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)

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OBSERVATIONS.

and effect, those charms which so readily attract the
eye and beguile the unreflecting, for he has not
adopted the conventional mode of painters in general.
If to the recondite character, and peculiar style of his
productions, be added the lamentable effects which
the ravages of time, and the ruthless hand of the
ignorant cleaner and self-styled restorer, have had
upon many of them, both in darkening the colours
and in destroying, in many instances, the half tones,
and even obscuring, entirely, the forms of objects, it
is not very surprising that they are thus frequently
passed with indisserence..
The present Catalogue will shew that Poussin’s
talents were versatile and adopted with almost equal
success to the disserent classes of history, poetry, and
landscape painting. His early works were chiefly of
a sacred character, borrowed either from Scripture
or legendary writings ; and it does not clearly appear
that he attempted the more erudite and classical
subjects until he formed an intimacy with Marino,
and settled at Rome : then it was, and not till then,
that the latent powers of his vast genius, which had so
long been fettered by the debased style and limited
resources of his own country, expanded, and liberating
itself from the shackles of preconceived notions, ex-
hibited that high excellence, which attracted the admi-
ration of the learned of his time, and has given an
immortal lustre to his epoch, and the art.
The correct precepts on art given in his letter to
M. de Cambrai, are practically illustrated throughout