DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.20658#0103
INVENTION. 89
to the cause of virtue and religion, may be seen from the numerous altar-pieces with which
Christendom abounds; and also from the other admirable works taken from the sacred page.
Among many other instances, to prove this assertion, might be mentioned the Farnese Gallery,
by Annibal Caracci, the whole of which is morally instructive; particularly the Hercules Bi-
vius, which is a perfect triumph of virtue over vice.
It is not sufficient that the subject of a piece has a virtuous tendency; it must also, like the sub-
ject of a tragedy, or epic poem, be great and noble in itself. It is not every action, nor every per-
son, that is considerable enough to occupy a place on the canvas. Most of the characters who
compose the unenlightened mass of mankind, and the common course of incidents which occur to
us every day, are beneath the artist's notice, except in the inferior parts of the art, as seen hereafter.
They are neither worthy of commemoration, nor would thev merit or obtain the most transient at-
tention. It must be the anger of an Achilles, the piety of an iEneas, the sacrifice of an Iphigenia,
that can display the artist's abilities, and raise the admiration of the beholders. Heroines, as well
as heroes, the destruction of an empire, and the untimely fall of a virtuous individual, are equally
the objects of the painter's attention. Curtius throwing himself into thegulph,thetwo Decii sacri-
ficing themselves for the safety of their country, and Scipio restoring the Spanish bride, are all
admirable subjects for the artist. Modern history also affords many subjects for the display of
genius, which have not been wholly unnoticed, though perhaps too much neglected. But the
sacred writers present an inexhaustible fund of matter : the subjects of which they treat obtain
an infinitely greater importance than those of any other nature; from the sublimity of the objects
themselves, the divine truths they inculcate, and their import to mankind.
Nevertheless, as fiction affords as great assistance and embellishments to the artist as to the
poet, it would be ungenerous to deny the former, any more than the latter, the liberty of availing
himself of her various and all-powerful machinery. From the works of Albani we may perceive
what pains he had taken to refine his taste, by the study of the Belles Bettres, and possess a know-
ledge of fabulous history ; but the great Raphael excelled all others in this beautiful appendage.,
and may be considered as a guide and master in the justness and propriety of his fictitious figures,
which he has contrived to introduce happily even in his most sacred pieces. In his Passage of
the Israelites through the River Jordan he has given an admirable instance of the powers of his
creative genius, in personifying that river, and representing Old Jordan supporting his waters
with his own hands, in order to open a way for the armies of Israel. Another eminent example
of this great man is in that piece wherein he has revived the little loves of Actius playing with the
arms of Alexander, conquered by the beauty of Roxana.
Allegory, in many instances, serves to adorn and heighten the effect of historical pieces, parti-
cularly those of high antiquity, and, in general, all those of the fabulous kind ; it is, however,
not always proper, as it sometimes imparts a romantic appearance to the events of civil history ;
and generally, except in the hands of great masters, injures sacred pieces. Apelles and Parrha-
sius distinguished themselves most in allegorical painting : the former in his picture of Calumny,
and the latter in that of The Genius of the Athenians. An ancient artist succeeded most happily
in allegory, in that piece where he represented a great number of poets, greedily quenching their
thirst in the waters gushing from the mouth of the sublime Homer. To this piece Pliny alludes in
his Natural History, when he calls that prince of poets the fountain of genius. But the best al-
2 a legorical
to the cause of virtue and religion, may be seen from the numerous altar-pieces with which
Christendom abounds; and also from the other admirable works taken from the sacred page.
Among many other instances, to prove this assertion, might be mentioned the Farnese Gallery,
by Annibal Caracci, the whole of which is morally instructive; particularly the Hercules Bi-
vius, which is a perfect triumph of virtue over vice.
It is not sufficient that the subject of a piece has a virtuous tendency; it must also, like the sub-
ject of a tragedy, or epic poem, be great and noble in itself. It is not every action, nor every per-
son, that is considerable enough to occupy a place on the canvas. Most of the characters who
compose the unenlightened mass of mankind, and the common course of incidents which occur to
us every day, are beneath the artist's notice, except in the inferior parts of the art, as seen hereafter.
They are neither worthy of commemoration, nor would thev merit or obtain the most transient at-
tention. It must be the anger of an Achilles, the piety of an iEneas, the sacrifice of an Iphigenia,
that can display the artist's abilities, and raise the admiration of the beholders. Heroines, as well
as heroes, the destruction of an empire, and the untimely fall of a virtuous individual, are equally
the objects of the painter's attention. Curtius throwing himself into thegulph,thetwo Decii sacri-
ficing themselves for the safety of their country, and Scipio restoring the Spanish bride, are all
admirable subjects for the artist. Modern history also affords many subjects for the display of
genius, which have not been wholly unnoticed, though perhaps too much neglected. But the
sacred writers present an inexhaustible fund of matter : the subjects of which they treat obtain
an infinitely greater importance than those of any other nature; from the sublimity of the objects
themselves, the divine truths they inculcate, and their import to mankind.
Nevertheless, as fiction affords as great assistance and embellishments to the artist as to the
poet, it would be ungenerous to deny the former, any more than the latter, the liberty of availing
himself of her various and all-powerful machinery. From the works of Albani we may perceive
what pains he had taken to refine his taste, by the study of the Belles Bettres, and possess a know-
ledge of fabulous history ; but the great Raphael excelled all others in this beautiful appendage.,
and may be considered as a guide and master in the justness and propriety of his fictitious figures,
which he has contrived to introduce happily even in his most sacred pieces. In his Passage of
the Israelites through the River Jordan he has given an admirable instance of the powers of his
creative genius, in personifying that river, and representing Old Jordan supporting his waters
with his own hands, in order to open a way for the armies of Israel. Another eminent example
of this great man is in that piece wherein he has revived the little loves of Actius playing with the
arms of Alexander, conquered by the beauty of Roxana.
Allegory, in many instances, serves to adorn and heighten the effect of historical pieces, parti-
cularly those of high antiquity, and, in general, all those of the fabulous kind ; it is, however,
not always proper, as it sometimes imparts a romantic appearance to the events of civil history ;
and generally, except in the hands of great masters, injures sacred pieces. Apelles and Parrha-
sius distinguished themselves most in allegorical painting : the former in his picture of Calumny,
and the latter in that of The Genius of the Athenians. An ancient artist succeeded most happily
in allegory, in that piece where he represented a great number of poets, greedily quenching their
thirst in the waters gushing from the mouth of the sublime Homer. To this piece Pliny alludes in
his Natural History, when he calls that prince of poets the fountain of genius. But the best al-
2 a legorical