ( H^ ) 
 
 becoming triumph. I iinderftand there is to be a print engraved 
 froai this delign, which is to be inferred as an elucidation of the 
 IMetempfychoiis, or Pythagorean doctrine. Though the icene is 
 in Abyllmia, the ravenous birds are fuppofed to have been hur- 
 ried from the Stygian fhore, and arc jirefumcd to be the unquiet 
 l})irirs of fome defunft praditioners in the King's Bench and 
 Common Pleas ! It is fortunate when an artift can thus blend 
 morality with delight. 
 
 It belongs to die empire of painting to effect the nobleft pur- 
 pofes, by an efficient delineation of fcenes, that might be admi- 
 rably inflruclive, as inftances of high atchievement and enticing 
 virtue. The Pagan and Chriftian sges are pregnant with fubje6ts, 
 that would be effedual, as tacit monitors, to correcl: and chailen 
 our nature, when adequately pourtrayed : but if every cheek is 
 to be pencilled into a childifh reprefentation of the bloom of a 
 plumb or the down of a peach, the characters will excite ridicule 
 horn the difcerning. Mr. TFe/Iall has latent capabilities, but they 
 are fupp:eflcd and poifoned by a bad tafts. 
 
 JOSEPH VsTLTON. 
 
 Joseph Witton, R. A. is the fon of a plaiflerer, in Titchfield- 
 fncet, London. He lludied fculpture under the late ^Iv, Dufoe^ 
 in Flanders ^ and removed from his protedlion to Rome, where 
 he remained for feveral years, looklvg at the antique*. He fuc- 
 c^eded the late Mr. IVilion^ as librarian to the Royal Academy. 
 
 The moff perfe^Tt of his vvorks that I have feen, is a nionument 
 jMtely erected in Wellminfler Abbey, to the memory of Sir 
 jJrchthaldCampleU \ in which he has introduced a figure which it 
 is pr^ able he might defign for Fame^ but which appeared to me 
 r.s an inebriate wench who had ftumbled, with the trumpeter's 
 clarion from the Horfe Guards, over the medalHon ; and was 
 bending in the momentary dread of copious expectoration. Yet 
 who can deny, hut that M\\ Wiltcn may be playing the fatirilt 
 in difguife, and have intended this llrumpet as a perfonincation 
 of that fort of purchafed corrupt renown, which is hourly belch- 
 ing forth her applaufe upon hourly impollure I 
 
 It was not in allufion to works like thofe, whi:h made Plautui 
 exclaim 
 
 JJfque ah uTiguh ad capiltum, funin.um ejl fejllviffima. 
 JE.jl-v£ ? CoTifideta: "jidejignimiy piclurn -tulchre -uidciis. 
 
 I know not if his remorfelefs chiiTel has tortured into frag- 
 ments the Parian or Achaian marble ; but I hope the rage oUjis 
 art has been expended upon coarfer materials ; although his 
 labors might be innoxious and anti promethean, and awaken not 
 the wrath of Jove by a too inveterare refemblance of either Gc^ 
 or ?nan. 
 
 * The word antirjue, as applied by artifts, comprehends all the works of 
 Painting, Sculpture, and Architedlure, which were performed in Egypt, 
 Greece, and Itniv, from the reign of Alexander the Gre?t, to the invafion of 
 tlie Go:!is; yet it is moie particularly applied to Sculpture than thv^reft.
 
 ( Hi ) 
 
 Mr. THOMAS SANDBY. 
 
