Smith, John: A catalogue raisonné of the works of the most eminent Dutch, Flemish, and French painters: in which is included a short biographical notice of the artists, with a copious description of their principal pictures : a statement of the prices at which such pictures have been sold at public sales on the continent and in England; a reference the the galleries and private collections in which a large portion are at present; and the names of the artists by whom they have been engraved; to which is added, a brief notice of the scholars & imitators of the great masters of the above schools (Part 8) (London: Smith and Son, 1837)

NICHOLAS POUSSIN.

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after giving vent to a little pasquinade on such critics,
he observes, ££ I do not sing always in the same tone ;
“ I know how to vary my style, according to the
“ subject; detraction and reproof always urge me
“ to do my best.” In the same year, 1647, he com-
pleted the Sacraments of “ Penitence,” “ Ordination,”
and “ the Eucharistand he sent a Monsieur Pointel,
the beautiful picture of the Preservation of Moses,
which is now in the Louvre. The last work appears
to have given great satisfaction to the owner, for in a
letter which the Artist subsequently wrote, he observes,
“ If the last picture I sent you has given so much
££ pleasure in beholding it, I beg to say, that it does
“ not arise from my having taken more pains with it
“ than the one sent before, but derives its superior
“ interest from the character of the subject, and the
“ feelings it excited in my mind while working on it,
“ which produces the effect; that it is the manner of
“ representing a subject, in which consists all the
“ secret of the art. An opinion of a work ought
££ not to be given precipitately, it being a difficult task
“ to pronounce a sound judgment in the absence of
“ great practice, combined with a knowledge of the
“ theory os painting, reason must always be exercised
“ to aid the senses. In order to arrive at this important
“ conclusion, I must insorm you, what a painter
££ ought to observe in the representation of objects ;
££ the ancient Greeks, who were the inventors of the
“ fine arts, discovered several modes by which they
“ produced those wondersul essects which distinguish