Buchanan, William: Memoirs of painting: with a chronological history of the importation of pictures by the great masters into England since the French Revolution (Band 1) (London: Ackermann, 1824)

THE

SCHOOLS OF PAINTING.

The Genius of sculpture and of painting has
always had its favourite but irregular periods:
it has of a sudden sprung out of relative darkness;
it has, from unexplained causes, had its decline;
partial and fickle, it has changed from one state to
another, as if perpetual residence was a restriction
upon it, under the fetters of which it could not
exist; or, as any particular country had a right to
enjoy it but for a season.
During the ancient periods, the arts de-
serted Egypt for Greece; from Greece they were
transferred to Rome; the downfall of the Em-
pire enveloped them with the shade of the
dark ages; some latent sparks of their genius,
however, remained unextinguished, and they
again burst forth on the same soil, where they
VOL. I. B