 Thomas Sandby, R. A. was. born at Nottingham, in the 
 year 1725, where his tribe had long lived and flouriflied as re- 
 putable weavers. It 13 reported, that when his father firftpre- 
 lented the family fh little for his management, he rejeded it with 
 a decent denial. The truth is, that he was abforbed in contem- 
 plation upon a new fyflem of perfpedive, which he progref- 
 lively puri'ued, until he brought it to a ftate of unequalled per- 
 fedion and readinefs of application ; and, adting upon thefe 
 novel rules, he made a drawing of his natal town, which pro- 
 cured him fuch a reputation, as emboldened him to vifit Londoa 
 for the purpofe of having it engraved. The developement of 
 his ability occalioned him to be appointed as draughtlman to 
 the Chief Engineer for Scotland ; in which fituation he was, at 
 Fort William, in the Highlands, when the Pretender landed ; 
 and was the jirjl perfon who conveved intelligence of the event 
 to Government, in the year 1745. ^" conlideration of his merits 
 and his fervices, the Duls of Cumhcrland 2iy^^d\i\Xt<\ him his pe- 
 culiar draughtfman ; in which honorable capacity he attended 
 the Duke in his campaigns in Flanders. On his return to En- 
 gland, he devoted himfelf to the ftudy of Architecture, in which 
 his talents and genius carried him to thofe heights which excite 
 common envy. For the eflential duties he had fulfilled, he was 
 made Deputy-Ranger of Windfor Great Park ; in which ^fitua- 
 tion he remains, without any difplay of his archite^iurai know- 
 ledge, except in the inftruftive Le'dures, annually given in his 
 capacity of ProfeJJor of Archite^iure^ in the. Royal Academy. 
 
 From that gloomy epoch, when the Turk deftroyed the fplen- 
 dour of Greece, to this moment, Architecture has been on the 
 decline. Cardinal Bejpirwn and Sophianus did much towards the 
 feftofation of its prifline grandeur ; but their efforts were not 
 equal to the refiftance of that flream of barbarifm, which was 
 contaminating both the Oriental and European empires : but, 
 as the tajie and chdrathr of Britain is my more immediate care, 
 1 dial I briefly exhibit the ftate of building in its capital and the 
 vicinity, , . » 
 
 MODERN ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 Our modern villas are precifely like modern manners, replete 
 ivith a fort of daring fohvardnefs. Our fathers, fuch as Inlgo 
 Joriesy U^ren, &c. built their edifices in fome degree to corre- 
 ipond with their decent demeanour ; they in general appeared 
 as receding modcftly from the gaze of the vulgar, and as hiding 
 themfelves partially in the angle of a grove, by the brow of a 
 bill, or peeping from the vernal dell. But the country houfes 
 of the faflitonable now, from a peerling to the flopfeller, evince 
 by their ftate the difpofttion of their owners ; they have gau» 
 dinefs without tafte, proportions without beauty, and an inte- 
 
 U rior
 
 ( 142 ) 
 
 rior without nfefulnefs; they feem as if they had been placed 
 M\ fuch lituations only to offend the judgment, and tacitly eii- 
 foice your attention by thriuling themfelves upon your light. 
 
 All the afperity which chaiacterizes the Ai'lfe Du Bss, when 
 fpeakingof the genius of the people of this country, as applying 
 to the hne arts, is juliitied, if any permanent encouragement is 
 given to the authors of fuch undefcribable edifices as Carlton- 
 Houfe^ TorhHoufc^ Bruryiane Theatre^ and other heterogeneous 
 buildings, whofe appearance is even hideous to a correct eye. I 
 mean no offence towards the perfons from whom thefe llruftures 
 originated, but I cannot avoid lamenting, that any thing like 
 national or fplendid encouragement fliould be direfted to the 
 nurturing or enforcing a flovenly fyftem of error, which muil 
 eventually render us contemptible in the eyes of Europe, as a 
 people of tafte, and unjufl: ifi our adminidration of prote6lion, 
 inafmuch as we feem exclulively to fuflain thofe in the higher 
 depaitments of the art, wlio are not properly qualified to dif- 
 charge the arduous duties requilite in fuch a palpable and im- 
 portant fituation. 
 
 The general charatfler of the times, in all countries, is more 
 dependant upon the veiliges of art than any other circumflance ; 
 and as the labours of architedure are more ample and expofed 
 than the labours of her relatives. Painting and Sculpture, it be- 
 comes us (if we regard our good name with poflerity) to be 
 circumfpeft and reflexive, 'ere we engage thofe to ere6t the 
 pile or mould the monument, v/hofe habits of thinking and 
 reftricted knowledge, are dlfproportioned to the completion of 
 our wilhes. 
 
