NOTE I. VERSE 77.

One of the moſt elegant writers of the preſent age has made an ingenious effort to introduce Hiſtory into the dull province of Portrait-painting, ‘"by [54] repreſenting a whole family in a ſingle picture, un⯑der ſome intereſting hiſtorical ſubject ſuitable to their rank and character."’ See Fitzoſborne's Let⯑ters, p. 6. But as the beauties and advantages of this plan ſtruck forcibly on the imagination of this amiable Author, the infinite difficulties attend⯑ing its execution were likewiſe fully open to his diſcernment. The ſucceſs muſt depend on the choice of ſubject: where that is not very happily adapted, the picture will probably contain ſome moſt ridiculous abſurdities—Perhaps the Reader may recollect an unfortunate inſtance or two of this kind.

NOTE II. VERSE 100.

Pliny furniſhes us with this ſingular anecdote, as an in⯑ſtance of the extravagant abuſe of Portrait-paint⯑ing in his days, which, as he informs us, had ar⯑rived to a degree of madneſs. ‘"Nero had ordered himſelf to be painted under the figure of a Coloſ⯑ſus, upon cloth or canvaſs, a hundred and twenty feet in height."’ The ſame author informs us, that this prepoſterous picture, when it was finiſhed, met with its fate from lightning, which conſumed it, and involved likewiſe the moſt beautiful part of the gardens where it was placed in the conflagra⯑tion. The reader may find ſome ingenious remarks upon this ſubject, in the Notes ſur l'Hiſtoire de la [55] Peinture Ancienne, extraite de l'Hiſtoire Naturelle de Pline. Fol. London, 1725.

NOTE III. VERSE 108.

The ſweet illuſion of this enchanting art is prettily expreſſed in a Letter of Raphael's to his friend Franceſco, Raifolini, a Bologneſe painter. The two artiſts had agreed to exchange their own por⯑traits, and Raphael, on receiving his friend's pic⯑ture, addreſſes him in the following words:

‘"Meſſer Franceſco mio caro ricevo in queſto punto il voſtro ritratto—egli è belliſſimo, e tanto vivo, che m' inganno talora, credendomi di eſſere con eſſo voi, e ſentire le voſtre parole."’ Raccolta di Lettere ſulla Pittura, &c. Tom. i. pag. 82.

The charm of Portrait-painting is ſtill more beautifully deſcribed in verſe by a friend of Ra⯑phael's, the amiable and accompliſhed Count Bal⯑thaſor Caſtiglione.

Theſe elegant lines are part of an epiſtle, written in the name of his Counteſs, Hyppolyte, to her huſband. See Pope's edition of the Poemata Ita⯑lorum, Vol. ii. page 248.

NOTE IV. VERSE 126.

Pliny has tranſmitted to us the Hiſtory of the Maid of Corinth and her father. ‘"Dibutades, a potter of Sicyon, firſt formed likeneſſes in clay at Corinth, but was indebted to his daughter for the invention; the girl being in love with a young man who was ſoon going from her into ſome remote country, traced out the lines of his face from his ſhadow upon the wall by candle-light. Her father, filling up the lines with clay, formed a buſt, and hardened it in the fire with the reſt of his earthen ware."’ Plin. Lib. 35.

Athenagoras, the Athenian philoſopher, gives a ſimilar account of this curious and entertaining anecdote, adding the circumſtance that the youth was ſleeping when the likeneſs was taken from his ſhadow. ‘ [...].’

The ſame writer, who lived in the ſecond cen⯑tury [57] of the Chriſtian aera, informs us that this mo⯑nument of ancient art was extant at Corinth in his time, though Pliny ſeems to intimate that it did not ſurvive the taking of that city by Mummius.

In the Poeſies de Fontenelle there is an epiſtle from the Maid of Corinth, whom the author calls Dibutadis, to her imaginary lover Polemon. She deſcribes her own work in the following ſtanzas:

NOTE V. VERSE 194.

Panaeus was the brother of Phidias, the celebrated Sculptor, whom he is ſaid to have aſſiſted in his nobleſt works. Pauſanias, in his Fifth Book, gives an account of ſeveral pictures by this early Artiſt, and particularly of the picture here alluded to. It was painted in the celebrated portico called [...], Poecile.

Beſides a general repreſentation of the conflict, the flight of the barbarians, and a diſtant view of their ſhips, Theſeus, Minerva, and Hercules were, according to this author, exhibited in the piece. The moſt conſpicuous figures among the perſons engaged were Callimachus, and Miltiades, and a hero called Echetlus: he mentions alſo another hero, who is introduced into the picture, called Ma⯑rathon, from whom, he ſays, the field had its name.Pauſanias, fol. Lip. 1696. p. 37.

From Pliny's account of the ſame picture we learn that the heads of the generals were portraits—‘adeo jam colorum uſus percrebuerat, adeoque ars perfecta erat ut in eo Praelio ICONICOS duces pinxiſſe tradatur.’ —Plin. lib. xxxv. c. 8.

Miltiades had the honour of being placed foremoſt in this illuſtrious group, as a reward for his having ſaved Athens, and all Greece. Cor. Nep. in Vitâ Miltiadis.

[59] Panaeus flouriſhed, according to Pliny, in the 83d Olympiad, little more than forty years after the battle he painted.

NOTE VI. VERSE 198.

Of the talents of Polygnotus much honourable mention is made by many of the beſt authors of antiquity, as Ariſtotle and Plutarch, Dionyſius Halicarnaſ⯑ſenſis, &c. Pauſanias ſpeaks of the pictures here alluded to, and in his Tenth Book introduces a very long deſcription of other pictures by the ſame artiſt, painted alſo from Homer, in the Temple at Delphos. The paſſage however gives but a confuſed and imperfect idea of the painter's per⯑formance. How much the art is indebted to this ancient maſter, what grace and ſoftneſs he gave to the human countenance, what embelliſh⯑ments he added to the female figure and dreſs, are much more happily deſcribed by Pliny:—‘Primus Mulieres lucidâ veſte pinxit, capita earum mitris verſicoloribus operuit, plurimumque picturae primus contulit: ſiquidem inſtituit os adaperire, dentes oſtendere, vultum ab antiquo rigore variare.’—The ſame author likewiſe bears honourable teſtimony to the liberal ſpirit of this great artiſt, who refuſed any reward for his ingenious labours in the porti⯑co:—‘Porticum gratuito, cum partem ejus Mycon mercede pingeret.’ Plin. Lib. xxxv. cap. 8.

He flouriſhed about the 90th Olympiad.

NOTE VII. VERSE 202.

The city of Thebes had the honour of giving birth to this celebrated Artiſt. He was the firſt, according to Pliny, who expreſſed Character and Paſſion, the Human Mind, and its ſeveral emotions; but he was not remarkable for ſoftneſs of colouring. ‘"His moſt celebrated picture was of an infant (on the taking of a town) at the mother's breaſt, who is wounded and expiring. The ſenſations of the mother were clearly marked, and her fear leaſt the child, upon failure of the milk, ſhould ſuck her blood."’ ‘"Alexander the Great,"’ continues the ſame author, ‘"took this picture with him to Pella."’

It his highly probable, according to the con⯑jecture of Junius, (in his learned Treatiſe de Pic⯑turâ Veterum̄) that the following beautiful epigram of Aemilianus was written on this exquiſite pic⯑ture:

It is not ill tranſlated into Latin by Grotius:

[61] But this is far inferior, and ſo perhaps is the original itſelf, to the very elegant Engliſh verſion of it, which Mr. Webb has given us in his ingenious and animated "Inquiry into the Beauties of Paint⯑ing."

NOTE VIII. VERSE 206.

