X. Introdtution 



some eight years of work. The pictures of the large 

 majority of painters who enjoyed no small measure of 

 success in their day make it clear to us that anatomy 

 was a study beyond their pur%"iew. 



If it appear that the praise bestowed on these early 

 pictures is higher than they deserve, let it be borne in 

 mind that their merits must be considered not by the 

 artistic standards of the present day, but in comparison 

 with the work of contemporary or previous painters. 

 We may justly compare the horses of John Sartorius 

 (1710-1780) w-ith those of Thomas Spencer (1700-1763); 

 but to institute comparisons between the pictures of 

 either of these artists and those of J. F. Herring 

 (1795- 1 865), save for the purpose of marking the pro- 

 gress made in a centurj', would be absurd. 



Completeness is not claimed for the lists of pictures 

 and engravings which are appended to the biographies • 

 but it is hoped that these are at least fully representative 

 of the artists' work. We owe much to the art of the 

 engraver ; and it curiously reflects the comparative merits 

 of artist and engraver that impressions from some of 

 these old paintings possess a higher market value than 

 the originals. Apart from this, engravings and etchings, 

 considered as accurate representations of paintings, are 

 no less valuable historically. William Roscoe aptly 

 says : — 



"As the genuine paintings of ancient masters are becoming extremely 

 scarce, we are indebted to prints for the truth of our ideas respecting 

 the merits of such masters ; and this is no bad criterion, especially 

 when the painter, as is frequently the case, has left engravings or 

 etchings of his own. . . The principal excellence of an original 

 print is equally estimable with that of a painting. We have every 

 condition of design, composition, and drawing ; and the outline of 

 an engranng or etching is frequently marked with a precision which 

 excels that of the painting." 



The art of engraving, it must be remembered further, 

 has not always been the art of copying ; it has been 