 CARLTON HOUSE. 
 
 Thofe who are accullomed to denominate Carlton Houfe a 
 palace, mufl certainly mean to arrange it as a place where a 
 Prince reiides, and not where a Prince ought to refide. We too 
 iudifcriminately, and fometimes raflily, abufe the Goths on the 
 fcore of barbarifm j yet in what inftance (in this ifland) have the 
 Goths violated the grace of order and'the chaftity of art more 
 grofsly than in the clumfy refidence of the Heir Apparent ? It 
 forms, on the whole, fuch an affociation of contrarieties, as is 
 extremely difgufiing to an enlightened mind. What conftitutes 
 individual beauty, but the exaft proportion which one part 
 bears to another ? And the fame obfervation and conviction 
 applies to the works of architecfture. Is it not monflrous to fee 
 an huge and impudent colonnade, llepping forward as a firid- 
 ing bully to protect its (liabby principal behind, which fcems to 
 fkulk beneath its arrogant advanced guard, and peep upon the 
 public between its manifold legs ; when it fliould have been lo 
 conitructed, as to, have come boldly foru-ard, and demand com- 
 mon admiration, independant of fuch meieuicious accompani- 
 ments ? As
 
 ( 143 ) 
 
 As it was in the reign of George III. that the arts ceafed to 
 be conlidercd as exotics, and began to aiTiime a feature conge- 
 nial with our hope and our pride, it mull not be permitted that 
 any thing bafe, or coarfe, or unprofitable, lliould take root and 
 become ftationary, to the detriment of fo fair a garden. We 
 muft not become retrograde in our movements, when we pror 
 fefs to be journeying towards perfeftion. There is no province 
 of the arts where licenti;)ufnefs of manner is lefs juftifiable than 
 in architecture ; and the plain reafon is, that the rules for a61ion 
 are more immediate and determinable than in any other ; the 
 elements of knowledge are lefs complicated, and every man 
 flrould be faithful in the execution and appropriation of the 
 parts, though every man cannot be fub|ime in the conception of 
 his fuhjeH. 
 
 The churches of this metropolis are, generally fpeaking, a dif* 
 grace to the tafle of the kingdom ; but efpecially thofe which 
 are denominated as ^leen Annes churches, 1 believe Kent was 
 the architect, and a wretched builder he was. We have no' 
 eccleliallical edifice in London deferving particular notice, ex- 
 cepting Saint Paul's church ; Saint PauPs, Covent Garden; the 
 interior of St. Stephen's, Walbrook ; the lleeple of St. Dun- 
 Ihn's in the Eaft; and the portico of St. Martin's in the Fields, 
 which is borrowed from the temple of Thefeus, at Athens. 
 
 Were a ilranger to look attentively from an eminence about 
 the metropolis, at the multiplicity of buildings dedicated to the 
 purpofes of piety, H.Avould be inftantaneoufly inclined to fup- 
 pofe us the moft devout people under heaven, and the fondeft of 
 architectural beauty; yet, upon a nearer fcrutiny of our man- 
 ners and our buildings, he would alTuredly recede from that 
 impreffion, fo favourable to our morality and our tafte, and 
 adopt others of a contrary tendency. Of all the churches in 
 London, how few are to be clafied as even tolerably juft in their 
 proportions ? — When the archited firft imagined the form of 
 Saint Luke's church, he muil have been inclined to fport with 
 our toleration, and ere6t a tall fomething, that might become 
 the ftandard of abfurdity ; it always furni(hed me with the idea 
 of a miie-flone run to feed ! Why the Creator fliould be adored 
 in a temple lefs regular and magnificent than the Pagan gods, I 
 cannot devife. Before any public building is ereCled in this king- 
 dom, it ought to be fubmitted to a Co.iimittee of Tafle ; who, 
 being competent to the determination, flionld either receive or 
 rejeS thofe plans which, if carried into efte«5t, would refled 
 honor or diflionor upon the nation ! 
 
