Appendix A.1.1 NOTE I. VERSE 77.

MAKE hiſtory to life new value lend.] One of the moſt elegant writers of the preſent age, has made an ingenious effort to intro⯑duce Hiſtory into the dull province of Portrait-painting, "by repre⯑ſenting a whole family in a ſingle picture, under ſome intereſting hiſ⯑torical ſubject ſuitable to their rank and character." See Fitzoſborne's Letters, p. 6. But as the beauties and advantages of this plan ſtruck forcibly on the imagination of this amiable Author, the infinite diffi⯑culties attending its execution were likewiſe fully open to his diſcern⯑ment. 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 unfortu⯑nate inſtance or two of this kind.

Appendix A.1.2 NOTE II. VERSE 100.

Not leſs abſurd to flatter Nero's eyes.] Pliny furniſhes us with this ſingular anecdote, as an inſtance of the extravagant abuſe of Portrait-painting in his days, which, as he informs us, had arrived to a degree of madneſs. "Nero had ordered himſelf to be painted under the fi⯑gure of a Coloſſus, upon cloth or canvaſs, a hundred and twenty feet in height." The ſame author informs us, that this prepoſterous pic⯑ture, when it was finiſhed, met with its fate from lightning, which conſumed it, and involved likewiſe the moſt beautiful part of the gar⯑dens where it was placed in the conflagration. The Reader may find ſome ingenious remarks upon this ſubject, in the Notes ſur l'Hiſtoire de la Peinture ancienne extraite de l'Hiſtoire naturelle de Pline. Fol. London, 1725.

Appendix A.1.3 NOTE III. VERSE 108.

Bleſs be the pencil! which from death can ſave.] 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 portraits, and Raphael, on receiving his friend's picture, 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, creden⯑domi 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 Raphael's, the amiable and accompliſhed Count Balthaſor 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 Italorum, Vol. ii. page 248.

Appendix A.1.4 NOTE IV. VERSE 126.

Inſpir'd by thee, the ſoft Corinthian Maid.] 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 century of the Chriſtian aera, informs us that this monument of ancient art was extant at Co⯑rinth 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 Co⯑rinth, whom the author calls Dibutadis, to her imaginary lover Pole⯑mon. She deſcribes her own work in the following Stanzas:

Appendix A.1.5 NOTE V. VERSE 194.

'Twas then Panaeus drew, with freedom's train.] 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 ac⯑count 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 Calli⯑machus, and Miltiades, and a hero called Echetlus: he mentions alſo [61] another hero, who is introduced into the picture, called Marathon, 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. 35. c. 8.

Miltiades had the honour of being placed foremoſt in this illuſ⯑trious group, as a reward for his having ſaved Athens, and all Greece.

Cor. Nep. in Vitâ Miltiadis.

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

Appendix A.1.6 NOTE VI. VERSE 198.

There Polygnotus, ſcorning ſervile hire.] Of the talents of Polyg⯑notus much honourable mention is made by many of the beſt authors of antiquity, as Ariſtotle and Plutarch, Dionyſius Halicarnaſſenſis, &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 performance. How much the art is indebted to this ancient maſter, what grace and ſoftneſs he gave to the human countenance, what embelliſhments 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, pluri⯑mumque 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 por⯑tico. [62] —Porticum gratuito, cum partem ejus Mycon mercede pin⯑geret. Plin. Lib. 35. cap. 8.

He flouriſhed about the 90th Olympiad.

Appendix A.1.7 NOTE VII. VERSE 202.

Thy tragic pencil, Ariſtides, caught.] 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 ſoft⯑neſs 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 is highly probable, according to the conjecture of Junius, (in his learned Treatiſe de Picturâ Veterum) that the following beautiful epigram of Aemilianus was written on this exquiſite picture:

It is not ill tranſlated into Latin by Grotius:

[63] 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 in⯑genious and animated. "Inquiry into the Beauties of Painting."

Appendix A.1.8 NOTE VIII. VERSE 206.

Correct Parrhaſius firſt to rich deſign.] The name of Parrhaſius is immortalized by many of the moſt celebrated ancient authors; and his peculiar talents are thus recorded in Pliny: Primus ſymmetriam 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 Italia very juſtly queſtions the truth of the ſingu⯑lar ſtory concerning Parrhaſius, preſerved in Seneca, where he is accuſed of purchaſing an old Olynthian captive, 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 circu⯑lated 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.