The name of Parrhaſius is immortalized by many of the moſt celebrated ancient authors; and his peculiar talents are thus recorded in Pliny: ‘Primus ſym⯑metriam picturae dedit, primus argutias vultus, elegantiam capilli, venuſtatem oris: confeſſione artificum in lineis extremis palmam adeptus.’—He is one of the four ancient painters, whoſe lives are written by Carlo Dati.—This ingenious Italian very juſtly queſtions the truth of the ſingular ſtory concerning Parrhaſius, preſerved in Seneca, where he is accuſed of purchaſing an old Olynthian cap⯑tive, and expoſing him to a moſt wretched death, that he might paint from his agony the tortures of Prometheus. The ſame author contradicts on this occaſion a ſimilar falſehood concerning the great Michael Angelo, which was firſt circulated [62] from the pulpit by an ignorant prieſt, as we learn from Gori's Hiſtorical Annotations to the Life of M. Angelo, by his ſcholar Condivi.

NOTE IX. VERSE 210.

The Helen of Zeuxis is become almoſt proverbial: the ſtory of the Artiſt's having executed the picture from an aſſemblage of the moſt beautiful females is mentioned (though with ſome variation as to the place) by authors of great credit, Pliny, Diony⯑ſius of Halicarnaſſus, and Cicero. The laſt gives a very long and circumſtantial account of it. De Inventione, Lib. 2.

If the ſtory is true, it is perhaps one of the ſtrong⯑eſt examples we can find of that enthuſiaſtic paſſion for the fine arts which animated the ancients. Notwithſtanding her praeeminence in beauty, it ſeems ſomewhat ſingular that the painter ſhould have choſen ſuch a character as Helen, as a proper decoration for the Temple of Juno. A moſt cele⯑brated Spaniſh Poet, though not in other reſpects famous for his judgment, has, I think, not injudi⯑ciouſly metamorphoſed this Helen of Zeuxis into Juno herſelf:

[63] Junius ſuppoſes this picture to have been rated a little too high.

NOTE X. VERSE 216.

Grace is the well-known excellence of Apelles, but that he ſometimes very happily attempted the ſublime, we learn both from Plutarch and Pliny, who ſpeak of his force and energy—The Alexander of Philip, ſays Plutarch, was invincible, the Alexander of Apelles inimitable.

He painted, ſays Pliny, things that ſurpaſs the power of painting, quae pingi non poſſunt, Toni⯑trua, fulgura fulgetraque—

NOTE XI. VERSE 228.

That the Romans attained to no degree of excellence in Painting or Sculpture, ſeems to be confeſt, and accounted for in the following paſſage of Tully's Tuſculan Diſputations, Lib. i.

‘An cenſemus, ſi Fabio, nobiliſſimo homini, laudi datum eſſet quod pingeret, non multos etiam apud nos futuros Polycletos, et Parrhaſios fuiſſe? honos alit artes, omneſque incenduntur ad Studia Gloriâ, jacentque ea ſemper quae apud quoſque impro⯑bantur.’

[64] The fine arts neceſſarily languiſh without pub⯑lic protection or encouragement: but public ho⯑nours at Rome flowed in a very different channel. While the Roman boaſted his conſummate ſkill in every art of empire and government, he avowed, in many works of genius and taſte, his inferiority with an air of triumph.

NOTE XII. VERSE 244.

Lio⯑nardo da Vinci was born near Florence in 1445. He was perhaps a man as univerſally accompliſhed as ever exiſted. Not only admirable beyond his predeceſſors in his own profeſſion of Painting, but an excellent Architect and Muſician, and of great ſkill as an Anatomiſt. Beſides all theſe talents, he was, according to Vaſari, the beſt extempore rimer of his time.—His Hiſtory and Works are well known.—The ſingular circumſtance of his dying in the arms of Francis the Firſt, king of France, is mentioned by a French poet of the preſent age,

And the particulars of his death are thus curiouſly recorded by Vaſari, who ſpeaks in raptures of his various and exalted talents:

‘Finalmente venuto vecchio, ſtette molti meſi ammalato, et vedendoſi vicino alla morte, ſi volſe diligentemente informare de le coſe catoliche, & della via buona, et ſanta religione chriſtiana, et poi con molti pianti confeſſo e contrito, ſe bene e' non poteva reggerſi in piedi, ſoſte nendoſi nelle braccie di ſuoi amici, e ſervi, volſe divotamente pigliare il ſantiſſimo ſacramento, fuor del letto: ſopragiunſeli il Rè che ſpeſſo e amerevolmente le ſoleva viſitare: per il che egli per riverenza rizzatoſi a ſedere ſul letto, contando il mal ſuo & gli accidenti di quello moſtrava tuttavia quanto aveva offeſo dio, et gli huomini del mendo, non avendo operato nel arte come ſi conveniva: onde gli venne un paroſiſmo meſſagiero della morte. Per la qual coſa rizzatoſi il Rè, et preſola la teſta per aiutarlo, & porgerli Favore, accio che il male lo allegeriſſe; lo ſpirito ſuo, che diviniſſimo era, conoſcendo non potere ha⯑vere maggiore honore, ſpirò in braccio à quell rè nella etá ſua d' anni 75.’ Vaſari Vita di Lionardo da Vinci, p. 10, 11.

NOTE XIII. VERSE 251.

Michael Angelo Buonaroti was born near Florence 1474, and died at Rome 1564.

This illuſtrious man is too well known, both as an Architect and a Painter, to need any encomium: he was alſo a Poet. His Rime were printed by the Giunto at Florence, in quarto, in 1623. The fol⯑lowing Sonnet, which is to be found in Vaſari, to whom it is addreſſed, is at once a proof of his poe⯑tical talents, and his religious turn of mind: it may ſerve alſo as a leſſon to vanity, in ſhewing that even a genius of the ſublimeſt claſs entertained great apprehenſion concerning the mortality of his fame.

[67] A letter, addreſſed to his friend Vaſari, on the death of Urbino, his old and faithful ſervant, ſhews, that he united the ſoft virtues of a moſt benevolent heart to the ſublime talents of an elevated mind.—This letter is printed both in Vaſari, and in the firſt volume of Raccolta de Lettere ſulla Pittura, &c. p. 6.

NOTE XIV. VERSE 254.

Raffaello da Urbino was born in 1483, and died 1520. His amiable qualities as a Man were not inferior to his exalted talents as an Artiſt. The reader will not be diſpleaſed to ſee the ſingular eulogium which the honeſt Vaſari has beſtowed on the engaging manners of this moſt celebrated Genius.

‘Certo fra le ſue doti ſingulari ne ſcorgo una di tal valore che in me ſteſſo ſtupiſco; che il cielo gli diede forza di poter moſtrare nell' arte noſtra uno effetto ſi contrario alle compleſſioni di noi pit⯑tori: queſto è che naturalmente gli artefici noſtri, non dico ſoli i baſſi, ma quelli che hanno umore d' eſſer grandi (come di queſto umore l'arte ne pro⯑duce infiniti) lavorando nell' opere in compagnia di Raffaello, ſtavano uniti e di concordia tale che tutti i mali umori in veder lui s'amorzavano: e ogni vile e baſſo penſiero cadeva loro di mente. La quale unione mai non fu piu in altro tempo che nel [68] ſuo. E queſto aveniva perche reſtavano vinti dalla corteſia e dall' arte ſua, ma più dal genio della ſua buona natura.’ Vaſari Vita di Raff. p. 88.

To atone for the imperfect ſketch which has been here attempted of theſe divine artiſts, (Michael Angelo and Raphael) the author intended to have preſented the reader with a long quotation from a moſt animated diſcourſe of the Preſident of the Royal Academy, in which he has placed theſe great maſſers in a light of compariſon with each other. But as the diſcourſes of Sir Joſhua Rey⯑nolds are no longer ſcarce (a new edition being now publiſhed) he ſhall refer the reader to the Work itſelf. He will find this moſt happy and in⯑gemous parallel in the diſcourſe delivered at the Royal Academy, December 10, 1772.

