328 



though in him the character of beauty infi- 

 nitely prevails, and that of picturesqueness 

 is only subordinate. 



There can hardly be a stronger contrast 

 than between a picture of Claude, and one 

 of Ostade ; but the contrast arises from the 

 countries which they inhabited. Claude 

 had constantly before his eyes, the most 

 striking specimens of beauty, grandeur, and 

 magnificence, both in art and nature ; but 

 it is by his skilful management of these ma- 

 terials, which lay open to a number of other 

 artists, that he raised himself, though a mere 

 landscape painter, almost to a level with 

 history painters. Nothing can be more di- 

 rectly opposite than the character of his and 

 of Ostade^s buildings ; yet there is no slight 

 resemblance in their manner of considering 

 the effect of buildings in general, and in the 

 use they made of those circumstances, which 

 give most variety of outline, of tint, and 

 of light and shadow, without injuring the 

 harmony and connection of the whole. The 

 porches and posts of the one, answer those 

 purposes as effectually, as the porticos and 