Appendix A.1.9 NOTE IX. VERSE 210.

The gay, the warm, licentious Zeuxis drew.] 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 men⯑tioned (though with ſome variation as to the place) by authors of great [64] credit, Pliny, Dionyſius 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 ſtrongeſt examples we can find of that enthuſiaſtick paſſion for the fine arts which ani⯑mated 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 celebrated Spaniſh Poet, though not in other reſpects famous for his judgment, has, I think, not injudiciouſly metamorphoſed this Helen of Zeuxis into Juno herſelf.

Junius ſuppoſes this picture to have been rated a little too high.—

Appendix A.1.10 NOTE X. VERSE 216.

Yet oft to gain ſublimer heights he ſtrove.] 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 invin⯑cible, the Alexander of Apelles inimitable.

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

Appendix A.1.11 NOTE XI. VERSE 228.

While chilling damps upon the pencil hung.] That the Romans at⯑tained to no degree of excellence in Painting, or Sculpture, ſeems to be confeſt, and accounted for in the following paſſage of Tully's Tuſ⯑culan Diſputations, Lib. 1.

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, ja⯑centque ea ſemper quae apud quoſque improbantur.

The fine arts neceſſarily languiſh without publick protection or en⯑couragement: but publick honours 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.

Appendix A.1.12 NOTE XII. VERSE 244.

There ſtudious Vinci treaſur'd every rule.] Lionardo da Vinci was born near Florence in 1445. He was perhaps a man as univerſally accompliſhed as ever exiſted. Not only admirable beyond his Prede⯑ceſſors in his own profeſſion of Painting, but an excellent Architect and Muſician, and of great ſkill as an Anatomiſt. Beſides all theſe ta⯑lents, [66] he was, according to Vaſari, the beſt extempore Rimer of his Time.—His Hiſtory and Works are well known.—The ſingular cir⯑cumſtance 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 veden⯑doſi 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, foſte 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 rive⯑renza rizzatoſi a ſedere ſul letto, contando il mal ſuo & gli accidenti di quelle 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 havere maggiore honore, ſpirò in braccio à quell rè nella etá ſua d' anni 75.

Vaſari Vita di Lionardo da Vinci, p. 10, 11.

Appendix A.1.13 NOTE XIII. VERSE 251.

Gigantic Angelo his wonders wrought.] 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 [67] Painter, to need any encomium: he was alſo a Poet. His Rime were printed by the Giunto at Florence, in quarto, in 1623. The follow⯑ing Sonnet, which is to be found in Vaſari, to whom it is addreſſed, is at once a proof of his poetical 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 concern⯑ing the mortality of his fame.

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 Rac⯑colta de Lettere ſulla Pittura, &c. p. 6.

Appendix A.1.14 NOTE XIV. VERSE 254.

Taſte, Fancy, Judgment, all on Raphael ſmil'd.] 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 pittori: 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 produce 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 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 in⯑tended 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 maſters in a light of compariſon with each other. But as the diſcourſes of Sir Joſhua Reynolds 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 ingeni⯑ous parallel in the diſcourſe delivered at the Royal Academy, De⯑cember 10, 1772.

Appendix A.1.15 NOTE XV. VERSE 260.

The daring Julio, though by Raphael train'd.] Julio Romano was born at Rome 1492, and died at Mantua 1546.

His ſingular character is forcibly drawn by Vaſari. He was, ac⯑cording to this writer, the moſt ſucceſsful imitator of Raphael, the greater part of whoſe ſcholars became eminent, and were almoſt in⯑finite in number. Raphael was particularly attentive to Julio, and loved him with the affection of a parent.

Vaſari Vita di Giulio.

Appendix A.1.16 NOTE XVI. VERSE 268.

More richly warm, the glowing Titian knew.] We find frequent cen⯑ſures thrown upon Titian by the criticks, 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 method 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 pen⯑cils of Corregio, Parmegiano, and Raphael: and even though I ſhould be ſucceſsful enough to equal them, I ſhould always rank be⯑low them, becauſe I ſhould be only accounted their imitator. In a word, ambition, which always attends the fine arts, has induced 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 followed."

Antoine Perez, dans la ſoixante unieme de fes Secondes Le [...]tres.