 The deviations from the common orders of architedure which 
 have been introduced into pradice by Mr. Jldamsy in the Adel- 
 phi, and other places, have done a materia) injury to the inte- 
 reils of gracefulnefs in building : the orders of architedure ope- 
 rated 

 
 ( 144 ) 
 
 rated like the force of morality in fpcial life, arid kept the 
 imagination within the due bounds of propriety. That perlon 
 who would labour to juilify the puerilities of the Adametlc fyf- 
 tem, I am confident would be inclined lo prefer the curvettings 
 of a dancing-mafler, to the fublime movements of the Belviderc 
 Apollo. The fripperies and littlenels of a painter, may fome- 
 times be apologized for by concomitant attribute? ; but frippery 
 and littlenefs in an architect cannot ; they betray a callow 
 mind, that is incapable of embracing or entorcing what lliould 
 be arranged as the great points of fcience and noblenefs. 
 
 The impofl upon windows has impelled the builders to elude 
 tjie tax in new houfe?, by making what are termed Venetian 
 jafhes, or laying two windows in one, which is a method equally 
 difgufling and contemptible. I have frequently regretted that there 
 are no Supervifors of Talle, appointed by government, to prevent 
 the building of fuch incongruous hovels, as cover St. George's 
 Fields, and other places contiguous to town. As beauty, evea 
 in building, operates happily upon the fenfes, a due regard 
 for our own comfort, {hould incline us to refill fuch a tide of 
 abominable errors. There is another abfurdity introduced, 
 iinderthe pretence of making the mofl of the ground, which is the 
 placing fliop. doors at the corner of the building. This pradice 
 \% contrary to every rule in architedture. It is, moreover, of a 
 dangerous tendency, as it greatly weakens a building, the chief 
 ilrefs of which lies on the corners. Thence *' A corner- ftone" 
 is ^ proverbial exprelfion for " a chief fup^^ort.'* What lliould 
 have introduced this novel fafliion is to me inconceivable, j^ 
 grant, that in very narrow ilieets it is a convenience to have the 
 corners cut off or rounded. But then, to preferve any decent 
 appearance, this form fiiould be continued all the way up. A 
 ^arp angle, projecting over a door^ is a difagreeable objed, and 
 is in fome inilances avoided, in the way now recommended ; as 
 for infiance, in feveral new houies, between Chifwell-fireet and 
 Smithfield. But the other difpleafing arrangement, to my great 
 aflonifliment, appears in fome of the capital houfes about Finf- 
 bury, where no one advantage could be propofed. Our befl: 
 architects fliould take this matter into confideration, and pre- 
 vent the further progrefs of a fafhion, for which they will find 
 no precedent in antiquity, nor any plea in common fenfc, 
 
 Mr. NOLLEKENS. 
 
 Joseph Nollekems, R. A. received the firfl rudiments of 
 art under ^r-6^f'w^/'<:r, a Sculptor of inconfiderable talents, and 
 fome of whofe befl productions are affixed in Wefiminfter Abbey, 
 When Mr. Nolkkens was emancipated from his obligation to 
 Mr. Scheemahr^ he went to Italy, where he contrived to mix 
 |be utik with the dulce^ ^nd acquired feveral thoufand pounds 
 
 by
 
 ( H5 ) 
 
 by (what he termed) mending dilapidated flatues for the travel- 
 ling Ddktanti, 
 
 1 have heard much, from my early acquaintance with the 
 fubjecl, on the neceffity offending ftudents to Italy, that they 
 might purify their own ideas of grace and greatnefs, by the 
 models of Grecian and Roman origin, and the beft fpecimens of 
 what is phraf^d the fecond and third ages of the fine arts : yet, to 
 what purpofe can thefe attainments operate, if the patronage of 
 the opulent and the powerful is indifcriminately, \( not partially, 
 diredted, to uphold thofe who are ignorant of the principles of 
 fc'enre, and wholly regardlefs of celebrity ? If it is ever re- 
 ceived as a truth, that a ProfelTor can do as well without know» 
 ledge and information as with ir, we Ihall have youth without 
 ardour and rivalry without ambition, 
 
