538 On the Art of Painting 



that they had arrived at no flight degree of flcill 

 in the handling of fubjefts of this kind. 



The following paflage* from Lucian fiiews 

 a confiderable degree of attention paid to the 

 colouring of flelh, the obje6t on which painters 

 in general have found it moft difficult to fuc- 

 ceed. 



" Lycinus : You fhall fee -, and firfl: from the 

 " Cnidian Venus I fliall take the head alone ; 

 ** the body being naked, we have no occafion 

 " for the forehead, hair, and perfed fhape of 

 " the eye-brows exa6tly as Praxiteles has made 

 *f them, together with that fwimming,f fofcnefs 

 ** and vivacity of the eyes which he has fo finely 

 ** reprefented. The cheeks, the look of the 

 ^' full face, with the extremities of the hands, 

 ** the fine proportioned wrift, and the delicate 

 " fingers growing thin at the tips from Alca- 

 " menes, Phidias and his Lemnian will fupply 



• The paflage is in his dialogue entitled " EIKONES, 

 ImaginfSf" at fome little diftance from the beginning: 

 Aw. Kou (ji£v »)5)» (701 o^av 7rafE%n yiywjotEmv, &c. TurnbuII has 

 quoted it, (Ancient Paintings, Preface, p. 2.) I adopt 

 Francklin's tranflation ; though fomewhat too hafty and 

 free, and not exhibiting the precife meaning. In the 

 prefent cafe however it is better than Turnbull's. 



f Francklin juftly remarks " that the Greek expreflion 

 is inimitably elegant 0^9a>^iMv ro uy^ov ana ru fai^^a Ocu- 

 hrum mobilem hilar em^ue giatiam"-— Like Horace's 'vul/i4s 

 nimium lubricm afpici. 



" us 