NOTE XV. VERSE 260.

Julio Romano was born at Rome 1492, and died at Mantua 1546.

His ſingular character is forcibly drawn by Va⯑ſari. He was, according to this writer, the moſt ſucceſsful imitator of Raphael, the greater part of whoſe ſcholars became eminent, and were almoſt infinite in number. Raphael was particularly at⯑tentive to Julio, and loved him with the affection of a parent. Vaſari Vita di Giulio.

NOTE XVI. VERSE 268.

We find frequent cenſures thrown upon Titian by the critics, for confining himſelf ‘"to flattering the eye by the richneſs and truth of his colouring, without a proper attention to the higher branch of his art, that of intereſting our feeling by affecting ſubjects;"’ the criticiſm is indeed extended to the Painters of the Lombard School in general. Du Bos, Tom. I. Sect. 10.

Why Titian choſe not to follow the finiſhed me⯑thod of his excellent cotemporaries, he declared to Franceſco de Vargas, the embaſſador of Charles the Vth at Venice.

‘"I fear, (replied this eminent Painter to the queſtion of Vargas) I ſhould never equal the extreme delicacy which diſtinguiſhes the pencils of Cor⯑regio, Parmegiano, and Raphael: and even though I ſhould be ſucceſsful enough to equal them, I ſhould always rank below them, becauſe I ſhould be only accounted their imitator. In a word, am⯑bition, which always attends the fine arts, has in⯑duced me to chooſe a way entirely new, in which I might make myſelf famed for ſomething, as the great Maſters have done in the route they have fol⯑lowed."’ Antoine Perez, dans la ſoixante-unieme de ſes Secondes Lettres.

This great Artiſt enjoyed a long life of uninter⯑rupted [70] health, and died during the plague at Venice in 1576, at the uncommon age of ninety-nine.

NOTE XVII. VERSE 282.

Antonio da Corregio.—Very different accounts are given by different authors of the birth and fortunes of this exquiſite Painter. His capital pictures were exe⯑cuted about the year 1512, according to Vaſari; who relates, in a very affecting manner, the cir⯑cumſtances of his poverty and death.

Having taken a journey on foot, in extremely hot weather, he imprudently drank cold water, which brought on a fever, of which he died at about the age of forty.

His colouring was moſt exquiſitely adapted to the delicate ſoftneſs of female beauty. To form a per⯑fect picture of Adam and Eve (ſays an Italian wri⯑ter on Painting) Adam ſhould be deſigned by Michael Angelo, and coloured by Titain; Eve de⯑ſigned by Raphael, and coloured by Corregio.—

The ill fortune of Corregio, and the groſs neg⯑lect of Art, in the very city which he had adorned with the moſt exquiſite productions of his pencil, are expreſſed with great feeling in a letter of Anni⯑bal Carracci, written while he was ſtudying the works of Corregio, at Parma, to his couſin Lodo⯑vico, in 1580.—Vide Raccolta de Lettere, &c. Tom. I. p. 88.

NOTE XVIII. VERSE 284.

Fran⯑ceſco Mazzuoli was born at Parma in 1504, and is thence uſually called Parmegiano. His charac⯑ter is thus diſtinctly marked by Vaſari:

‘"Fu dal cielo largamente dodato di tutte quelle parti, che a un excellente pittore ſono richieſte, poi che diede alle ſue figure, oltre quello, che ſi è detto di molti altri, una certa venuſta, dolcezza, e leggiadria nell attitudini, che fu ſua propria e par⯑ticolare."’—The ſame author gives us a particular deſcription of the ſingular and admirable portrait, which this delicate artiſt drew of himſelf refiected from a convex mirror: he relates alſo ſome curious circumſtances of his allegorical portrait of the em⯑peror Charles the Vth, which he painted by memory, and by the recommendation of Pope Clement the VIIth, preſented to the emperor at Bologna.—The honeſt biographer laments, with great feeling, the errors and misfortunes of this moſt promiſing painter, who being ſeized, early in life, with the frenzy of turning alchemiſt, impaired his health and fortune by this fatal purſuit; his attachment to which however ſome authors have queſtioned: a delirious fever put a period to his melancholy days at the age of thirty-ſix, in his native city of Parma, 1540.

NOTE XIX. VERSE 290.

Lo⯑dovico [72] Caracci, who with his couſins Annibal and Auguſtin eſtabliſhed the famous Academy of Bo⯑logna, was born in that city 1555. The circum⯑ſtance that occaſioned his death, as related by a French author, affords a ſingular proof how dan⯑gerous it is for an Artiſt to confide in the partial judgment of his particular friends.

‘Son dernier ouvrage, qui eſt une Annonciation peinte à freſque, dans une des lunettes de la Ca⯑thedrale de Bologne, ne reuſſit pas; ſon age, une vuê affoiblie, & la grande elevation de l'Egliſe, furent cauſe qu'il ſe confia à un ami pour voir d'en bas l'effet de l'ouvrage. Cet ami lui dit qu'il etoit bien, & qu'il pouvoit faire ôter les Echaufauds: il fut trompé; on critiqua fort cette peinture: Louis s'en chagrina de maniere qu'il ſe mit au lit, et Bologne perdit ce grand Homme en 1619.’ —Abrégé de la Vie des plus fameux Peintres. Paris, 8vo. 1762. Tom. II. p. 50.

Auguſtin, who quitted the pencil for the engraver, and is much celebrated for his various accompliſh⯑ments, died at Parma in 1602.—Annibal, the im⯑mortal Painter of the Farneſe gallery, whom Pouffin did not heſitate to rank with Raphael him⯑ſelf, died in a ſtate of diſtraction at Rome, 1609. This melancholy event is deſcribed in a very af⯑fecting letter written by an Italian prelate, who at⯑tended him in his laſt moments. Raccolta, Tom. II. p. 384.

NOTE XX. VERSE 295.

Dome⯑nico Zampieri, born at Bologna 1518, died at Naples, not without ſuſpicion of poiſon, 1640.—He entered early in life into the ſchool of the Caracci, and was there honoured with the affec⯑tionate appellation of Domenichino, from his ex⯑treme youth.—His Communion of St. Jerome was compared by the judicious Pouſſin to the Transfi⯑guration of Raphael: yet Du Freſnoy has paſſed a ſevere cenſure on Domenichino, and affirms that he has leſs nobleneſs in his works than any other artiſt who ſtudied in the ſchool of the Caracci. So contradictory are the opinions of the two moſt enlightened judges in this delicate art!

NOTE XXI. VERSE 297.

Gio⯑vanni Lanfranco, born at Parma 1581, was knight⯑ed by Pope Urban the VIIIth, and died at Rome 1647.

NOTE XXII. VERSE 299.

Guido Reni was born in Bologna 1595: exquiſite in grace, though deficient in expreſſion, he was held during his life in the higheſt eſtimation. A fatal paſſion for gaming involved him in continued ſcenes of diſtreſs. His perſonal beauty was ſo great, that [74] his maſter Lodovico Caracci is ſaid to have drawn his angels from the head of Guido.

NOTE XXIII. VERSE 305.

Titian is ſaid to have reſided in Spain from the year 1548 to 1553, and ſeems to have raiſed a ſtrong paſſion for Art in that country.—His moſt eminent diſciple was Juan Fernandez Ximenes de Navarrete, who is called by his Spaniſh Biographer, The Titian of Spain.—Though born deaf and dumb, from whence he derives his common title el Mudo, he roſe to great reputation as a Painter; and was warmly patronized by his Sovereign, as appears from the following incident—In painting the martyrdom of a Saint, he had introduced the figure of his perſonal enemy, who happened to be the King's Secretary, in the character of the Executioner: the Secretary complained to his maſter, and petitioned that his features might be effaced; but his Majeſty defended the Painter, and ordered the figure to remain.—In praiſing this ſingular genius, I have ventured to borrow ſomething like a conceit from the famous Spaniſh Poet Lope de Vega, who has celebrated his talents in the following verſes:

The Poet alſo honoured this favourite Artiſt, who died in 1572, with an Epitaph, which turns on the ſame idea, and which the curious reader may find in the Work, from whence I have taken this ſhort ac⯑count of him. Vidas de los Pittores Eſpanoles, por Palamino Velaſco, Octavo, London 1744.