 Mr. Nolleki7is appears to lludy the antique in his works more 
 than Mr. Bacon or Mr. Banks ; yet neither have the ability to 
 be poetic in their labours ; they are rather juftly mechanical 
 than illuminated. But the gift to be fentimental in marble is 
 an inborn emanation, which no Briton ever poflefled, as a fculp- 
 tor, in fo eminent a degree as the meritorious, but unfortunate, 
 Mr. ProBor, They are as ignorant of the fubtle and delicate 
 ramifications oi exprcjlon^ as theologifis of a catholic principle. 
 
 The monument on the north fide of Wefiminfier Abbey, 
 facred to the memory of the late Captains Lord Robert Mamen^ 
 ^ ay ne, and Blair, is a well meant memorial on the part of a 
 great nation, but is no proof of any very high ability on the 
 part of the fculptor Who executed it. The martial female 
 figure, regarding the event, is managed with fpirit ; but the 
 accompanying boys are deficient in all thofe required points of 
 grace, which fo wonderfully diilinguifti our attitudes, before we 
 have acquired, by age and obfervation, a fenfe of fliame. 
 
 Rafaelle is not more confefledly (uperior to all competition, 
 pn the article of ideal grace, than Flamingo is in the natural 
 pofitions, and incomparable, fubbinefs of his boys : perhaps I 
 do not urge too much in his favour when I aver, that he 
 equalled, if not eclipfed, the beft among the Greek fculptors, in 
 reprefenting infantine humanity : they may be literally deno- 
 niinated Babes of Grace, It is to him and his fine chiflTel that 
 we are indebted for all the lovely boys which Mr. Cipriani 
 copied as Cupids and Zephyrs, and which Mr. Bartolozzi has 
 fojuflly engraved. 
 
 Of all the fculptors ever refident in this nation, Rouhiliac was 
 unqueftionably the moft excellent ; and though he flouriflied 
 before the regal inftitution of a national Academy, we have had 
 none fince who could approach him in their monumental 
 labours : and it is to be deplored, that the moft beautiful of his 
 tombs are hidden by official underftrappers from the public eye. 
 
 But
 
 ( 146 ) 
 
 ir 
 
 But even admiration, in this mean country, is made a fource of 
 dirty commerce. 
 
 That fortof fciilptural merit which forces itfelf upon invefli- 
 ^ation, in the gloomy aides of an abbey, is more calculated to 
 ferve the artift, than exertions of equal merit in any other litua- 
 tion ; and the reafon is obvious, as the mind is more wedded to 
 contemplation in fuch fequellered and infpiring fcenes, than it 
 could be in the public buftle of the elbowing mart. — The folemn 
 objedts that encircle us in an ancient Cathedral, caft a fort of 
 f^crednefs around the fpot, where it is notified that the duft of 
 the g»:eat and good is depofited. As every objeft is magnified 
 to the vifion, when viewed through the medium of fear, fo is 
 every obje£t ameliorated to the vifion, when viewed through 
 the medium of veneration ! 
 
 SIR FRANCIS BOURGEOIS. 
 
 Sir Fb ancis Bourgeoi s, R. A. Knight of the Polar Star, 
 is a prefumed relative of Z.^ Charlatan des Tableaux, He fludied 
 under Mr. Loutherlourg^ at the fame period with the younger 
 Bannijler^ of Drury-lane Theatre ; and, like him, impels us to 
 laugh at a comical reprefentation of natural objedls. At the 
 recommendation of Mr. DeCalomie, the xix\ioxt.unz.lQ StaniJIaus^ of 
 Poland, made this ambitious artifl a Chevalier ; and 1 truft, 
 that the calamities of his being, will not be confidered as an 
 expiation of the inveflment. 
 
 In defining the qualifications of this painter, I ftiall deliver 
 my opinion briefly : viz, that he knows but little oi colouri72g \ 
 hwlWlilt o^ perfpe^i've -^ but little of the hu7na7i anatomy j and 
 lefs of efeH than either. 
 