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

Appendix A.1.17 NOTE XVII. VERSE 282.

Soft as Catullus, ſweet Corregio play'd] Antonio da Corregio.—Very different accounts are given by different authors of the birth and for⯑tunes of this exquiſite Painter. His capital pictures were executed about the year 1512, according to Vaſari; who relates, in a very affect⯑ing manner, the circumſtances of his poverty and death.

Having taken a journey on foot, in extremely hot weather, he im⯑prudently 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 perfect picture of Adam and Eve (ſays an Italian writer on Painting) Adam ſhould be deſigned by Michael Angelo, and coloured by Titian; Eve deſigned by Raphael, and co⯑loured by Corregio.—

The ill fortune of Corregio, and the groſs neglect 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 Annibal Carracci, written while he was ſtudying the works of Corregio, at Parma, to his couſin Lodovico, in 1580.—Vide Raccolta de Lettere, &c. Tom. I. p. 88.

Appendix A.1.18 NOTE XVIII. VERSE 284.

Though Parma claim it for her rival ſon.] Franceſco Mazzuoli was born at Parma in 1504, and is thence uſually called Parmegiano. His character 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 [71] quello, che ſi è detto di molti altri, una certa venuſta, dolcezza, e leggiadria nell attitudini, che fu ſua propria e particolare."—The ſame author gives us a particular deſcription of the ſingular and admirable portrait, which this delicate artiſt drew of himſelf reflected from a convex mirror: he relates alſo ſome curious circumſtances of his alle⯑gorical portrait of the emperor 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 la⯑ments, 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 pur⯑ſuit; his attachment to which however ſome authors have queſtion⯑ed: a delirious fever put a period to his melancholy days at the age of thirty-ſix, in his native city of Parma, 1540.

Appendix A.1.19 NOTE XIX. VERSE 290.

Till with pure judgment the Caracci came.] Lodovico Caracci, who with his couſins Annibal and Auguſtin eſtabliſhed the famous Acade⯑my of Bologna, was born in that city 1555. The circumſtance that occaſioned his death, as related by a French author, affords a ſingular proof how dangerous it is for an Artiſt to confide in the partial judg⯑ment of his particular friends.

Son dernier ouvrage qui eſt une Annonciation peinte à freſque, dans une des lunettes de la Cathedrale 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 àu lit, et Bologne perdit ce grand Homme en 1619.—Abrégé de la Vie des plus fameux Peintres. Paris 8vo. 1762. Tom. II. p. 50.

[72]Auguſtin, who quitted the pencil for the engraver, and is much celebrated for his various accompliſhments, died at Parma in 1602.— Annibal, the immortal Painter of the Farneſe gallery, whom Pouſſin did not heſitate to rank with Raphael himſelf, died in a ſtate of diſtrac⯑tion at Rome, 1609. This melancholy event is deſcribed in a very af⯑fecting letter written by an Italian prelate, who attended him in his laſt moments. Raccolta, Tom. II. p. 384.

Appendix A.1.20 NOTE XX. VERSE 295.

Young Zampieri ow'd his nobler name.] Domenico 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 affectionate appellation of Domenichino, from his extreme youth.—His Communion of St. Jerome was com⯑pared by the judicious Pouſſin to the Transfiguration of Raphael: yet Du Freſnoy has paſt 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!

Appendix A.1.21 NOTE XXI. VERSE 297.

The learned Lanfranc in their ſchool aroſe.] Giovanni Lanfranco, born at Parma 1581, was knighted by Pope Urban the VIIIth, and died at Rome 1647.

Appendix A.1.22 NOTE XXII. VERSE 299.

The tender Guido caught his graceful air.] 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 [73] beauty was ſo great, that his maſter Lodovico Caracci is ſaid to have drawn his angels from the head of Guido.

Appendix A.1.23 NOTE XXIII. VERSE 305.

Titian's mute ſcholar, rival of his fame.] Titian is ſaid to have re⯑ſided 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 Sove⯑reign, as appears from the following incident—In painting the mar⯑tyrdom 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 Ex⯑ecutioner: 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 ta⯑lents 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 cu⯑rious [74] reader may find in the Work, from whence I have taken this ſhort account of him.

Vidas de los Pittores Eſpan̄oles por Palamino Velaſco, Octavo, London, 1744.

Appendix A.1.24 NOTE XXIV. VERSE 310.

