[ 34 ]
and perfpective are fufRciently retained by the dimi-
nution only of the parts from the firft grounds.'1
Whatever may be the reputation of any mafter
whofe performances are characterized by the above
defcription, we fnal! not hefitate to pronounce it a
falle or a depraved tafte, which can commend " want
of refemblance to the appearances of objects in na-
ture," fince thofe appearances are both the bafis and
fummit of art;
Afrer fome good remarks on the nature and com-
pofition of landfcapc, we are prefented with a review
of feveral eminent old matters in that branch j
thefe we pafs, to attend to his opinion of our coun-
trymen and cotemporaries, which is in general very
" The Englifh painter will owe no fmall fhare of
gratitude to the ingenious Mr. Browne, who has
enriched this country with fo many beautiful and
pict:urefque fcenes. He has certainly juftified and
fulfilled his boaft, in which he declared, That it was
his fole aim in his improvements, to form fcenes for
the poet and the painter. He has undoubtedly fuc-
ceeded. Nature comes from his hands polifhed and
ornamented, but with no marks of violence in the
reformation. I cannot avoid, upon a fubjeci like
the prefent, in which the forming an Englifh fchool
has been recommended, doing honor to the merits of
another ingenious man, who, in an art fo nearly
allied to the one we treat of, has eftablifhed, as it
were, at one effort, a fchool for pofterity, a manner
peculiarly to be adopted by his countrymen in future,
both for the rightful and almoft exclufive title they
will have to the inheritance of it, as defcending from
a native
and perfpective are fufRciently retained by the dimi-
nution only of the parts from the firft grounds.'1
Whatever may be the reputation of any mafter
whofe performances are characterized by the above
defcription, we fnal! not hefitate to pronounce it a
falle or a depraved tafte, which can commend " want
of refemblance to the appearances of objects in na-
ture," fince thofe appearances are both the bafis and
fummit of art;
Afrer fome good remarks on the nature and com-
pofition of landfcapc, we are prefented with a review
of feveral eminent old matters in that branch j
thefe we pafs, to attend to his opinion of our coun-
trymen and cotemporaries, which is in general very
" The Englifh painter will owe no fmall fhare of
gratitude to the ingenious Mr. Browne, who has
enriched this country with fo many beautiful and
pict:urefque fcenes. He has certainly juftified and
fulfilled his boaft, in which he declared, That it was
his fole aim in his improvements, to form fcenes for
the poet and the painter. He has undoubtedly fuc-
ceeded. Nature comes from his hands polifhed and
ornamented, but with no marks of violence in the
reformation. I cannot avoid, upon a fubjeci like
the prefent, in which the forming an Englifh fchool
has been recommended, doing honor to the merits of
another ingenious man, who, in an art fo nearly
allied to the one we treat of, has eftablifhed, as it
were, at one effort, a fchool for pofterity, a manner
peculiarly to be adopted by his countrymen in future,
both for the rightful and almoft exclufive title they
will have to the inheritance of it, as defcending from
a native