NOTE XXIV. VERSE 310.

Don Diego Velaſquez de Silva, the moſt accompliſhed of the Spaniſh Painters, was born at Seville, 1594, and clos'd his honourable and ſplendid life at Madrid in 1660.—His maſter was Pacheco, a Spaniard, who united the ſiſter arts of Painting and Poetry.—Velaſ⯑quez was patronized by the famous Olivarez, and had the honour of painting our Charles the Firſt, during his viſit at Madrid: perhaps he contributed not a lit⯑tle to form the taſte and paſſion for art, by which that Prince was ſo eminently diſtinguiſhed. The Spaniſh Painter roſe to great honours in his own country, and had, like Rubens, the ſingular fortune to unite the cha⯑racter of an Ambaſſador with that of an Artiſt, being ſent on an extraordinary commiſſion, in 1648, to Pope Innocent X.

One of his moſt ſtriking hiſtorical pictures, was the expulſion of the Moors from Spain; a noble, national ſubject, which he painted for Philip the Third, in com⯑petition [76] with three Artiſts of reputation, and obtained the preference.

But he is particularly celebrated for the ſpirit and energy of his Portraits; concerning which there are two ſingular ancedotes related by his Spaniſh Biogra⯑pher; and the following may poſſibly amuſe the reader:

In 1639, he executed a portrait of Don Adrian Pulido Pareja, Commander in chief of an armament appointed to New Spain; and pleaſed himſelf ſo well in the execution, that he affixed his name to the pic⯑ture; a circumſtance not uſual with him. He had painted with pencils of uncommon length, for the ſake of working at a greater diſtance, and with peculiar force; ſo that the picture (ſays my Spaniſh author) when near, is not to be diſtinguiſhed, and at a diſtance, is a miracle. As Velaſquez, after this portrait was fi⯑niſhed, was at work in the palace, the King, as uſual, went privately to his apartment to ſee him paint; when obſerving the figure of Pareja, and taking it for the real perſon, he exclaimed with ſurprize, ‘"What! are you ſtill here? have you not your diſpatches? and why are you not gone?"’ But ſoon perceiving his miſtake, he turn'd to Velaſquez (who modeſtly doubt⯑ed the reality of the deception) and ſaid, ‘"I proteſt to you it deceived me."’—For this ſtory, ſuch as it is, I am indebted to the author whom I have quoted in the preced ng Note. The celebrated Murillo, whoſe pictures are much better known in England than thoſe of his maſter, was a diſciple of Velaſquez.

NOTE XXV. VERSE 316.

Don Bartolome Eſtevan Murillo was born in the neighbour⯑hood [77] of Seville, in 1613. His firſt maſter was Juan de Caſtillo; but he ſoon ſettled in Madrid, under the pro⯑tection of Velaſquez, who contributed to his improve⯑ment in the moſt generous manner. The Spaniards boaſt that Murillo became a great Painter, without ever travelling out of Spain. He is ſaid to have refuſed the offer of an eſtabliſhment in England from Charles the Second, and to have pleaded his age as an excuſe for not quitting his own country; where he died, and was buried with great marks of honour, in 1685.

Thoſe who wiſh for more information on the Artiſts of Spain, may be amply gratified by the amuſing work which Mr. Cumberland has lately publiſhed on the Painters of that country:—they will find in it a very ſpirited account of the famous Mengs, who died in the ſervice of the Spaniſh court, at the age of fifty-one, in 1779.—If we could truſt to the praiſes beſtowed on this celebrated Artiſt, by his friend and biographer Azara, we might revere him as the reſtorer of perfect art; but the elegant writer of our country, who has ſurveyed his capital productions with an impartial eye, gives us to underſtand, that they all betray a great poverty of ge⯑nius. Indeed the perſonal hiſtory of Mengs may tend to confirm this idea. He was originally made a painter and a drudge, by the tyranny of a cruel father; and though he applied himſelf intenſely through life to the practice and theory of his art, he ſeems never to have attained that felicity of performance, which can per⯑haps belong only to thoſe, who devote themſelves to a favorite art in the happy ardour of unconſtrained af⯑fection. The profeſſional writings of Mengs will [78] amuſe, if not inſtruct, every lover of Art.—But read⯑ers of our country muſt feel ſome indignation at his inſolent and injurious cenſure on a great Artiſt, whoſe reputation is juſtly dear to every liberal Engliſhman.

NOTE XXVI. VERSE 323.

George Vaſari, to whom we are indebted for a moſt valuable hiſtory of Italian Painters, was born at Arezzo in Tuſcany, 1511.—Though the fame of the author ſeems to have eclipſed that of the artiſt, he roſe to con⯑ſiderable eminence as a painter, and has left us a par⯑ticular and entertaining account of himſelf and his pic⯑tures in the cloſe of his great work—it is introduced with an apology, in which he ſpeaks of his own talents, and extreme paſſion for his art, in the moſt modeſt and engaging manner.—His generous deſire of doing juſtice to the merit of others, is moſt happily rewarded in the following Elogy, by the great Thuanus:

‘"Ob excellentiam artis, quam hiſtoria accurate & eleganter ſcripta illuſtravit, Georgius Vaſarius meruit, ut inter viros ingenio & literis praeſtantes accenſere⯑tur. Is Aretii in Etruria natus, pictor & architectus noſtra aetate praeſtantiſſimus, diu magno Etruriae Duci Coſmo, omnium liberalium artium, inter quas pic⯑tura et architectura ut referrentur obtinuit, fautori ex⯑imio navavit; editis paſſim ingenii ſui ad ſtupendum omnium ſpectaculum monumentis, et tandem hoc anno climacterico ſuo v kalend. Quintil. vivis ex⯑emptus eſt; exinde ſicuti teſtamento caverat, Flo⯑rentia ubi deceſſit, Aretium in patriam tranſlatus; quo loco in principali ſecundum ſedem Epiſcopalem tem⯑plo [79] in ſacello ab ipſo juxta ſumptuoſo et admirando artificio exſtructo ſepultus.’ Thuanus ſub ann. 1574.

NOTE XXVII. VERSE 342.

The French author quoted above, under the article Caracci, not only ſpeaks with the greateſt warmth of the obli⯑gation which Painting owes to Lodovico Caracci, for having raiſed it from that ſtate of corruption, into which it had fallen in all the ſchools of Italy; but at the ſame time points out alſo the various manieriſts who had chiefly contributed to its debaſement.

The ſtyle introduced by Lodovico is recommended by that excellent judge Sir Joſhua Reynolds (See Diſcourſe 1769) as better ſuited to grave and digni⯑fied ſubjects than the richer brilliancy of Titian.

NOTE XXVIII. VERSE 345.

This expreſ⯑ſion is borrowed from the cloſe of that elegant ſen⯑tence of modern Latin, which the author of Fitzoſ⯑borne's Letters has ſo juſtly commended, ‘"Aureo Titiani radio, qui per totam tabulam gliſcens eam verè ſuam denunciat."’ See his excellent letter on Me⯑taphors, p. 50.

NOTE XXIX. VERSE 353.

