Mr Wilson on the State of the Arts in Italy. 93 



You are all, doubtless, well acquainted with the great names 

 which have lately marked the progress of this art in Italy ; 

 most of these distinguished artists are now dead. Several of 

 Raphael Morghen's pupils are much esteemed, the best of 

 whom are established at Milan ; many very fine and important 

 works have been lately finished or are now in progress. Messrs 

 Ludwig Gruner and Rusweigh, both Italianized Germans, 

 promise to revive the style of Marc Antonio with success. 



The Italian engravers are most successful in their works 

 from historical pictures ; but a practice which they follow is, 

 in my opinion, calculated to prevent their imitating with fidel- 

 ity the style and feeling of the artist whose production they 

 copy. They engrave from highly finished chalk drawings copied 

 from pictures by artists who devote themselves to this branch : 

 however faithfully these may apparently copy, it is certain 

 that their drawings will, to a certain extent, exhibit their pecu- 

 liarities of mind and feeling, and, as the engraving must like- 

 wise so far be marked by the style of its author, the process is 

 not favourable to the production of engravings of a faithful 

 character. 



It is but fair to mention that this practice is forced upon 

 the Italian engraver, as he can neither transport gallery pic- 

 tures nor frescoes to his study. 



The landscape engravers of Italy are not successful. Frigid 

 imitaters of Woollet in general, then- works are far inferior to 

 those of that admirable master. 



Sculpture is certainly the art which stands highest in Italy. 

 Canova rescued it from the infamy into which it had sunk, -■and 

 his genius at once raised it to excellence. If I say that that 

 immortal artist has worthy successors amongst his countrymen, 

 I express, as strongly as possible, a favourable opinion of the 

 state of the art. If we are to term that the Roman school of 

 sculpture which reckons amongst its professors all the great 

 sculptors of various nations who make the Eternal City their 

 fixed place of residence, then we must, I think, hold that it is 

 the first school existing. England is worthily represented in 

 that united school. I shall not venture upon any comparison 

 between it and our present British school ; but it is an import- 

 ant fact, and to its honour, that, before Canova resuscitated 



