710 NOTES OF THE MONTH. 



of shewing how unlike the animals of Rubens were to the animals of 

 nature. Of this the Gentleman of the Town who aspires to be an 

 arbiter elegantiarum ought to have been cognizant. The Land- 

 seers and Harvey, he should have be'en aware too, are pre-eminent on 

 these points, and yet they may be seen,, almost daily, instead of taking 

 lions and tigers from Flaxman or Rubens, sketching, with blue fingers 

 and red noses, the beasts in their dens, at one or other of the metro- 

 politan menageries. The idea of Harvey copying a tiger from Ru- 

 bens ! Good heavens ! From Rubens, who, to increase its terrors, has 

 given the animal, in his pictures, a double set oj' canine teeth ! 



Does the Man of the Town think, that Edwin Landseer takes a 

 wolf on the credit of Snyders, who had no better opportunity of de- 

 picting the animal than himself? No, he goes to nature. The Man 

 of the Town evidently knows no more as to the manner in which 

 great painters work, than any given Mrs. Jones. Satisfied as we are, 

 that he cannot be the amiable and talented Editor, we beg leave to 

 inform him, with all proper respect, that he is a most consummate 

 ignorant ass ! 



The picture of Rubens was placed in the School of Painting, in 

 order that the Students might see how the great master of execution 

 handled his pencil. They were to study his freedom of style, his 

 colouring his touch not to transfer his transcript of nature into 

 their own compositions. 



There is one point in which we differ from the Man of the Town 

 he is not a painter we are. He knows nothing about art we 

 do. Therefore let him submit penitently to the cane should he be 

 rebellious, we shall lay it on thicker. The animal of Rubens was not 

 only an outrage on fact, but bad as it was, Northcote could not copy 

 it : he traced it. By the bye, we spoiled the anecdote by stating that a 

 holiday occurred, to allow him the opportunity of doing 



mere 



furtively unobserved by the students. It was not a common holi- 

 day. " Fortunately," said Northcote, "fortunately the PRINCESS 

 CHARLOTTE DIED ; and while the academy was closed in consequence 

 of that event, I had an opportunity of tracing the animal unperceived. 

 It was a sheer piece of complete luck. The Princess seemed to have 

 been born for no other purpose but to die at that critical moment on 

 my behalf! Bless her!" 



