NOTES. 75 



Painter's nourishment it mutt pafs through a Painter's mind. 

 Having received an idea of the pathetic and grand in Intellect, 

 he has next to coniider how to make it correfpond with what 

 is touching and awful to the Eye, which is a bufinefs by itfelf. 

 But here begins what in the language of Painters is called /- 

 mention, which includes not only the compoiition, or the put- 

 ting the whole together, and the difpofition of every individual 

 part, but likewife the management of the back-ground, the 

 effecT: of light and (hadow, and the attitude of every figure 

 or animal that is introduced or makes a part of the work. 



Compoiition, which is the principal part of the Invention of 

 a Painter, is by far the greateil difficulty he has to encounter, 

 every man that can paint at all, can execute individual parts ; 

 but to keep thofe parts in due fubordination as relative to a 

 whole, requires a comprehenfive view of his art that more 

 itrongly implies genius than, perhaps, any other quality what- 

 ever* R. 



NOTE XIII. VERSE 118. 

 Vivid and faithful to the hiftoric page, 

 Exprefs the cujioms, manners, forms, and age. 

 Though the Painter borrows his fubjedt, he confiders his 

 art as not fubfervient to any other, his bufinefs is fomething 

 more than aflifting the Hiftorian with explanatory figures;- as 

 foon as he takes it into his hands, he adds, retrenches, tran- 

 fpofes, and moulds it anew, till it is made fit for his own art; 

 he avails himfelf of the privileges allowed 'to Poets and Pain- 

 ters, and dares every thing to accomplim his end by means 

 correfpondent to that end, to imprefs the Spectator with the 

 fame intereft at the fight of his reprefentation, as the Poet 

 has contrived to do the Reader by hts defcription ; the end is 

 the fame, though the means are and muft be different. Ideas 

 intended to be conveyed to the mind by one fenfe, cannot 



K 2 always. 



