276 Mr Wilson's Observations on some of the 



can, those of the palace of the T at Mantua, and the well 

 known designs of Watteau. We shall have nothing new, not 

 even an appropriate application of what is old, till, as of old, 

 and as now in Germany and in France, the most able artists 

 we can command are employed in such departments of art. 



The tradesman need not be jealous of this employment of 

 the artist. There can be little doubt that were artists em- 

 ployed to paint, and to direct the painting of our royal and 

 other palaces, that the taste for such decorations would rapidly 

 spread over the land, and the employment of the tradesman 

 would be increased a hundred-fold ; whilst, by the diffusion of 

 taste, and the increase of skill on the part of our workmen, 

 that which is now far too expensive for many to adopt would 

 then be brought within the compass of their means. 



By the employment of artists, the taste of the nation gene- 

 rally would be greatly improved, and I have no doubt that we 

 should soon be enabled to meet our neighbours in those wide 

 fields where we confess that they have beaten us, and there can 

 also be no doubt that our commercial prosperity would be 

 thereby increased. 



Before concluding this paper, I shall briefly bring before 

 you one plan which would, I think, greatly aid in promoting 

 taste in manufactures amongst all classes. 



I have endeavoured to shew you that, without a more ge- 

 neral employment of artists, we cannot hope to rival our 

 neighbours. I have also said that, like them, we must open 

 museums to our people, and increase the numbers of our 

 schools of design. 



With regard to museums, our attention has been almost 

 entirely directed to the accumulation in these of precious 

 works of art and of antiquities, but no one seems to have 

 thought of the accumulation of specimens of ancient indus- 

 trial art, and also of foreign manufactures. To make artists, 

 and to cultivate taste in the fine arts, we have purchased the 

 Elgin and other marbles, and we are slowly forming a na- 

 tional gallery. We do not think it necessary enough to pro- 

 vide our young artists with casts of portions of statues, and 

 with prints from pictures ; we procure for them real Greek 



