416 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



[NOVKMBER, 



SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS. 



Sir, — All intelligent correspondent, Wilhelm de Winterton, has 

 asserted, page 37S of your last number, " that contrary to the allega- 

 tion of the person who professes to hold, in Sir Joshua's own writing, 

 a diary of practice, very ingeniously woven out of scraps and patches 

 by some keen observer of his habits, he kept no journal, and declared 

 in the hearing of Sir Martin Shee and othi-rs still living 'I'd give a 

 thousand guineas if I knew how I painted this and that, &c.' " 



So, because chattering people assert they heard Sir Joshua say he 

 ■would give a thousand guineas if he knew how he painted some par- 

 ticular picture or two, of vvhich he had evidently kept no memorandum, 

 therefore Sir Joshua never kept any journal at all, and ilitre/ore the 

 journal he did keep in his own hand of the vehicles of the great pro- 

 portion of his pictures, now in the possession of his relations, cannot 

 be his jourual, because it may he written in scraps from his conversa- 

 tion by other people!! Very likely certainly, and very beautiful 

 Logic. On reading this delicious deduction, I wrote Mrs. Gwatkin, at 

 Plymouth, Sir Joshua's niece and descendant, and who is in possession 

 of Sir Josliua's private papers, stating to her what had been asserted, 

 and requesting to know if Sir Joshua did or did not keep memoranda 

 of his daily practice, as I had in my possession extracts from such 

 memoranda, copied by SirW. Beecliy from the original book, but yet, 

 before replying to your correspondent, I wished her confirmation, as I 

 had never seen the original book myself, though the extracts I pos- 

 sessed bore evidence of being genuine in every sense of the word. 



By this morning's post, Mrs. Gwatkin has actually enclosed me a 

 leaf of the book in Sir Joshua's hand-writing, to make what use of I 

 please, saying: — 



« Plymoulh, Nov. 1 1, 1844. 



"Dear Sir, — I am sorry it has not been in my power to give you an 

 earlier answer to your note, and hope the document I send you will 

 be satisfactory in putting an end to the falsehood you mention; I have 

 cut it out of the book to which I imagine you allude. 



* :i: + * * * * 



"You will be so good as to return the leaf when it has answered 

 your purpose. 



" I am, dear Sir, yours, &c., 

 " B. R. Haydon, Esq." " Theoi'hila Gwatkin." 



There never was such an interesting document made public for the 

 art, and we are indebted to Wilhelm for mooting the question, which 

 has produced so satisfactory a refutation of the chatterers, who con- 

 cluded what they heard on sl particular occasion was a principle to be 

 applied to all occasions. 



Faithful Copy of a Leaf from Sir Joshua's Secret Memoranda Book 

 of haily Practice, nom in the Possession of his Niece. 



"Prima — Umbra et (latin) Biacca — Poco de olio — 



"Seconda — 



(Then he has written) — 



" My own Portrait — Asphaltum, Minio, Giallo e turchino 



(Prussian blue) per lo campo. 



"Umbra Verm, and Biacca, thick, occasionally thiiied' with tur- 

 pentine. 



"Primato | Nero, Cinabro, Minio, e Azurro. Thick. 



" Lord Henry and Lady Charlotte Spencer, first, olio e poi colori cou 

 cera senza oho. — Mr. Weyland, ditto — Miss Newport, ditto — Mrs. 

 Mordaunt, ditto — Mis. Morris, ditto — Tyrconael, ditto (Lord). 



"My own, Florence upon raw cloth, cera solamente (wax alone).' 

 "The Children on Mrs. Sheridan, poi cerata. 



"Mrs. Sheridan— The face in olio, poi cerata (waxed) Panni 

 (drapery) olio, — poi coo cera senza olio, poi olio e cera. 



"Mrs. Montague — Olio e cera | Asphaltum nero e cinabro. 



