408 Fine Arts. 



Reynolds, Copely/ and Trumbull/ tiave been 

 much celebrated. In France the national taste 

 had been for some time perverted by the influence 

 of Boucher. But in the latter half of the cen- 

 tury a better taste was formed in that country by 

 the genius and exertions of David^ Guerrin, Vin- 

 cent, Regnault, Gerrard, and Girodet, whose 

 productions hold a high place in the estimation of 

 modern connoisseurs. 



The eighteenth century is distinguished above 

 all preceding ages by the remarkable prevalence of 

 a taste for Comic Fainting. The great original in 

 this branch of the art was William Hogarth, an 

 English artist, whose genius and works have been 

 long and universally famed. This wonderful cha- 

 racter is, perhaps, to be viewed rather as a WTiter 

 of comedy with a pencil, than as a painter. He 

 invented a new species of dramatic painting, in 

 which all the ridicule of life became concentrated 

 and embodied by his magic touch, to a degree alto- 

 gether unknown in any former artist, and in which 

 he will probably hereafter have few equals. His 

 talent for depicting the comic is thus described 

 by one of his coten^poraries. '^ If catching the 

 manners and follies of an age ' living as they rise,* 



z Mr. John Singleton Copely is a native of the State of Massachu- 

 setts. He went, a few years ago, to Great-Britain, where he was patro- 

 nized and instructed by Mr. West, and where he has been since very 

 honourably distinguished as an artist. His Death of Chatham, and his Siege 

 of Gibraltar, are generally considered among the most respectable monu- 

 ments of his genius. 



a Mr. John Trumbull is a native of the State of Connecticut. His 

 father was Governor of that State for a number of years, and was much 

 distinguished for his talents and patriotism. His Excellency Jonathan 

 Trumbo'll, the present Governor of Connecticut, is his brother. This 

 gentleman early discovered a great fondness for the art, in which he has 

 since made such honourable proficiency. He studied for some time under 

 the direction of his Illustrious countryman, Mr. West, who is not more dis- 

 tinguished by his abilities as an artist, than by his exertions in bringing 

 forward American genius. Mr. Trumbull has presented the public with 

 several historical paintings, which place him high among the artists of the 

 eighteenth century. His best pieces are the Death of Mentgomery, the 

 JBattle of Bunker s Hi/l, and the Soriie of Gibraltar* 