 The mofl laboured performance I have fc^n, afcribed to his 
 pencil, was an Eruption of Moimt Fefwoius ; and in truth it was 
 a reprefentation io tei-rinr, as might frighten tlie demon him- 
 felf. Tlie Mountain at that period mult have been troubled 
 with a diforder in her bowels, brought on, perhaps, by fwal- 
 lowing a builder's inheritance, as fhe appeared to be convulfed 
 with agony, and fpitting forth nothing but tiles^ lime^ brickbats^ 
 and red oler. 
 
 What Sir Francis Bourgeois might do in Chiaro Ofcuro I do 
 not pretend to afcertain ; but as to his method of colouring, it 
 is difgullingly unappropriate ; be it element or animal, it ap- 
 pears to me of the fame treacly hue. I fufped that the proud 
 Knight believes himfelf not too much indebted to Nature, and by 
 the way of lefentment towards the lady, makes all her works 
 b 1. 
 
 It has ever been a principle with me, that there can be fewer 
 apologies offered for an indifferent Landikip Fainter, than any 
 other, who pratftices the reprefentation of what J fiiall denomi- 
 nate a^ivs life ; and the reafon is, that the objef^s rcprefcnfed 
 
 are
 
 ( H7 ) 
 
 are more determinable, more palpable, and lefs conDe<fled with 
 that beautiful airociation of ideas, which conflitutes, in the ill'ue, 
 the gran J gujro.— l^h\nkf if it were poffible for an inquifirive 
 Indian to ihidy landlkip painting, agreeably to the primeval 
 conlVitution of the mind, that he would difcover beauties, which 
 are to us impervious ; as our vilion is jaundiced by prefcription, 
 and our faculties chained by a fervile imitation of an example, 
 and not nature, 
 
 I have now committed Sir Francis and myfeif to a general 
 fcrutiny, and one of us muft be humbled in the ifTue : if he de- 
 fervea to be a Royal Academician, I deferve fliame. They call 
 me the Tyrant of the ydrts and the Drama ; but if it is tyranny 
 to bejuft, I fiiail defpife the opprobrium, and maintain my prin- 
 ciple. I difclaim every motive, but that of fupporting the dig- 
 nity of the l^olite Arts. J would be as impartial as Polyhius : — 
 but, when I behold a man (however amiable in private life), 
 ading as a public generalilUmo, who is not gifted to be a cen- 
 tinel, I will allert my right of reprobation, in defpite of the 
 threats of folly, and the alfaffin's dagger. 
 
 It appears to my imperfecl underilanding, that the purpofes 
 of a Royal Academician have been miferably mifunderitood. 
 When an artill becomes inverted with this diilindien, he fliould 
 acknowledge to have received it as a charge in truft, for the ge- 
 neral advantage of the Profellurs and profcllion, and not for the 
 immediate accomplifhment ot his own particular and narrow pur- 
 pofes. — It is probable that the cloudy period is near, when the 
 term Royal Acadc7nician^ like that ol DoHor; lliall be principally 
 aflum.ed by the ftupid, as a luminous paliport among the vulgar 
 —as a titular cap to hide the ears of the aiinine, 
 
 Notvvithifanding all the deprecation, terror, meannefs, and 
 mifreprefentation, which the publication of thefe ftridures have 
 occahoned,it has not been my view to be illiberal towards any ; 
 — I would admonidi, but not deftroy. Life is too (hort to admit 
 of our being perfe(5f in any ftage of our endeavours, much lefs 
 in the Polite Art s^ where the points of Itudy are fo numerous : 
 yet as without goading, the fluggifli would be nearly motionlefs, 
 the rod of reproof is occafionally necelTary, and mutually rcqui- 
 lite to the faivation of our fame. 
 