And thou, Velaſquez, ſhare the honour due.] 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.—Velaſquez was patronized by the fa⯑mous Olivarez, and had the honour of painting our Charles the Firſt, during his viſit at Madrid: perhaps he contributed not a little 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 character 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 competition with three Artiſts of reputation, and obtained the preference.

But he is particularly celebrated for the ſpirit and energy of his Por⯑traits; concerning which there are two ſingular anecdotes related by his Spaniſh Biographer; and the following may poſſibly amuſe the reader.

In 1639, he executed a portrait of Don Adrian Pulido Pareja, Com⯑mander in chief of an armament appointed to New Spain; and pleaſed himſelf ſo well in the execution, that he affixed his name to the picture; 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 Velaſguez, [75] after this Portrait was finiſhed, 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 perceiv⯑ing his miſtake, he turn'd to Velaſquez (who modeſtly doubted 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 preceding Note. The celebrated Murillo, whoſe pictures are much better known in England than thoſe of his maſter, was a diſciple of Velaſquez.

Appendix A.1.25 NOTE XXV. VERSE 316.

Thy care the ſoft, the rich Murillo form'd.] Don Bartolome Eſtevan Murillo was born in the neighbourhood of Seville, in 1613. His firſt maſter was Juan de Caſtillo; but he ſoon ſettled in Madrid, un⯑der the protection of Velaſquez, who contributed to his improve⯑ment in the moſt generous manner. The Spaniards boaſt that Mu⯑rillo 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.

Appendix A.1.26 NOTE XXVI. VERSE 323.

No mean hiſtorian to record their praiſe.] 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 conſiderable emi⯑nence as a painter, and has left us a particular and entertaining account of himſelf and his pictures in the cloſe of his great work —it is intro⯑duced [76] with an apology, in which he ſpeaks of his own talents, and extreme paſſion for his art, in the moſt modeſt and engaging man⯑ner.—His generous deſire of doing juſtice to the merit of others is moſt happily rewarded in the following Elogy, by the great Thu⯑anus:

"Ob excellentiam artis, quam hiſtoria accurate & eleganter ſcripta illuſtravit, Georgius Vaſarius meruit, ut inter viros ingenio & literis praeſtantes accenſeretur. Is Aretii in Etruria natus, pictor & architec⯑tus noſtra aetate praeſtantiſſimus, diu magno Etruriae Duci Coſmo, om⯑nium liberalium artium, inter quas pictura et architectura ut referren⯑tur obtinuit, fautori eximio navavit; editis paſſim ingenii ſui ad ſtupen⯑dum omnium ſpectaculum monumentis, et tandem hoc anno climacte⯑rico ſuo v kalend. Quintil. vivis exemptus eſt; exinde ſicuti teſtamento caverat, Florentia ubi deceſſit, Aretium in patriam tranſlatus; quo loco in principali ſecundum ſedem Epiſcopalem templo in ſacello ab ipſo juxta ſumptuoſo et admirando artificio exſtructo ſepultus.

Thuanus ſub ann. 1574.

Appendix A.1.27 NOTE XXVII. VERSE 342.

On her pure Style ſee mild Bologna claim.] The French author quoted above, under the article Caracci, not only ſpeaks with the greateſt warmth of the obligation, 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 dignified ſubjects than the richer brilliancy of Titian.

Appendix A.1.28 NOTE XXVIII. VERSE 345.

—Titian's golden rays.] This expreſſion is borrowed from the cloſe of that elegant ſentence of modern Latin, which the author [77] of Fitzoſborne's Letters has ſo juſtly commended, "Aureo Titiani radio, qui per totam tabulam gliſcens eam verè ſuam denunciat." See his excellent letter on Metaphors, p. 50.

Appendix A.1.29 NOTE XXIX. VERSE 353.

And Raphael's Grace muſt yield to Rembrandt's Force.] Rembrant Van Pryn, born near Leyden 1606, died at Amſterdam 1674, or, accord⯑ing to ſome accounts, 1668. The numerous works of this great maſter, both with the engraver and pencil, have rendered him univer⯑ſally 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 anciennes, & d'autres choſes pareilles qu'il avoit cou⯑tume d'appeller ſes antiques.—Rembrant, qui ſe glorifioit de n'avoir jamais vu l'Italie, le dit un jour que Vandick l'etoit venu viſiter à Am⯑ſterdam: & qui lui repondit, "Je le vois bien." Rembrant naturelle⯑ment 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.

