Mengs, Anton Raphael; Nibiano, José Nicolás de Azara de [Hrsg.]; Mengs, Anton Raphael [Mitarb.]: The works of Anthony Raphael Mengs: first painter to His Catholic Majesty Charles III. (Band 2) (London: Faulder, 1796)

RAPHAEL MENGS. 105
of various schools, but do not arrive to that excel-
lence which is besore mentioned. One meets with
sonie of Poussin, and among these a Bachanal
sufficiently beautiful, whose figures are a little
less than a foot in height. This is a work well
finished, of very good design and colouring,
witli some very graceful women and children,
who are dancing. The country which forms
the field of the painting is as beautiful as one
could with. This painting, destined for the co-
ver of a harpsichord, was afterwards enlarged,
by the same Poussin, or by Gaspar his brother-
in-law..
It would be a deserable thing that many
young painters would study with application
these beautiful examples of the arts which I
have heretofore described, not only in copying
them, but in imitating them; two things very
different, because all those who copy a work of
painting, are not by that made able to produce
similar things, is they do not apply themselves,
and purpose to follow the reasons of the author
of the original# This^ is the only means of
drawing prosit from the study of the things of
others. Therefore, in. all paintings, one finds
two essential parts: one comprehends the rea-
sons of things, which we may call the traces
left by the undersfanding of the artist; the
other is the style of the work; that is, the ha-
bit of the execution of the author. Generally,
those who copy and pretend to study the works
os great men, apply the principal care to imi-
tate that appearance which I have called mode;

VOL. II.

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