Art of Painting in France. 247 



he had procured some more exaci information, or visited 

 France in perrion. 



I have not written the following observations in the spirit 

 of a critic ; it is the love of the arts and of truth which has 

 alone dictated them ; and I only furnish M. Ficrillo with 

 the present additional information, that he may be enabled, 

 in a second edition, to render his work more useful, by 

 making it more exact and more complete. 



The period which, embraces the arti,>t3 of the modern 

 -school, will include all such, of any repute, as have died 

 since 1750. 1 shall begin with Francesco Casanova, whom 

 I knew on my first visit to Vienna. Fiorillo says that he 

 was a pupil of Simonini, that he took Jacob Courtois for 

 his model, and that he studied Wouvermans : all this does 

 him honour; but I cannot coincide in the opinion of this 

 author when he says, " that he (Casanova) was nothing 

 else, in the true sense of the word, than a plagiarist, who 

 sometimes took one groupe and sometimes another from 

 the works of Bourguignon, and placed it in his own pic- 

 tures." In battle pieces, several things may resemble each 

 other, without our being entitled to say that one painter has 

 stolen from another. People fight and are killed, in gene- 

 ral, in the same manner. Ca?anov;i was a man of genius, 

 and I think the accusation of our author is ill founded. He 

 has said very little upon the talents and works of this artist ; 

 who has, however, acquired a just reputation in France. He 

 <has forgot his brother, who was director of the gallery at 

 Dresden j and he has also omitted to mention several of his 

 scholars who are known in France. Francesco Casanova, 

 in his latter years, did some small paintings of animals, of 

 an agreeable composition and of a light touch, for which 

 ht was well paid. 



In delivering the eulogy which is due to the talents of 

 M. Vernet, he only quotes his design of Hyppolyta, and 

 that of the leader of the car, who return^ with his compa- 

 nions. He informs us that Darcis is engraving it. Wc 

 can tell him, however, thai Darcis never lived to finish this 

 engraving. 



• Charles Vernet laboured a great deal ia his latter year?. 

 2 One 