 How muH the Mufes mourn, to behold, in what is termed 
 the iuperior dalles of focicty, thefvvant of dilcernment and know- 
 ledge, or, more properly fpeaking, Taste, which is the fruit qX 
 both? Surely that hour will never be permitted to. arrive, 
 when the fancy habits of Prefum.ption fiiall be more necelTary 
 to our interells than iludy ; when all the gentler virtues attri- 
 butable to fufceptiblc and trembling merit, ihall be fwept from 
 ourprefencejand a fpurious, bloated, brazen race, rufli from their 
 dark dcns^ and ufurp their iituation : I am agonized to feel, that 
 
 the
 
 ( hs ) 
 
 the prefent flate oi patronage very nearly jufiifies fuch a difpi* 
 riting alarm. 
 
 On a contemplation of the prefent ftate of fociety, as relative 
 to general encouragement, the mightieft evil to be regretted is, 
 that the Vulgar, who have no knowledge of propriety, (hoiild, 
 from their numbers, their riches, and confeqaently their jDower, 
 have the national patronage within their dominion ; and yet thefe 
 bipedal reptiles muil be uniformly foothed and folicited, under 
 fach a forcible delignation, as 
 
 THE PUBLIC. 
 
 The community of England has been moll aptly charatflerifcd 
 imderthe appellation of John Bull, as a more ftupid Beast 
 was never led to the reeking altars of Folly : — its infion is not 
 gratified hy beautiful oh] e^Sy nor its intelleSls hy the arguments ofivif-' 
 dom ; — it 'ii'cpps for the brevity of life, yet egregioujiy labours to kill 
 time ; — its theory is a tiffue ofillujjbn, and its pratTice a pofitive error ; 
 "—it lifiens to be fatter ed^ and not ii formed, and is mo ft happy when 
 »iof decei'Ved; — it prejjes fuch a polemic blockhead as Gibby 
 Wakef I BLD to its hearths core, while it urines upon the ethics of the 
 moral world \ — it impioufy annexes to kings the infallibility of Gods^ 
 a-id attaches to its God the propenfties of a butcher^ whofe pri?nary 
 tnjoyment is a confagration from his own puppets ^—^it arrogant h 
 babbles of its meafurelefs credit, 'while Europe is dragging the blatant 
 leaf to the ordeal of i?ifol'vency ; — // treats Philofophy as a ?nonfier, 
 hecaufe it cannot comprehend truth ; and hugs every impnfier that will 
 tickle its favage attributes; — it achiowledges but two ^igusfor aHioTi 
 or pafjion, the Goat at its meridian, and the Crab in its dotage ;— 
 its prejudices are antecedent to its defires, and both are inimical to fim- 
 pUcity i~-^it hails Plutus as a deity more propitious than Jove, yet treats 
 Phcebus as a vagabond ; and while the Beafi is enlightened by his glo* 
 rious beams, it winks at the illumination, and calls //Pain! — // 
 regards a?i exotic paragon with fcorn, and bullies Science as a harlot ; 
 — -zV will gambol unawed around the crater of a volcano, yet affecl an 
 apprchcnjion from the prophecy of a madman ; — its loyalty refolves 
 into non-refiftance, and its gallantry into luft ; — it rewards what 
 it Jhould punifh, and punijhes what it ffjould reward ; — it fuffers a 
 *vile priefhood to rob it of all temporal comfort, that it may eftablifh 
 a claim for reimburfemetit on eternity ; — its faith fubdues its thought ;' 
 and its dread of what is not, the enjoymoit of what is ; — it argues^ 
 to deride t and aBs to be defpifed \ — it eagerly refigns its richeji 
 •meadows for Guilt, and Prefumption, and Canity, to fatten ; but 
 imthholds fuj}e7iancc from niodeft worth and heaven-born Genius /— 
 IVe have read of the Golden Age, the Iron Age, and fome have 
 improperly denominated this the Age of Reafon ; but I will venturt 
 to afirm it is the Age of Lead /« which we confent to breathe, 
 
 END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 :? s s s 13
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 Los Angeles 
 
 This book is DUE on .he last date stamped below. 
 
 M/ BlIL S 8 1983 
 
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 MNl 2 1990 
 
 
 
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 i NOV 121990 
 
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