Rembrant Van Pryn, born near Leyden 1606, died at Amſterdam 1674, or, according to ſome ac⯑counts, [80] 1668. The numerous works of this great maſ⯑ter, both with the engraver and pencil, have rendered him univerſally known. His ſingular ſtudies, and the pride which he ſeems to have taken in the natural force of his genius, appear ſtrongly marked in the two following paſſages of his French Biographer:

‘"Les murs de ſon attelier couverts de vieux habits, de piques, et d'armures extraordinaires, etoient toutes ſes etudes, ainſi qu'une armoire pleine d'etoffes an⯑ciennes, & d'autres choſes pareilles, qu'il avoit cou⯑tume d'appeller ſes antiques.—Rembrant, qui ſe glo⯑rifioit de n'avoir jamais vu l'Italic, le dit un jour que Vandick l'etoit venu viſiter à Amſterdam: & qui lui repondit, "Je le vois bien." Rembrant naturellement bruſque reprit: "Qui es tu pour me parler de la ſorte?"—Vandick repondit; "Monſieur, je ſuis Vandick, pour vous ſervir"’ —Abrégé de la Vie des plus fameux Peintres, Tom. III. p. 113.

NOTE XXX. VERSE 356.

There is no article of taſte, on which different writers have run more warmly into the oppoſite extremes of admiration and contempt, than in eſtimating the Painters of Holland. Thoſe who are enchant⯑ed by the ſublime conceptions of the Roman ſchool, are too apt precipitately to condemn every effort of the Dutch pencil as a contemptible per⯑formance; while thoſe, who are ſatisfied with mi⯑nute and faithful delineations of nature, find ab⯑ſolute perfection in the very pictures, which are [81] treated by others with the moſt ſupercilious neglect.—But ſound and impartial judgment ſeems equally to diſclaim this haſty cenſure, and this inordinate praiſe;—and ranking the moſt eminent Dutch artiſts below the great Italian maſters, yet allows them conſiderable and peculiar merit.—A French author ſays, I think not unhappily, of the Dutch painters, that they are ‘"dans la peinture, ce que le comique & le plaiſant ſonte dans la poeſie."’ In deſign their forte is certainly humour, and they have frequently carried it to great perfection.

NOTE XXXI. VERSE 380.

Sir Peter Paul Rubens, who is happily ſtyled by Mr. Walpole, ‘"The Popular Painter,"’ was born at Cologne 1577, and died of the gout at Antwerp 1640. The hiſtory of his life furniſhes a moſt ſtriking incentive to the young painter's ambition.—The many accompliſhments which he poſſeſſed, the infinitude of works which he produced, the re⯑putation and eſteem, the various honours and am⯑ple fortune which he ſo juſtly acquired, preſent to the mind an animating idea of what may be ex⯑pected from a happy cultivation of talents in a courſe of conſtant and ſpirited application. Though he viſited the court of Charles the Firſt in the pub⯑lick character of an ambaſſador, it does not appear how long he reſided here;—Mr. Walpole conjec⯑tures about a year.—His pictures in the ceiling at [82] Whitehall were not painted in England; which perhaps is the reaſon he has been at the pains of finiſhing them ſo neatly, that they will bear the neareſt inſpection; for he muſt have well known how greatly the reputation of any work de⯑pends on its firſt happy impreſſion on the publick, and concluded his pictures would be viewed by the king and court inſtantly on their arrival, and that the critics would not be candid enough to delay their remarks on them till they were elevated to their intended height. This noble work was falling into decay, from which ſtate it has been lately reſ⯑cued by that excellent artiſt Mr. Cipriani, to whoſe care it has been moſt judiciouſly committed to be cleaned and repaired.—Rubens received for this work £.3000.

NOTE XXXII. VERSE 388.

Sir Anthony Vandyke, the celebrated ſcholar of Rubens, died of the ſame diſorder which proved fatal to his maſter, and at a much earlier period of life. He was born at Antwerp 1598, expired in Black Fryars 1641, and was buried in St. Paul's, near the tomb of John of Gaunt. On his firſt viſit to England he received no encouragement from the Court, but Charles, becoming ſoon afterwards ac⯑quainted with his merit, ſent him an invitation to return. Vandyke embraced the offer with joy; and the king, who ſhewed him, by frequent ſittings, [83] the moſt flattering marks of eſteem, conferred on him the honour of knighthood in 1632, rewarding him alſo with the grant of an annuity of £.200 for life.

NOTE XXXIII. VERSE 391.

The Low Countries, though little celebrated for inventive genius, have given to mankind the two ſignal diſcoveries, which have imparted, as it were, a new vital ſpirit both to Literature and to Paint⯑ing. This honour however has been brought into queſtion—Germany made a ſtrong, but unſucceſs⯑ful effort to rob Holland of the glory which ſhe derives from the firſt invention of Printing: and Painting in oil (it has been ſaid) was known in Italy before the time of John Van Eyck, or John of Bruges, as he is commonly called; to whom that diſcovery is generally aſcribed, about the year 1410.—But Vaſari, in his Life of Anto⯑nello da Meſſina, relates very particularly the cir⯑cumſtances of Van Eyck's invention, and the ſub⯑ſequent introduction of the ſecret into Italy. A moſt learned antiquarian and entertaining writer of our own time has ſuppoſed that Van Eyck might poſſibly ‘"learn the ſecret of uſing oil in England, and take the honour of the invention to himſelf, as we were then a country little known to the world of arts, nor at leiſure, from the confuſion of the times, to claim the diſcovery of ſuch a ſecret."’— [84]

—The conjecture is not without ſome little foundation;—but the conjectural claims which either Italy or England can produce to this excel⯑lent invention, are by no means ſufficiently ſtrong to annihilate the glory of the happy and ingenious Fleming.

Since the preceding part of this Note was written, the reputation both of Van Eyck, and his encomiaſt Vaſari, has been very forcibly attacked in an Eſſay on Oil-painting, by Mr. Raſpe; an Eſſay which diſ⯑covers ſuch a zealous attachment to the arts, and ſuch an active purſuit of knowledge, as do great credit to its ingenious author. But, though I have peruſed it with the attention it deſerves, it does not lead me to retract what I had ſaid; becauſe, after all his reſearches on this ſubject, it appears that although Oil-painting was not abſolutely the invention of Van Eyck, it was yet indebted to him for thoſe improvements which made it of real value to his profeſſion.—The ingenious Fleming ſeems there⯑ſore to be ſtill entitled to thoſe honours that have been laviſhed on his name, as improvement in ſuch caſes is often more uſeful and more meritorious than invention itſelf, which is frequently the effect of chance, while the former ariſes from well-directed ſtudy.

NOTE XXXIV. VERSE 395.

The [85] name of Medicis is familiar to every lover of the fine arts. John de Medicis, the Cardinal, was raiſed to the papal See 1513. He continued that liberal pa⯑tronage and encouragement to learning, which had before diſtinguiſhed his illuſtrious family. He was profuſe and magnificent. The various and cele⯑brated productions of taſte and genius under his pontificate, clearly mark the age of Leo the Xth as one of the great aeras of literature.

NOTE XXXV. VERSE 405.