Appendix A.1.30 NOTE XXX. VERSE 356.

Yet, Holland, thy unwearied labours raiſe.] There is no article of taſte, on which different writers have run more warmly into the op⯑poſite extremes of admiration and contempt, than in eſtimating the painters of Holland. Thoſe who are enchanted by the ſublime con⯑ceptions of the Roman ſchool, are too apt precipitately to condemn every effort of the Dutch pencil as a contemptible performance; while thoſe, who are ſatisfied with minute and faithful delineations [78] of nature, find abſolute perfection in the very pictures, which are 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 pe⯑culiar 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 ſont dans la poeſie." In deſign their fort is certainly humour, and they have frequently carried it to great perfection.

Appendix A.1.31 NOTE XXXI. VERSE 380.

Proud of the praiſe by Rubens' pencil won.] 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 poſſeſt, the infinitude of works which he produced, the reputation and eſteem, the various honours and ample f [...]rtune which he ſo juſtly acquired, preſent to the mind an animating idea of what may be expected from a happy cultivation of talents in a courſe of con⯑ſtant and ſpirited application. Though he viſited the court of Charles the Firſt in the publick character of an ambaſſador, it does not appear how long he reſided here;—Mr. Walpole conjectures about a year.—His pictures in the ceiling at 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 depends on its firſt happy impreſſion on the publick, and con⯑cluded 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 in⯑tended [79] height. This noble work was falling into decay, from which ſtate it has been lately reſcued 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.

Appendix A.1.32 NOTE XXXII. VERSE 388.

Her ſoft Vandyke, while graceful portraits pleaſe.] Sir Anthony Van⯑dyke, 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 acquainted with his merit, ſent him an invitation to return. Vandyke embraced the offer with joy; and the king, who ſhewed him, by frequent ſittings, the moſt flattering marks of eſteem, conferred on him the honour of knight⯑hood in 1632, rewarding him alſo with the grant of an annuity of £.200 for life.

Appendix A.1.33 NOTE XXXIII. VERSE 391.

From Flanders firſt the ſecret power ſhe caught.] The Low Countries, though little celebrated for inventive genius, have given to man⯑kind the two ſignal diſcoveries, which have imparted, as it were, a new vital ſpirit both to Literature and to Painting. This honour however has been brought into queſtion—Germany made a ſtrong, but unſucceſsful 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 Antonello da Meſſina, relates very particularly the circumſtances [80] of Van Eyck's invention, and the ſubſequent introduction of the ſe⯑cret 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 inven⯑tion 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."—Walpole's Anecdotes of Painting, Vol. I. p. 29.—The conjecture is not without ſome little founda⯑tion;—but the conjectural claims which either Italy or England can produce to this excellent 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 reputa⯑tion both of Van Eyck, and his encomiaſt Vaſari, has been very for⯑cibly attacked in an Eſſay on Oil-painting, by Mr. Raſpe; an Eſſay which diſcovers ſuch a zealous attachment to the arts, and ſuch an active purſuit of knowledge, as do great credit to its ingenious au⯑thor. 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 therefore 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.

Appendix A.1.34 NOTE XXXIV. VERSE 395.

Where ſumptuous Leo courted every Muſe.] The name of Medicis is familiar to every lover of the fine arts. John de Medicis, the Cardi⯑nal, was raiſed to the papal See 1513. He continued that liberal pa⯑tronage [81] and encouragement to learning, which had before diſtin⯑guiſhed his illuſtrious family. He was profuſe and magnificent. The various, and celebrated productions of taſte and genius under his pon⯑tificate, clearly mark the age of Leo the Xth as one of the great aeras of literature.

Appendix A.1.35 NOTE XXXV. VERSE 405.

