DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.20658#0124
I
110 PAINTING.
That artist whose highest aim is to please or astonish the spectator, by the variety and oppc*
sition of tints and the illusion of colours, must rest satisfied with that secondary kind of fame,
above which his merit will never exalt him. No higher praise is due to that assiduous genius, who
industriously groups together a great assemblage of objects in one piece, in order, as he vainly
believes, to give animation to his work, and Sx the attention of the observer; whereas the general
effect of such productions is confusion, from the multiplicity of characters, and consequently
disgust. For in painting, as in poetry, it is only by adding sublimit}- to the sublime objects of
nature, that the artist can truly merit, or ever justly obtain those immortal wreaths which the
nations of the world have unanimously decreed to Homer, Virgil, Milton, Raphael, Michael
Angelo, and the statuary who modelled the ancient Apollo. So also, the poet who clothes trivial
or common ideas in verse, is at best but a maker of rhymes; while he, who delivers agreeable
sentiments and pleasing thoughts, in round flowing numbers, is generally distinguished by the
appellation of a pleasing poet: but he who adorns great events, and noble and sublime sen-
timents, with all the imagery of numbers, is a great poet, and a successful painter of nature.
He and similar geniuses only, whether they express their sentiments in verse or in colours, on
brass or on marble ; whether painters, poets, or statuaries; deserve all the respect due to superior
minds. They are of the number of these men whom nature sparing of her best gifts, grants but
occasionally to their fellow-creatures, to improve and elevate, with more refined sentiments, the
general race.
Painting, like all the other liberal arts, is reducible, in a great measure, to certain generally
received rules and precepts. And though these precepts, and perhaps all others that could be
given, be alone that is, without some portion of genius, insufficient to produce a good artist; yet
they will almost at all times prevent a man from being a bad one. They are the reflections of the
greatest masters, and consequently demand an implicit obedience. They point out those rocks
the student should avoid; and are therefore indispensable to his success. They facilitate his la-
bours, and direct him in the shortest and surest road to perfection. They refine his taste, teach
him to discover the truly beautiful in nature or art, and strengthen and confirm his judgement.
It is art only, founded on just and proper rules, that is capable of divesting nature of her wild
and savage appearance, and bestowing on her that grace, elegance, dignity, and polish, which
render her the object of our admiration.
The particular rules requisite for every branch of the imitative arts, treated of in this work, are
given in their proper places. But it may not be amiss to speak generally, in this section, of those
precepts essential not only to every kind of painting, but to nearly all of the liberal arts.
The principal object of all the polite arts is beauty, and their theory consists of genius and taste.
—Beauty is one of those terms of which we more readily conceive the meaning, without any
definition, than by the most elaborate explanation. The more philosophers attempt to elucidate
the sense of the term, the more they envelope it in darkness, and that in proportion to the differ-
ent ideas man forms of this quality, influenced by the prejudices of custom, education, &,c. It
may, however, in general, be affirmed, that beauty is the union of the various perfections of
which any object is susceptible, and which it actually possesses; and that the perfections which
produce beauty, consist principally in the agreeable and delightful proportions which subsist be-
tween the several parts of the same object; between each part and the whole together; and
between the several parts, and the end or design of the object to which they belong. This ge-
neral
110 PAINTING.
That artist whose highest aim is to please or astonish the spectator, by the variety and oppc*
sition of tints and the illusion of colours, must rest satisfied with that secondary kind of fame,
above which his merit will never exalt him. No higher praise is due to that assiduous genius, who
industriously groups together a great assemblage of objects in one piece, in order, as he vainly
believes, to give animation to his work, and Sx the attention of the observer; whereas the general
effect of such productions is confusion, from the multiplicity of characters, and consequently
disgust. For in painting, as in poetry, it is only by adding sublimit}- to the sublime objects of
nature, that the artist can truly merit, or ever justly obtain those immortal wreaths which the
nations of the world have unanimously decreed to Homer, Virgil, Milton, Raphael, Michael
Angelo, and the statuary who modelled the ancient Apollo. So also, the poet who clothes trivial
or common ideas in verse, is at best but a maker of rhymes; while he, who delivers agreeable
sentiments and pleasing thoughts, in round flowing numbers, is generally distinguished by the
appellation of a pleasing poet: but he who adorns great events, and noble and sublime sen-
timents, with all the imagery of numbers, is a great poet, and a successful painter of nature.
He and similar geniuses only, whether they express their sentiments in verse or in colours, on
brass or on marble ; whether painters, poets, or statuaries; deserve all the respect due to superior
minds. They are of the number of these men whom nature sparing of her best gifts, grants but
occasionally to their fellow-creatures, to improve and elevate, with more refined sentiments, the
general race.
Painting, like all the other liberal arts, is reducible, in a great measure, to certain generally
received rules and precepts. And though these precepts, and perhaps all others that could be
given, be alone that is, without some portion of genius, insufficient to produce a good artist; yet
they will almost at all times prevent a man from being a bad one. They are the reflections of the
greatest masters, and consequently demand an implicit obedience. They point out those rocks
the student should avoid; and are therefore indispensable to his success. They facilitate his la-
bours, and direct him in the shortest and surest road to perfection. They refine his taste, teach
him to discover the truly beautiful in nature or art, and strengthen and confirm his judgement.
It is art only, founded on just and proper rules, that is capable of divesting nature of her wild
and savage appearance, and bestowing on her that grace, elegance, dignity, and polish, which
render her the object of our admiration.
The particular rules requisite for every branch of the imitative arts, treated of in this work, are
given in their proper places. But it may not be amiss to speak generally, in this section, of those
precepts essential not only to every kind of painting, but to nearly all of the liberal arts.
The principal object of all the polite arts is beauty, and their theory consists of genius and taste.
—Beauty is one of those terms of which we more readily conceive the meaning, without any
definition, than by the most elaborate explanation. The more philosophers attempt to elucidate
the sense of the term, the more they envelope it in darkness, and that in proportion to the differ-
ent ideas man forms of this quality, influenced by the prejudices of custom, education, &,c. It
may, however, in general, be affirmed, that beauty is the union of the various perfections of
which any object is susceptible, and which it actually possesses; and that the perfections which
produce beauty, consist principally in the agreeable and delightful proportions which subsist be-
tween the several parts of the same object; between each part and the whole together; and
between the several parts, and the end or design of the object to which they belong. This ge-
neral