48 ON COLOUR. Part j. 



harmonise with the buildings of the 12th and 13th centuries, 

 would not other glass paintings equally harmonise with such 

 buildings, whose drawing should more exactly resemble the 

 antique in point of excellence ? I say in point of excellence, 

 for I totally disclaim any intention of recommending the sub- 

 stitution of copies of classical draperies or ornaments for 

 mediaeval ones, or exchanging the individual character and 

 strictly human as opposed to God-like expression of the coun- 

 tenance which distinguish Christian art for the more gene- 

 ralised and conventional treatment of the antique. I wish to 

 see the Christian sentiment elevated, but not obliterated, by a 

 study of the antique, and the mediaeval drapery drawn as the 

 mediaeval artist would have drawn it had he possessed the 

 power of the Greek." We are satisfied in most cases to copy 

 an old style of architecture, because it is difficult to invent a 

 new one of equal beauty, and if a new style is to be intro- 

 duced this can only be done by degrees ; so too we may be 

 guided by the taste of a good period in glass, though it is not 

 necessary to imitate all its imperfections, as well as its beauties. 

 35. In a work entitled " Hints on Glass-Painting," * are some 

 judicious remarks on "the true principles of glass-painting;" 

 and though I cannot agree with the author in the preference 

 he gives to glass of cinque-cento time, with its "picture or 

 scene represented under a canopy or bower, or beneath an 

 archway," I subscribe to his opinion when he says, "The 

 capabilities of some kinds of painting are greater than those 

 of others ; but whichever an artist has occasion to adopt, it is 

 evident that his efforts should be confined to a skilful appli- 

 cation of the means it places at his disposal. He should 

 endeavour to develop its resources to the fullest extent, but 

 he ought not to seek excellencies which are incompatible with 

 its inherent properties. Failure must necessarily result from 

 an attempt to produce, in one mode, effects which are only 

 * " By an Amateur," ch. ii. sect. 2, p. 238. 