Untrodden paths of Art Salvator tried.] Salvator Roſa was born at a village near Naples, in 1615. After a youth of poverty and adven⯑ture, he raiſed himſelf by his various and uncommon talents into lucrative reputation. Having paſſed nine years at Florence, in conſi⯑derable employment, he ſettled in Rome, and died there at the age of 58, in 1673.—He was one of the few characters who have poſſeſſed a large portion of pleaſant vivacity and ſatirical humour, with a ſub⯑lime 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 "Raccolta di Lettere ſulla Pittura" there are many of his letters to his intimate friend Ricciardi, an Italian poet, and profeſſor of moral philoſophy at Piſa, which perfectly diſ⯑play the warmth of his friendſhip, and the generoſity of his heart.— They contain alſo ſome amuſing anecdotes relating to his profeſſion, and the great delight which he took in diſcovering hiſtorical ſubjects of a peculiar caſt, untouched by other painters, and appearing to an ignorant eye almoſt beyond the limits of his art. He ſeems to deſ⯑cribe himſelf with juſtice, as well as energy, in the following words of a letter to Ricciardi "tutto bile, tutto ſpirito, tutto ſuoco."— Though he muſt have been wonderfully pleaſant as a companion, and valuable as a friend, yet he laments that his ſatires had made him many enemies, and heartily wiſhes he had never produced them: In that which relates to painting, he expoſes indeed the vices of his brethren with great freedom and ſeverity.—It is remarkable that his [82] poetry abounds more with learned alluſions than with high flights of imagination; yet in the ſatire I have mentioned, there is much whim⯑ſical 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 pen⯑cil; and as the author has given us a portrait of himſelf in his poe⯑tical character, I ſhall preſent it to the reader as a ſpecimen of his ſtyle.

Appendix A.1.36 NOTE XXXVI. VERSE 427.

The ſage Pouſſin, with pureſt fancy fraught.] Nicolas Pouffin was born at Andely in Normandy 1594: one of his firſt patrons was the [83] whimſical Italian poet Marino, who being ſtruck with ſome freſco works of the young painter at Paris, employed him in ſome deſigns from his own poem l'Adone, and enable him to undertake an expe⯑dition 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 ap⯑plication in 1665.

Appendix A.1.37 NOTE XXXVII. VERSE 435.

Then roſe Le Brun, his ſcholar, and his friend.] 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 received 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.

Appendix A.1.38 NOTE XXXVIII. VERSE 441.

Thy dawn, Le Sueur, announc'd a happier taſte.] 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 ſenti⯑ment, at ſuch a time, he thoroughly deſerved the fate which is mentioned in the preceding Note.

Appendix A.1.39 NOTE XXXIX. VERSE 447.

Though Freſnoy teaches, in Horatian ſong.] 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 Mignard. He died in a village near Paris, at the age of forty-four, in 1665.

Appendix A.2.1 NOTE XL. VERSE 15.

THOUGH foreign Theoriſts, with Syſtem blind.] The vain and frivo⯑lous 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, entitled, "An Enquiry into the real and imaginary Obſtructions to the Acquiſition of the Arts in England." As this work highly diſtinguiſhes the elegance of his pen, his Venus riſing from the ſea does equal honour to his pencil.

Appendix A.2.2 NOTE XLI. VERSE 33.

Fierce Harry reign'd, who, ſoon with pleaſure cloy'd.] In this ſhort account of the influence which the different characters of our Sove⯑reigns have had on the progreſs of national Art, the Author is indebt⯑ed principally to Mr. Walpole's Anecdotes of Painting.

Appendix A.2.3 NOTE XLII. VERSE 45.

Untaught the moral force of Art to feel.] An accompliſhed Critic of our own time has touched on the moral Efficacy of Picture, with his uſual elegance and erudition. After having illuſtrated the ſubject [86] from the writings of Ariſtotle and Xenophon, he concludes his re⯑marks with the following reflection:—"Yet, conſidering its vaſt power in morals, one cannot enough lament the ill deſtiny of this divine art, which, from the chaſte handmaid of Virtue, hath been debauched, in violence of her nature, to a ſhameleſs proſtitute of Vice, and procureſs of Pleaſure."—Hurd's Note on the following line of Horace: ‘Suſpendit picta vultum mentemque tabella.’

To this let me add one obſervation for the honour of our Engliſh artiſts!—The proſtitution of the pencil, ſo juſtly lamented by this amiable writer, 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 perfection.

Appendix A.2.4 NOTE XLIII. VERSE 93.

Yet to thy Palace Kneller's ſkill ſupplied.] Sir Godfrey Kneller, born at Lubec 1646, ſettled in England 1674, was knighted by King Wil⯑liam, created a Baronet by George the Firſt, and died 1723.—No Pain⯑ter 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."

