1811.) 
Yet in the mouths of these miserable 
-eompass-men, and frigid calculators, (not 
a man of whom is ever destined to taste, 
much lest produce a work of genius,) we 
find terms of art, and all the jargon of en- 
cyclopzdial knowledge, so pat, so much of 
the gift of the critical gab, that many 
half-informed people even take their 
notions of art from them; they 
‘¢ Talk of their Raphaels, Corregios, and 
: stuff,” ; 
as Goldsmith has it, so cleverly, that if 
‘you should never hear of their names, 
you might be induced to think them real 
artists; that is, provided you knew 
nothing whatever. of the art yourself. 
The great object of this calumnious Re- 
view, becomes however very clear, to 
clear-sighted people, about the tenth 
page, where we find, that. next to the 
reviewer's hatred of Barry, is his anger 
that Sir Joshua Reynolds should be sup- 
posed to have at one time been jealous 
of his rising fame, whom he calls, in italics, 
“the* great painter of the age, and the 
great painter of thecountry.” And, as it 
unravels the malignant web of his sophis- 
try rather more than any other passage 
of this hoarded venom, allow me to 
_ quote it at length. 
This unfortunate reviewer, so great an 
enemy to irascibility in Barry, and whoy 
for ten pages of sly strokes of plausible 
abuse of all the lovers of the grand, 
chaste, and severe, style, has 
«¢ Nursed his wrath to keep it warm,” 
is at length tempted to a short quotation ° 
from his biographer, (whom he calls also 
his panegyrist, to lessen the force of his 
just praise,) wherein it is asserted, that 
“« perhaps there was a mutual jealousy 
between Barry and Sir Joshua;” and 
here the cloven foot appears, when he 
Says, with ridiculous gravity, “ that the 
first part of the statement is true, even” 
to a much greater degree than is stated. 
We have no doubt but the concluding 
insinuation isso grossly calumnious, that 
gcorn at its absurdity only restrains our 
indignation at its malignity:—‘‘ Reynolds 
jealous of Barry! it were as reasonable 
to suppose him jealous of the weaver of 
his canvas, or the grinder of his colours.” 
Yet, if it kills this enraged reviewer, 
he must be told, that, if Sir Joshua had 
been of a jealous temper, he might have 
been pardoned for indulging it in this 
ease; as he must have felt Barry’s great 
_ superiority in the grand feature of his art, 
* See Barry’s excellent ridicule of thése 
terms. * 
_ Mostaty Mas. No. 211. 
from the Attacks of the Edinburgh Revicw. 
209 
the talent for composition ; for, while Rey= 
nolds only produced, by long studying, 
one forced progeny worthy to be called 
an historical picture, (I mean his Ugo- 
lino) Barry’s prolific pencil turned out 
dozens, the slightest of which might rival 
that expressive composition. To be sure, 
Sir Joshua was deprived of the reviewer’s 
advantageous stimulus, want ; and thence, 
perhaps, it came to pass, that, while one 
was obliged to avail himself of the talents 
of the best engraver of mezzotinto this 
country, or any other, has ever seen, jn 
order to give the public the most favours 
able impression of the work, (not being 
able himself to execute such a plate any 
more than a copper-plate printer;) the 
other not only made the design of his 
Job and Palemon, pictures that might 
have made a Poussin jealous, much more 
a Sir Joshua, but actually engraved them 
in so painter-like a manner, and with so 
much effect, without affectation, nay, 
coloured effect, that, if he had never done’ 
any thing besides, posterity would have 
been from them forced to confess, that 
he was a truly greatartist; and, if he was 
not the “ first dignitary” in his art, from 
the pictures now. before the public, at 
the Society’s rooms, let those who can: 
shew a better series, from any English 
artist, cast the first stone. The gentle 
Reynolds had his virtues, his talents, his. 
taste, duly appreciated; his colouring 
could not be over-rated; but it cannot be 
concealed that his drawing was so defece 
tive, that no prudent friend would wish 
to bring the subject into discussion. 
But the indignant Barry never found a 
friend capable of being a patron, who 
was a sufficient judge of art to know the 
extent of his abilities: and, if Reynolds 
really possessed that judyment which the 
world allows him, (and which many 
doubted from the time he presented the 
Neptune of Bernini to the Academy,) 
he ought, as president, to have publicly 
afforded that testimony, and promoted 
that excellence, in his cotemporary. 
On this tender subject, if lam not pro= 
voked by this half-bred man of taste, 
I shall say no more; and the reviewer 
may console himself in the certainty, 
that if he does not injure his deceased 
friend’s reputation by idle comparisons, 
T shall be the last to withdraw a veil 
from the saered urn of those departed 
virtues, 
I remember. Barry, and regret his 
weaknesses; but I cannot but also re 
member his almost intuitive talents, his 
scrupulous Bony bia strict sincerity, 
: a 
his 