Salva⯑tor Roſa was born at a village near Naples, in 1615. After a youth of poverty and adventure, he raiſed himſelf by his various and uncommon talents into lucrative reputation. Having paſſed nine years at Florence, in conſiderable employment, he ſettled in Rome, and died there at the age of 58, in 1673.—He was one of the few characters who have poſſeſ⯑ſed a large portion of pleaſant vivacity and ſatirical humour, with a ſublime imagination. His talents as a painter are univerſally celebrated; but his ſocial virtues, though perhaps not inferior, are far from being ſo generally known. In the "Rac⯑colta di Lettere ſulla Pittura" there are many of his letters to his intimate friend Ricciardi, an Ita⯑lian poet, and profeſſor of moral philoſophy at Piſa, which perfectly diſplay the warmth of his friend⯑ſhip, and the generoſity of his heart.—They con⯑tain [86] alſo ſome amuſing anecdotes relating to his pro⯑feſſion, and the great delight which he took in diſ⯑covering hiſtorical ſubjects of a peculiar caſt, un⯑touched by other painters, and appearing to an ig⯑norant eye almoſt beyond the limits of his art. He ſeems to deſcribe himſelf with juſtice, as well as energy, in the following words of a letter to Ricci⯑ardi, ‘"tutto bile, tutto, ſpirito, tutto fuoco."’—Though he muſt have been wonderfully pleaſant as a companion, and valuable as a friend, yet he la⯑ments that his ſatires had made him many enemies, and heartily wiſhes he had never produced them: In that which relates to Painting, he expoſes in⯑deed the vices of his brethren with great freedom and ſeverity.—It is remarkable that his poetry a⯑bounds more with learned alluſions than with high flights of imagination; yet in the ſatire I have men⯑tioned, there is much whimſical fancy. An ape is introduced applying to a painter, and begging to learn his profeſſion, as Nature he ſays has given him a genius for the mimetic arts.—The painter complies—but his diſciple, after an apprenticeſhip of ten years, bids his maſter adieu, with many humo⯑rous execrations againſt the art of Painting.—Other parts of the poem contain many ſenſible and ſerious remarks on the abuſes of the pencil; and as the au⯑thor has given us a portrait of himſelf in his poeti⯑cal character, I ſhall preſent it to the reader as a ſpe⯑cimen of his ſtyle.

NOTE XXXVI. VERSE 427.

Ni⯑colas Pouſſin was born at Andely in Normandy 1594: one of his firſt patrons was the whimſical Italian poet Marino, who being ſtruck with ſome freſco works of the young painter at Paris, em⯑ployed him in ſome deſigns from his own poem l'Adone, and enabled him to undertake an expedi⯑tion to Rome. He was recalled from thence by Cardinal Richelieu in 1640, but upon the death of Richelieu and the king he returned to Rome, where he ended a life of primitive ſimplicity and patient application in 1665.

NOTE XXXVII. VERSE 435.

Charles Le Brun, univerſally known by his Battles of Alexander, and his Treatiſe on the Paſſions, was born in Paris 1619: having preſided over the French Academy, with great reputation, more than forty years, he died in 1690, partly, as the author of the Abrégé aſſures us, from the chagrin which he re⯑ceived from a cabal raiſed againſt him in favour of his rival Mignard: but neither his own works, nor the partial favour of his patron Louvois, nor the friendſhip of Moliere, who has written a long poem in his praiſe, have been able to raiſe Mignard to the level of Le Brun.

NOTE XXXVIII. VERSE 441.

Euſtache Le Sueur (who, without the advantage of ſtudying in Italy, approached nearer than any of his countrymen to the manner of Raphael) was a native of Paris. Le Brun, who came to viſit him in his laſt moments, is reported to have ſaid, on quitting his chamber, ‘"Que la mort alloit lui tirer une groſſe epine du pied."’ If he was capable of uttering ſuch a ſentiment, at ſuch a time, he tho⯑roughly deſerved the fate which is mentioned in the preceding Note.

NOTE XXXIX. VERSE 447.

Charles Alfonſe du Freſnoy, author of the celebrated Latin poem de Arte graphicâ, very haſtily tranſlated into Engliſh proſe by Dryden, was himſelf a painter of ſome eminence, and the intimate friend of Mig⯑nard. He died in a village near Paris, at the age of forty-four, in 1665.

NOTE XL. VERSE 15.

The vain and frivolous ſpeculations of ſome eminent French authors, concerning our national want of genius for the fine arts, are refuted with great ſpirit in an ingenious eſſay by Mr. Barry, en⯑titled, "An Enquiry into the real and imaginary Obſtructions to the Acquiſition of the Arts in Eng⯑land." As this work highly diſtinguiſhes the ele⯑gance of his pen, his Venus riſing from the ſea does equal honour to his pencil.

NOTE XLI. VERSE 33.

In this ſhort account of the influence which the different characters of our Sovereigns [91] have had on the progreſs of national Art, the Au⯑thor is indebted principally to Mr. Walpole's Anec⯑dotes of Painting.

NOTE XLII. VERSE 45.

An ac⯑compliſhed Critic of our own time has touched on the moral Efficacy of Picture, with his uſual elegance and erudition. After having illuſtrated the ſubject from the writings of Ariſtotle and Xenophon, he concludes his remarks with the following reflec⯑tion:—‘"Yet, conſidering its vaſt power in morals, one cannot enough lament the ill deſtiny of this di⯑vine art, which, from the chaſte handmaid of Vir⯑tue, hath been debauched, in violence of her na⯑ture, to a ſhameleſs proſtitute of Vice, and pro⯑cureſs of Pleaſure."’—Hurd's Note on the follow⯑ing line of Horace: ‘"Suſpendit picta vultum mentemque tabella."’

To this let me add one obſervation for the ho⯑nour of our Engliſh artiſts!—The proſtitution of the pencil, ſo juſtly lamented by this amiable wri⯑ter, is perhaps leſs frequent in this kingdom, than in any country whatever, in which Painting has been known to riſe to an equal degree of perfec⯑tion.

NOTE XLIII. VERSE 93.

Sir [92] Godfrey Kneller, born at Lubec 1646, ſettled in England 1674, was knighted by King William, created a Baronet by George the Firſt, and died 1723.—No Painter was ever more flattered by the Muſes; who gave him credit for talents which he never diſplayed. Dryden ſays, in his enchanting Epiſtle to Kneller:

But the drudgery of the Poet aroſe from the moſt cruel neceſſity; that of the Painter, from avarice, the bane of excellence in every profeſſion!—If Sir Godfrey had any talents for hiſtory, which is ſure⯑ly very doubtful, we have, as Mr. Walpole well obſerves, no reaſon to regret that he was confined to portraits, as his pencil has faithfully tranſmitted to us ‘"ſo many ornaments of an illuſtrious age."’

‘Though I have partly ſubſcribed to the general idea, that William, in whoſe reign this Painter prin⯑cipally flouriſhed, ‘"contributed nothing to the advancement of arts,"’ yet I muſt obſerve, that his employing Kneller to paint the Beauties at Hamp⯑ton Court, his rewarding him with knighthood, and the additional preſent of a gold medal and chain, weighing £.300, may juſtify thoſe lines of Pope, which deſcribe ‘"The Hero, William,"’ as an encourager of Painting.’

NOTE XLIV. VERSE 97.

John Riley was born in London 1646: Mr. Walpole relates an anecdote of his being much mortified by Charles the Second; who, looking at his own picture, exclaim'd, ‘"Is this like me? then, Ods-fiſh, I am an ugly fellow."’—The ſame au⯑thor ſays happily of this artiſt, ‘"With a quarter of Sir Godfrey's vanity, he might have perſuaded the world he was as great a maſter."’ Notwith⯑ſtanding his extreme modeſty, he had the good fortune to be appointed Principal Painter, ſoon after the Revolution, but died an early martyr to the gout 1691.

NOTE XLV. VERSE 101.

Sir James Thornhill, born in Dorſetſhire 1676, was nephew to the celebrated Sydenham, and educated by the liberality of that great phyſician. He after⯑wards acquired a very ample fortune by his own profeſſion; was in parliament for Weymouth, knighted by George the Second, and died 173 [...].—His talents as a Painter are univerſally known, from his principal works at Greenwich, St. Paul's, &c.

NOTE XLVI. VERSE 111.

