The historic gallery of portraits and paintings: and biographical review : containing a brief account of the lives of the moost celebrated men, in every age and country : and graphic imitations of the fines specimens of the arts, ancient and modern : with remarks, critical and explanatory (Band 6) (London: Vernor, Hood, and Sharpe, 1810)

THE RESURRECTION OF OUR SAVIOUR.
Flanders, Rubens attempted to imitate Caracci, in the
disposition and the character of his figures, especially
in those on the fore-ground. If we only beheld the body
of Christ, in which the brilliant mellow pencil of Rubens
is observable; and the head of the soldier, covered with
a helmet, it would be a matter of some difficulty to name
the author of this performance. He has even deviated
from the laws of chiar-oscuro, of which the pictures of
the Venetian school developed to him the first principles,
and which consists in uniting lights to lights, and shades
to shades. In the picture of the Resurrection, the lights
are dispersed, and the general effect impaired.
Happily, Rubens was sensible that when the first edu-
cation of an artist has been neglected, that is to say, when
he has not, from his early youth, studied the chef d’oeu-
vres of antiquity, it is a fruitless task to aim at correctness
and purity of style. To this attainment Rubens re-
nounced; and, by preserving certain defects, exhibited
such numerous and extraordinary beauties, that his very
imperfections are forgotten.