[87]Though I have partly ſubſcribed to the general idea, that William, in whoſe reign this Painter principally flouriſhed, "contributed nothing to the advancement of arts," yet I muſt obſerve, that his employing Kneller to paint the Beauties at Hampton 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.

Appendix A.2.5 NOTE XLIV. VERSE 97.

While partial Taſte from modeſt Riley turn'd.] 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 author 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." Notwithſtanding 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.

Appendix A.2.6 NOTE XLV. VERSE 101.

And Thornhill's blaze of Allegory gilt.] Sir James Thornhill, born in Dorſetſhire 1676, was nephew to the celebrated Sydenham, and educated by the liberality of that great phyſician. He afterwards ac⯑quired a very ample fortune by his own profeſſion; was in parliament for Weymouth, knighted by George the Second, and died 1732.— His talents as a Painter are univerſally known, from his principal works at Greenwich, St. Paul's, &c.

Appendix A.2.7 NOTE XLVI. VERSE 111.

The youthful Noble, on a princely plan.] About twenty years ago, the preſent Duke of Richmond opened, in his houſe at Whitehall, [88] a gallery for artiſts, completely filled with a ſmall but well-choſen collection of caſts from the antique, and engaged two eminent artiſts to ſuperintend and direct the ſtudents.—This noble encouragement of art, though ſuperſeded by a royal eſtabliſhment, is ſtill entitled to re⯑membrance and honour: it not only ſerved as a prelude to more ex⯑tenſive inſtitutions, but contributed much towards forming ſome ca⯑pital artiſts of the preſent time. The name of Mortimer is alone ſufficient to reflect a conſiderable luſtre on this early ſchool.

Appendix A.2.8 NOTE XLVII. VERSE 134.

Teach but thy tranſient tints no more to fly.] Although the ſuperior excellencies of this admirable artiſt make us peculiarly regret the want of durability in his exquiſite productions; yet he is far from being the only artiſt, whoſe pictures ſoon diſcover an appearance of precipitate decay. Fugitive colouring 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 effec⯑tually remedied. As the Royal Academy is a ſociety of enlightened artiſts, eſtabliſhed for the improvement of every branch of Painting, it may be hoped that they will pay attention to this mechanical point, as well as to the nobler 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 ow⯑ing. 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 con⯑cerned, obviate the difficulty of getting their articles genuine from the individual trader, by opening a ſhop at the expence of the Socie⯑ty, to prepare and fell the various ingredients, free from thoſe adul⯑terations 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 [89] mixing his colours, and their vehicles in improper proportions 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, al⯑though 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 withſtand the deſtructive action of light. If the deficiency 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 ori⯑ginal brilliancy of the paint; what are the beſt proportions for this purpoſe in which they can be uſed; and how far glazing (that al⯑moſt irreſiſtible temptation to oil-painters) may or may not be de⯑pended 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 alluded only to that defect in colouring, where the finer tints are ſo managed, for the ſake of an immediate and ſhort-liv'd brilliancy, that they ſink very ſoon into no colour at all. He did not [90] 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 likewiſe a great evil, and calls aloud for redreſs. Perhaps 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.

Appendix A.2.9 NOTE XLVIII. VERSE 138.

The leading Principles of liberal Art.] 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 improvement of the young artiſts to whom they are addreſſed, contain all the principles of true and univerſal taſte, em⯑belliſhed with great brilliancy of imagination, and with equal force of expreſſion.

Appendix A.2.10 NOTE XLIX. VERSE 151.

Thy Ugolino, &c.] As the ſubject of this admirable 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 tranſlation 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 pic⯑ture, 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 com⯑pliment which a lively Italian addreſſed to a great man of his own country, but of far inferior expreſſion.

Appendix A.2.11 NOTE L. VERSE 165.

Now Art exults, with annual Triumphs gay.] While we are de⯑lighted with the increaſing ſplendor 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 dif⯑ferent 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 af⯑ford 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 publick: they have ſtill a more exalted tendency; and when national ſubjects are painted with dignity and force, our exhibitions may juſtly be regarded as ſchools of public virtue. Perhaps 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 departments of more tranquil life. In ſupport of this ſentiment 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 experi⯑ence, how the heart is mollified, the manners poliſhed, and the tem⯑per ſweetened, by a well-directed ſtudy of the arts of imitation. The ſame ſenſibility of artificial excellence, extends itſelf to the per⯑ception of natural and moral beauty; and the ſtudent returns from the artiſt's gallery to his ſtation in ſociety, with a breaſt more diſ⯑poſed to feel and to reverberate the endearments of ſocial life, and of reciprocal benevolence."—KNOX's Eſſays, moral and literary, 1778, p. 264, on Sculpture.

