PAINTING. 



and even the principal masses of colour, 

 all, in a certain degree, come under the 

 consideration of the artist, even when 

 making his first sketch. 



It were in vain to prescribe any other 

 general rule for the distribution of the 

 figures in a picture, except such as is dic- 

 tated by the peculiar circumstances and 

 character of the story to be represented. 

 Much has been said of the pyramidical 

 group, the serpentine line, the artificial 

 contrast, and, upon doctrines like these, 

 Lanfranco, Cortona, Giordano, Muratti, 

 and many others, their predecessors, as 

 well as followers, formed a style better 

 calculated to amuse the eye than to satis- 

 fy the judgment: an inordinate but ill 

 directed thirst of variety is the basis of 

 this artificial system ; contrast is succeed- 

 ed by contrast, opposition by opposition ; 

 but as this principle pervades all their 

 works, the result. is no variety at all, and 

 their conduct may be compared to that of 

 the voluptuary, who, grasping at every 

 enjoyment which presents itself, acquires 

 satiety instead of pleasure. Each subject, 

 however different its character, is com- 

 posed in a manner so similar to the other, 

 that the spectator may view a gallery of 

 such pictures, seldom discovering the 

 subjects they are intended to represent, 

 and without being afterwards enabled to 

 call to mind one prominent feature distin- 

 guishing the one from the other. 



If liattaele can be said to have regulat- 

 ed his compositions by any particular rule 

 or maxim, it was that of making each as 

 unlike the other as possible, consistent 

 with propriety of expression. Thus, in 

 the cartoon of Ciirist giving the keys to 

 Peter, the Apostles, all crowding to- 

 gether to be witnesses of the action, oc- 

 cupy the principal part of the picture, 

 and form a group in profile, the Saviour, 

 although in the corner of the picture, be- 

 ing nevertheless rendered evidently the 

 principal figure, by the insulated situa- 

 tion given to him, as well as by the ac- 

 tions of the Apostles, who all press for- 

 ward towards him, as to the centre of at- 

 traction. This cartoon is finely contrast- 

 ed by the magnificent composition repre- 

 senting the death of Ananias, where the 

 Apostles form a group in the centre, and 

 are all seen in front. That of Peter and 

 John healing the cripple at the beautiful 

 gate of the temple is again strikingly dif- 

 ferent from either of its companions, Raf- 

 faele having there, with a boldness of 

 which any but a sublime genius would 

 have been incapable, intersected, his com- 



position by the columns of the portico. 

 J3ut though divided, it is true, into sepa- 

 rate and almost equal parts, neither the 

 unity of action, nor the expression of the 

 picture, is impaired, whilst the etiect pro- 

 duced is at once novel and beautiful. 



In the process of painting, design may 

 properly be said to follow next after com- 

 position ; for although this part of the art 

 is, in a certain degree, requisite, even in 

 making the first roug'u sketch, it is not 

 until afterwards that the artist exerts his 

 utmost powers to give that exact propor- 

 tion, that beauty of contour, and that 

 grace and dignity of action and deport- 

 ment to his figures, which constitu'e the 

 perfection of design: that which was first 

 only hinted at is now to be defined: a few 

 rude and careless lines were sufficient in 

 the sketch to indicate the general atti- 

 tude and expression of the figure, now 

 the utmost precision is required, not only 

 in the outline of the naked parts, but even 

 in the delineation of the most complicat- 

 ed windings of a lock of hair, or the intri- 

 cate folds of a drapery. A very high de- 

 gree of excellence in design is peihaps 

 justly considered the greatest difficulty 

 of painting. Many of the works of Raf- 

 faele, and his school, leave nothing to be 

 desired on the score of composition and 

 expression. Colouring 1 was carried to its 

 highest pitch by Giorgione and Titian; 

 chiaro-scuro by "Coreggio, Rubens, Rem- 

 brant, and others of the Dutch school ; 

 but any thing approaching to perfection 

 of design, if we except some of the 

 figures of the great Michael Angelo, is 

 rarely to be witnessed in the productions 

 of modern art. The noble works of Gre- 

 cian sculpture still remaining, sufficiently 

 declare the decided superiority of the 

 ancients in this particular ; a superiority 

 indeed which the most enlightened judges 

 have never ventured to dispute. 



The light clothing of the Grecian youth, 

 which only half concealed the forms it co- 

 vered, whilst it allowed full scope to the 

 action and growth of the limbs ; their ce- 

 remonies, their athletic games and dances, 

 frequently performed naked ; the great 

 respect in which the arts of design were 

 held amongst them, insomuch that the 

 most beautiful of both sexes aspired to 

 become the models of the painter or the 

 sculptor : all these advantages, indepen- 

 dently perhaps of some others which 

 might be named, the artists of antiquity 

 exclusively enjoyed, and we cannot there- 

 fore be surprised that their minds were 

 better stored with tb.e ideas of fine form, 



