Thoughts on Cohuring. z 



to give them brilliancy : Titian, on the contrary, dead-cv- 

 loured as near nature as po[Jible, only enriching his colours 

 by glazing, and keeping the fhadows as near of a tone as 

 potfible. The abfurdity of ufing dark grounds muft be ob- 

 vious to every one who has had the leaft practice, from the 

 tendency in the white, and all the lighter tints, to fink into 

 the ground ; which accounts for the darknefs of many of 

 the old pictures, and more efpecially thofe that have been 

 painted thin. However defirable it may be to have one's 

 pictures well coloured, its prefence will by no means cora- 

 penfate for the lofs of dignity of composition, accuracy of 

 drawing or breadths : he that is content to pleafe by the 

 iilufion -of colour, or that flatters the eye by an indutirious 

 difplay of tints, muft not expect to rank high in the art. 



" Mind, mind a!o*c, (bear witnefs Earth and Heav'n!) 



" The living fountains in itlelf contains 



" Of beauteous and fubhme: here hand in hind 



" Sit paramount the Graces." Akexstde. 



I have often been led to think that the exquifite clearnefs 

 obfervable in fome of the pictures of Rubens, arifes at this 

 time (in a great degree) from his having painted them on • 

 white, or, at any rate, light grounds ; the advantage of which 

 will be obvious to any one that choofes to try the following 

 experiment : that is, to fpread any light "colour (as a flefh 

 colour for in(tance) on a ground prepared half white and 

 half dark ; in the courfe of two or three days, that on the 

 white ground will appear clear, while the latter will have 

 funk many degrees into the under dark colour. Another 

 advantage attending a light, ground is, that the pi&ure is not 

 io liable to be injured by cleaning, not to mention its wear- 

 ing better : two of the fined pictures, by Titian, in the Or- 

 leans collection (Diana and Act eon, and Diana and Califio), 

 bear ftrong teltimony to the truth of the above obfervation ; 

 the former being in fine prefervation, owing to its having 

 been painted with a great body of colour ; while the latter 

 having only a thin coat, the dark red ground appears 

 through the flefli, to its irreparable injury. This evil would 

 in a great mcafure have been avoided, had the ground been 



light; 