About twenty years ago, the preſent Duke of Richmond opened, in his houſe at Whitehall, a gallery for artiſts, completely filled with a ſmall but well-choſen col⯑lection of caſts from the antique, and engaged two eminent artiſts to ſuperintend and direct the ſtu⯑dents.—This noble encouragement of art, though ſuperſeded by a royal eſtabliſhment, is ſtill entitled to remembrance and honour: it not only ſerved as a prelude to more extenſive inſtitutions, but con⯑tributed much towards forming ſome capital artiſts of the preſent time. The name of Mortimer is alone ſufficient to reflect a conſiderable luſtre on this early ſchool.

NOTE XLVII. VERSE 134.

Al⯑though the ſuperior excellencies of this admirable artiſt make us peculiarly regret the want of durabi⯑lity in his exquiſite productions; yet he is far from being the only artiſt, whoſe pictures ſoon diſcover an appearance of precipitate decay. Fugitive co⯑louring ſeems indeed to be the chief defect among our preſent painters in oil; and it muſt be the moſt ardent wiſh of every lover of art, that ſo great an evil may be effectually remedied. As the Royal Academy is a ſociety of enlightened artiſts, eſta⯑bliſhed [95] for the improvement of every branch of Painting, it may be hoped that they will pay atten⯑tion to this mechanical point, as well as to the no⯑bler acquirements of art, and employ ſome perſon, who has patience and abilities for ſuch an office, to diſcover, by a courſe of experiments, to what cauſe this important evil is owing. If it be found to ariſe from the adulteration of colours, oils, and varniſhes, might it not be eligible for the Academy to follow the example of another profeſſion, who, where health and life are concerned, obviate the difficulty of getting their articles genuine from the individual trader, by opening a ſhop at the expence of the So⯑ciety, to prepare and ſell the various ingredients, free from thoſe adulterations which private intereſt might otherwiſe produce?

But there may be no juſt ground of complaint againſt the integrity of the colourman, and this failure may perhaps ariſe from the artiſt's mixing his colours, and their vehicles, in improper propor⯑tions to each other; that is, inſtead of painting with oil properly thickened with colour, uſing oil only fully ſtained with it, to which a proper conſiſtence (or body, as the painters call it) is given by ſtrong gum varniſhes; in ſhort, uſing more vehicle than colour; by which, although moſt brilliant and tranſparent effects may be produced, yet the particles of colour are too much attenuated, and divided from each other, and conſequently leſs able to with⯑ſtand the deſtructive action of light. If the defici⯑ency [96] complained of originates from this ſource, the Academy, by a careful courſe of experiments, may be able clearly to aſcertain what preparations of the more delicate colours are moſt durable; what oils and varniſhes will beſt preſerve the original brilliancy of the paint; what are the beſt propor⯑tions for this purpoſe in which they can be uſed; and how far glazing (that almoſt irreſiſtible temptation to oil-painters) may or may not be depended on. All theſe points are at preſent ſo far from being known with certainty, that perhaps there are not two Painters, who think perfectly alike on any one of them. The author hopes, that the gentlemen of the pencil will pardon his preſuming to offer a hint on this delicate ſubject, with which he does not pretend to be intimately acquainted. The ideas, which he has thus ventured to addreſs to them, ariſe only from the moſt ardent wiſh, that future ages may have a juſt and adequate ſenſe of the flouriſhing ſtate of Painting in England in the reign of George the Third, and that our preſent ex⯑cellent artiſts may not be reduced to depend on the uncertain hand of the engraver for the eſteem of poſterity.

A very liberal Critic^*, in his flattering remarks on the Poem, ſeems, in ſpeaking of this Note, to miſtake a little the meaning of its author, who al⯑luded only to that defect in colouring, where the finer tints are ſo managed, for the ſake of an imme⯑diate [97] and ſhort-lived brilliancy, that they ſink very ſoon into no colour at all. He did not mean to touch on thoſe changes in Painting, where the colours all grow darker, the lights become brown, and the ſhadows one maſs of black. This is like⯑wiſe a great evil, and calls aloud for redreſs. Per⯑haps the Critic above mentioned has pointed out the true cauſe of this defect, viz. the indiſcriminate blending of the colours, and the not uſing pure, ſimple, uncompounded tints.

NOTE XLVIII. VERSE 138.

I embrace with pleaſure the opportunity of paying this tribute to the great artiſt here mentioned, who is not only at the head of his own profeſſion, but may juſtly be ranked among the firſt writers of the age. His Diſcourſes, not merely calculated for the improve⯑ment of the young artiſts to whom they are addreſ⯑ſed, contain all the principles of true and univerſal taſte, embelliſhed with great brilliancy of imagina⯑tion, and with equal force of expreſſion.

NOTE XLIX. VERSE 151.

As the ſubject of this admi⯑rable picture is taken from a poet ſo little known to the Engliſh reader as Dante, it may not perhaps be impertinent to ſay, that in Richardſon's Diſcourſe on the Science of a Connoiſſeur, there is a tranſla⯑tion [98] of the ſtory in Engliſh blank verſe. A young and noble author, now living, has obliged the world with a tranſlation of it in rhyme.—As to the picture, no artiſt could expreſs more happily the wild and ſublime ſpirit of the poet from whom he drew. We may juſtly apply to him the compliment which a lively Italian addreſſed to a great man of his own country, but of far inferior expreſſion:

NOTE L. VERSE 165.

While we are delighted with the increaſing ſplen⯑dor of theſe annual entertainments, it is but juſt to remember, that we are indebted to the Society of Arts and Sciences for our firſt public exhibition of Paintings. The different ſocieties of artiſts ſoon followed ſo excellent an example; and our rapid and various improvements in this lovely art reflect the higheſt honour on this happy inſtitution. Our exhibitions at once afford both the beſt nurſery for the protection of infant genius, and the nobleſt field for the diſplay of accompliſhed merit: nor do they only adminiſter to the benefit of the artiſt, and the pleaſure of the public: they have ſtill a more exalted tendency; and when national ſubjects are painted with dignity and force, our exhibitions may [99] juſtly be regarded as ſchools of public virtue. Per⯑haps the young ſoldier can never be more warmly animated to the ſervice of his country, than by gazing, with the delighted public, on a ſublime picture of the expiring hero, who died with glory in her defence. But, not to dwell on their power of inſpiring martial enthuſiaſm, our exhibitions may be ſaid to have a happy influence on the manners and morals of thoſe, who fill the different depart⯑ments of more tranquil life. In ſupport of this ſen⯑timent, I beg leave to tranſcribe the following judi⯑cious remark from an author, who has lately obliged the public with two little volumes of elegant and ſpirited Eſſays. ‘"They, whoſe natural feelings have been properly improved by culture, nor have yet become callous by attrition with the world, know from experience, how the heart is mollified, the manners poliſhed, and the temper ſweetened, by a well-directed ſtudy of the arts of imitation. The ſame ſenſibility of artificial excellence, extends it⯑ſelf to the perception of natural and moral beauty; and the ſtudent returns from the artiſt's gallery to his ſtation in ſociety, with a breaſt more diſpoſed to feel and to reverberate the endearments of ſocial life, and of reciprocal benevolence."’ —KNOX's Eſſays Moral and Literary, 1778, p. 264, on Sculp⯑ture.

NOTE LI. VERSE 255.

William Hogarth was born in London, 1698, and put apprentice to [100] an engraver of the moſt ordinary claſs; but his comic talents, which are ſaid to have appeared firſt in the prints to Hudibras, ſoon raiſed him to fame and fortune.—He married a daughter of Sir James Thornhill, and died 1764.—The peculiar merits of his pencil are unqueſtionable. His Analyſis of Beauty has been found more open to diſpute; but however the greater adepts in the ſcience may differ on its principles, it may certainly be called an honourable monument of his genius and appli⯑cation.

NOTE LII. VERSE 370.