1 His own spelliDg. 



s Of this portrait Wilkie says, when at Florence (see Life), " perfect as the day it was 

 paiotud, not a crauk." — B. U. H, 



" Lady Dysart — Prime olio, poi cera solamente et pour (French) il 

 viso (Italian). 



"My own Picture, marked t behind, finished con Vernice di 

 Brim, senza olio (di Brim, perhaps copal from Birmingham.— B.R.H.) 



" My Lord Althorp— Minio, e nero, sol. poi giallo, e verm, senza 

 biacca— Olio, (It must have been exquisitely rich, makingyellow the 

 light, without white, like Rubens and Titian.— B. R. H.) 



" Mrs. Montague — Olio poi cerata e ritoccata con Biacca. 



Oct. 2, 1772.— Miss Kirkman— Gum Dr. et whiting— poi cerata 

 (waxed,) ovata poi (egged), poi veinicata (varnished), e ritocc.ita (and 

 retouched.)— "Cracks." (By Heaven, I should think so.— B. R. H.) 



To us artists, this is exquisitely interesting— getting into the tricks 

 of so great a man— Sir Joshua wrote all his memoranda in such a mix- 

 ture of Euglish, French and Italian, as if to conceal them from every 

 body. To proceed. 



"Aug. 15, 1774.— White, blue, asphaltum, verm, senza nero— Miss 

 Foley— Sir R. Fletcher— Mr. Hare. 



"Aug. 2(i, 1774.— White — asphaltum — verm. — minio piincipal- 

 mente, e giallo de Napolino, nero ni turchino — Ragazxo con Sorella. 



" To glaze con Asphaltum e Lacca the Boy with Child at his back A. 



"Sir R. Fletcher 



"Biacca, nero, ultramarino, verm, sed (latin) principalmente 

 minio senza giallo, e ultima volta (Italian) oiled out and painted all 

 over (English). 



"Ditto Mr. Hare, except glazed with varnish and Giallo di Napoli. 



"Finito quasi con asphaltum — minio — et verm, poi con poco di 

 ultramarino quella senza giallo. 



"Mr.Whiteford' — Asphal. verm.iuinio principalmente senza giallo. 



"Blackguard Mercury and Cupid," black and vermilion, afterwards 



glazed, 



"Sir John Pringle— Verm, minio— Giallo di Napoli et nero. 



Mrs.Joddrell— Head, oil— cerata (waxed), varnisht, with ovi (eggsj, 

 poi varn. (varnished) con Wolf (Wolf's varnish)— Panni, cera— 

 size— oiled— verniciata (varnished) ccnovo (with egg) poi cou VVollf." 



Good heavens! Let us recapitulate in English. The head painted 

 in oil, then waxed, varnished, egged, varnished again with Wollf's, 

 then waxed, sized, oiled, egged again, ai:d then finally varnished with 

 Wolff! 1 ! That is, varnished three times with different varnishes, and 

 egged twice, oiled twice, and waxed twice and sized once— perhaps 

 in 24 hours. 



The surface Sir Joshua got was exquisite, his delight must have 

 been intense, and though the reward was wortli the risk, in such extra- 

 ordinary infatuations he must be a beacon. 



The artists ought to feel greatly indebted to Mrs. Gwatkin's libe- 

 rality in permitting this curious extract to be published, and I hope I 

 have satisfactorily proved Sir Joshua did keep a journal of his prac- 

 tice, and that the journal thus held iu care and veneration by his ami- 

 able descendant is not a journal "of shreds and patches by some keen 

 observer of his habits," but a journal by his own hand, of his own 

 mind in its secret and coutidential meditations, invaluable to art, to 

 the distinguished aitist and the eager student. 



I am. Sir, yours, &c., 



14, Burnood Place, London, B. R. Haydon. 



jS'owmber 12, 1844. 



P. S.— I shall be happy to show lo any artist this interesting docu- 

 ment during the week. 



> Caleb Whiteford. 



« Lately exhibited at the British Gallery, and has stood well.— B. K. H. 