Appendix A.2.12 NOTE LI. VERSE 255.

Thy Talents, Hogarth! &c.] William Hogarth was born in London, 1698, and put apprentice to 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 application.

Appendix A.2.13 NOTE LII. VERSE 370.

Whoſe needy Titian calls for ill-paid gold.] Richardſon has fallen into a miſtake concerning the famous Danae, and other pictures of Titian, which he ſays (in quoting a letter of Titian's without con⯑ſidering its addreſs) were painted for Henry the VIIIth of England, a tyrant indeed, voluptuous, 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 marriage with Mary, aſſumed the title of King of Eng⯑land; and to him Titian addreſſed the letter, which ſpeaks of the pic⯑tures in queſtion: the painter frequently mentions his attachment to his unworthy patron.

His ſollicitude to enſure his protection and favour is ſtrongly mark⯑ed in the following ſhort paſſage of a letter which he addreſſed to one of Philip's attendants. "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 la⯑bour, 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 [93] had been granted to him by the emperor Charles the Vth.—Rac⯑colta, tom. ii. p. 379.

Appendix A.2.14 NOTE LIII. VERSE 436.

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

Appendix A.2.15 NOTE LIV. VERSE 441.

Her wounded Sidney, Bayard's perfect peer.] The gallant, the amiable and accompliſhed Sir Philip Sidney may be juſtly placed on a level with the noble Bayard, "Le Chevalier ſans peur & ſans re⯑proche." 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, appeared 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 Leiceſter to Sir Thomas Heneage, quoted in Collins's Memoirs of the Sidnies. The tide of national admiration flowed very ſtrong in favour of Sidney, when Mr. Walpole, in ſpeak⯑ing 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 mentioned, in conſidering Sir Philip Sidney as "an aſtoniſhing object of temporary admiration," I am ſurprized that ſo judicious an author ſhould ever queſtion ſo fair a title to univerſal regard. The learning and munificence, the courage [94] 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 degraded by his having written a tedious romance (in which however there are many touches of exquiſite beauty and ſpirit) to amuſe a moſt amiable ſiſter, whom he tenderly loved; or by his having threatened an unworthy ſervant of his father's with death in a haſty billet, merely to intimi⯑date and deter him from the future commiſſion of an infamous breach of truſt, in opening his letters.

Appendix A.2.16 NOTE LV. VERSE 468.

Th' heroic Daughter of the virtuous More.] Margaret, eldeſt daugh⯑ter of the celebrated Sir Thomas More. The ſcene which I have propoſed for the ſubject of a picture, is taken from the following paſ⯑ſage 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 behaved with the greateſt firmneſs, juſtify⯑ing 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 lead, was, at her particular re⯑queſt, 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.

[95]The character of this amiable woman is happily drawn both by Ad⯑diſon and Walpole.—She married, 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 ſperior luſtre on this accompliſhed woman.—There is more than one paſſage in her life, which would furniſh an admirable ſub⯑ject for the pencil. Her interview with her father, on his return to the Tower, is mentioned as ſuch by Mr. Walpole.

Appendix A.2.17 NOTE LVI. VERSE 523.

But, oh! how poor the proſtrate Satan lies.] 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 ob⯑ſerves, in his deſcription of the pictures of Italy,—"Je n'ai jamais vu d'aucun Maître une repreſentation du Diable, prince des Diables, qui me ſatisfit." Page 500.

In recommending this ſubject to the pencil, it may be proper to ob⯑ſerve, that it is not only extremely difficult, but even attended with danger, if we credit the following curious anecdote, in a medical 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 reprocher 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 Biographer ſays, in deſcribing a picture by Spinello Areti⯑no, [96] who flouriſhed in the cloſe of the 14th century, Si vede un Lucifero gia mutato in beſtia bruttiſſima. E ſi compiacque tanto Spi⯑nello 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 acci⯑dente, ſubitamente. Ben che ad ogni 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.