Richardſon has fallen into a miſtake concerning the famous Danaë, and other pictures of Titian, which he ſays (in quoting a letter of Titian's without conſidering its addreſs) were painted for Henry the VIIIth of England; a tyrant, indeed, vo⯑luptuous and cruel, but ſtill leſs deteſtable than the ſullen and unnatural Philip the IId of Spain, who filled up the meaſure of his ſuperior guilt by the horrid aſſaſſination of his ſon. Philip, on his mar⯑riage with Mary, aſſumed the title of King of Eng⯑land; and to him Titian addreſſed the letter, which ſpeaks of the pictures in queſtion: the painter frequently mentions his attachment to his unworthy patron.

His ſolicitude to enſure his protection and favour, is ſtrongly marked in the following ſhort paſſage of [101] a letter which he addreſſed to one of Philip's at⯑tendants. ‘"Mando ora la poeſia di Venere e Adone, nella quale V. S. vedrà, quanto ſpirito e amore ſo mettere nell' opere di ſua Maeſtà."’ Raccolta, tom. ii. p. 21.

How poorly this great artiſt was rewarded for his ill-directed labour, appears very forcibly in a long letter of complaint, which he had ſpirit enough to addreſs to the king, on the many hardſhips he ſuffered in being unable to obtain the payment of the penſion which had been granted to him by the emperor Charles the Vth. Raccolta, tom. ii. p. 379.

NOTE LIII. VERSE 436.

The great encouragement given our painters to ſelect ſubjects from Engliſh hiſtory, has of late years been very obſervable. Many individuals of rank and for⯑tune have promoted this laudable plan with ſpirit and effect; and the Society of Arts and Sciences have confined their premiums to ſubjects taken from the Britiſh Annals.

NOTE LIV. VERSE 441.

The gallant, the amiable, and accompliſhed Sir Phi⯑lip Sidney may be juſtly placed on a level with the noble Bayard, ‘"Le Chevalier ſans peur & ſans re⯑proche;"’ [102] whoſe glory has of late received new luſtre from the pen of Robertſon and the pencil of Weſt. The ſtriking ſcene here alluded to, which preceded the death of Sidney, has not yet, I believe, ap⯑peared upon canvaſs, but is forcibly deſcribed by the noble and enthuſiaſtic friend of Sidney, the Lord Brooke.—See Biograph. Britan. Art. SIDNEY.

The particulars alſo are minutely deſcribed, and with great feeling, in a letter from his uncle Lei⯑ceſter to Sir Thomas Heneage, quoted in Collins's Memoirs of the Sidneys. The tide of national ad⯑miration flowed very ſtrong in favour of Sidney, when Mr. Walpole, in ſpeaking of Lord Brooke, appeared to check the current; but the merits of Sidney are ſufficient to bear down all oppoſition.—Inſtead of joining the elegant author I have men⯑tioned, in conſidering Sir Philip Sidney as ‘"an aſtoniſhing object of temporary admiration,"’ I am ſurpriſed that ſo judicious an author ſhould ever queſtion ſo fair a title to univerſal regard. The learning and munificence, the courage and courteſy, of Sidney endeared him to every rank; and he juſtly challenges the laſting affection of his country from the cloſing ſcene of his life, in which heroiſm and humanity are ſo beautifully blended. I never can think this accompliſhed character any ways de⯑graded by his having written a tedious romance (in which however there are many touches of exqui⯑ſite beauty and ſpirit) to amuſe a moſt amiable ſiſter, whom he tenderly loved; or by his having [103] threatened an unworthy ſervant of his father's with death in a haſty billet, merely to intimidate and de⯑ter him from the future commiſſion of an infamous breach of truſt, in opening his letters.

NOTE LV. VERSE 468.

Mar⯑garet, eldeſt daughter of the celebrated Sir Thomas More. The ſcene which I have propoſed for the ſubject of a picture, is taken from the following paſſage in Ballard:

‘"After Sir Thomas More was beheaded, ſhe took care for the burial of his body in the chapel of St. Peter's ad Vincula, within the precincts of the Tower; and afterwards ſhe procured his corpſe to be removed, and buried in the chancel of the church at Chelſea, as Sir Thomas More, in his life-time, had appointed. His head having remained about fourteen days upon London Bridge, and being to be caſt into the Thames to make room for others, ſhe bought it. For this ſhe was ſummoned before the council, as the ſame author relates, and be⯑haved with the greateſt firmneſs, juſtifying her conduct upon principles of humanity and filial piety. She was, however, impriſoned, but ſoon releaſed; and dying nine years after her father, at the age of thirty-ſix, was buried at St. Dunſtan's, in Canterbury. The head of her father, which ſhe had preſerved, with religious veneration, in a box of [104] lead, was, at her particular requeſt, committed with her to the grave. It was ſeen ſtanding on her coffin in the year 1715, when the vault of the Roper (her huſband's family) was opened."’ —See Ballard's Memoirs of Learned Ladies, p. 36.

The character of this amiable woman is happily drawn both by Addiſon and Walpole.—She mar⯑ried, at the age of twenty, William Roper, Eſquire, of Kent, to the infinite ſatisfaction of her father; for ſhe ſeems to have been the deareſt object of his parental affection, which is very ſtrongly marked in his letters addreſſed to her. She was indeed moſt eminently diſtinguiſhed by her learning, in an age when the graces of the mind were regarded as an eſſential article in female education: but the beauty and force of her filial piety reflects a ſtill ſuperior luſtre on this accompliſhed woman.—There is more than one paſſage in her life, which would fur⯑niſh an admirable ſubject for the pencil. Her in⯑terviw with her father, on his return to the Tower, is mentioned as ſuch by Mr. Walpole.

NOTE LVI. VERSE 523.

It is remarkable, that the greateſt painters have failed in this particular. Raphael, Guido, and Weſt, are all deficient in the figure of Satan. Richardſon obſerves, in his deſcription of the pictures of Italy,—‘"Je n'ai jamais vu d'aucun Maître une repre⯑ſentation [105] du Diable, prince des Diables, qui me ſatisfit."’ Page 500.

In recommending this ſubject to the pencil, it may be proper to obſerve, that it is not only ex⯑tremely difficult, but even attended with danger, if we credit the following curious anecdote, in a medi⯑cal writer of great reputation:—‘"Spinello, fameux Peintre Toſcan, ayant peint la chute des anges rebelles, donna des traits ſi terribles à Lucifer, qu'il en fut lui-meme ſaiſi d'horreur, & tout le reſte de ſa vie il crut voir continuellement ce Demon lui repro⯑cher de l'avoir repreſenté ſous une figure ſi hidieuſe.’ Tiſſot de la Santé des Gens de Lettres."

As this ſtory is ſo ſingular, it may amuſe ſome readers to ſee it in the words of Vaſari, from whom Tiſſot ſeems to have taken it.—The Italian Bio⯑grapher ſays, in deſcribing a picture by Spinello Aretino, who flouriſhed in the cloſe of the 14th century, ‘"Si vede un Lucifero gia mutato in beſtia bruttiſſima. E ſi compiacque tanto Spinello di farlo orribile, e contraffatto, che ſi dice (tanto puo alcuna fiata l'immaginazione) che la detta figura da lui dipinta gl'apparue in ſogno domandandolo, doue egli l'hauveſſe veduta ſi brutta e per che fattole tale ſcorno con i ſuoi pennelli: E che egli ſvegliatoſi dal ſonno, per la paura, non potendo gridare, con tremito grandiſſimo ſi ſcoſſe di maniera che la moglie deſtataſi lo ſoccorſe: ma niente di manco fu per cio a riſchio, ſtringendogli il cuore, di morirſi per cotale accidente, ſubitamente. Ben che ad ogni [106] modo ſpiritaticcio, e con occhi tondi, poco tempo vivendo poi ſi conduſſe alla morte laſciando di ſe gran deſiderio a gli amici."’ —Vaſari Vita di Spinello Aretino, pag. 218. Edit. di Giunti.