222 
PAINTING. 
with whom he lived on terms of intimacy and friendfhip. 
His abilities procured him the patronage of pope Bene¬ 
dict IX. according to Vafari, (though Baldinucci fays 
that it was Boniface VIII.) who employed him in St. 
Peter's, and highly honoured and remunerated him. 
Henceforth the art of painting became attached to the 
papal dignity, and few fucceeding pontiffs difregarded 
the ufe of it. 
The fkill of this ingenious artift excited the emulation 
of many among his contemporaries throughout Italy ; 
and the arts, having now acquired an earned of employ¬ 
ment and reputation, of emolument and of honour, no 
longer wanted fkilful profeffors, or illuftrious patrons. A 
grand epoch of their eftablifhment took place at Florence 
in 1350, fourteen years after the death of Giotto; when 
a difciple of his, Jacopo Caflentino, and nine other artifts, 
founded the Academy of St. Luke in that city; an infti- 
tution from whence arofe a large difplay of talent, in- 
creafing in worth, till at length, near 150 years after its 
foundation, it gave to the world three of the greateft lu¬ 
minaries in art w'hich it has ever known ; Leonardo da 
Vinci, Michael Angelo, and Raphael; belides Maffaccio, 
and others of great repute. 
From this time, then, we may date the eftablifhment 
of what are called 
Schools of Painting. 
By a fchool, we underft.lnd, as connected with the pre- 
fent fubjeCt, a clafs of artifts who have learned their art 
from a certain mafter, either by receiving his inftruCtions, 
or by ftudying his works ; and who of confequence difco- 
vcr more or lefs of his manner, from the defire of imitation, 
or from the habit of adopting his principles. 
All the painters which Europe has produced fince the 
renovation of the arts are clafied under the following 
ichools : the School of Florence, the School of Rome, the 
School of Venice, the Lombard School, the French School, 
the German School, the Flemifh School, the Dutch School, 
and the Englifh School. 
School of Florence. —This fchool is remarkable 
for greatnefs; for a boldnefs of expreffion which is unpa¬ 
ralleled by any of the others, and a fublimity of compo- 
iition which has excited the furprife and aftonifhment of 
all ages; though it is inferior in grace and beauty to the 
Roman fchool, and in livelinefs and eclat of colouring to 
the Venetian fchool. 
This fchool has an indifputable title to the veneration 
of all the lovers of the arts, as the firft in Italy which 
cultivated them. Cimabue may be conftdered as the 
founder of it; but we have already feen that it was not 
till the year 1350 that the Florentine painters became lb 
numerous and fo refpeCtable as to form themfelves into 
a fchool or fociety under the protection of St. Luke. 
After a lapfe of near a hundred years from the death 
of Giotto, Tomafo da San Giovanni, better known by 
the name of Maffaccio, (from his total negleCt of perfo- 
nal appearance,) exhibited a more exalted tafte, and a 
grander ftyle of execution, than hiscontemporaries. The 
■art, under his hands, may be faid to have advanced from 
the weaknefs of infancy to the Illation of youth, verging 
towards the vigour of perfect manhood. He firft com- 
pofed wdth an eye to the whole ; managed his groups and 
fingle figures upon the principles of perfpeCtive, which 
had been taught him by the fculptor Brunellefchi; and, 
by understanding the effeCl of thofe principles, firft laid 
the feet of upright figures flat upon the ground, and 
forefhortened his heads and figures with truth and effect. 
In faCt, it was to him that future artifts were indebted for 
a more fure and full direction of the line in which the art 
ought to be purfued. He ftudied nature with the great- 
eft attention, gave breadth and fimplicity to his draperies, 
and moll admirable aCtion, character, and expreffion, to 
his figures ; which are juilly and appropriately employed, 
and wrought with admirable execution. Even Raphael 
did not fcruple, eighty years afterwards, to lludy, and 
fometimes to adopt, his aCtions; of which there is an ex¬ 
traordinary inftance in the figure of St. Paul preaching 
at Athens. His principal works in the chapel of the 
Brancacci, in the church del Carmine at Florence, be¬ 
came the fchool of ftudy for all thofe excellent artifts who 
fucceeded him ; till, at length, Leonardo da Vinci, born 
near that city in 1445, two years after the death of Maf¬ 
faccio, came forth with fuperior luftre, and eclipfed all 
that had preceded. Endowed with uncommon genius, 
all arts and fciences feemed fcarcely to offer a fufficient 
field for the exertion of his talents. He grafped at all, 
and fucceeded in whatever he undertook ; but, by his 
verfatility, wafted much of his time in experiment. Had 
he perfevered with fteadinefs in purfuit of the art of paint¬ 
ing, he probably would have carried it to the utmoft per¬ 
fection. As it was, whatever he painted came from his 
hand elevated and adorned, and prefented a complete 
originality of effeCt and manner. To truth and precifion 
of character, and whatever had been well done by Maf¬ 
faccio, Leonardo added new and moll valuable qualities, 
by introducing the principles of chiaro-fcuro, and depth 
of tone in colour. By the former of thefe, pictures were 
relieved from the tamenefs of mere imitation, and ac¬ 
quired an increafe of power, in boldnefs and flrength of 
relief, and force of effeCt. He may be faid to have given 
more than hints of improvement in all the various 
branches of the art; and to have left fome examples, 
whence others, enjoying more fteadinefs, and lefs impe- 
tuofity of character, fubfequently imbibed fuch inflruc- 
tion, as directed their courfe, and aided them in a nearer 
view of ideal perfection. Michael Angelo in defign, Cor- 
regio in finifh and chiaro-fcuro, and Rubens in cornpo- 
fition, are furely indebted to Da Vinci for the foundation 
of much of their perfections. 
The general increafe of mental civilization, of litera¬ 
ture, and of fcience ; the fame caufes which operated in 
the eftablifhment of the firft grand era of the arts among 
the Greeks ; now again began to prevail in the world ; 
and the country where they were found, by natural pro- 
grefs, in its turn became the nurfe of art; and in time 
was remunerated, in the honour and renown of fupport- 
ing them, till they eflablifhed a fecond epoch, fcarcely 
Ids illuftrious than the former. The exiftence of Leo¬ 
nardo da Vinci was the immediate precurfor of that exalt¬ 
ation ; and the examples he left, and the leffons he in¬ 
culcated in his writings, had no fmallfhare in producing 
it. In him, as we have feen in Pamphilus, the mailer of 
Apelles, the art enjoyed the advantage of an union with 
fcience and general cultivation ; and the effeCt of that 
combination is evident in the hiftory of botln It ena¬ 
bled Leonardo to embellifh and diverfify the general im- 
prefliou of character drawn by Maffaccio ; and to exhibit, 
with more variety and fulnefs, the latent feelings of the 
human heart. Of this, his picture of the Laft Supper, at 
Milan, is a fufficient proof. And that this perfection was 
the refult of deep reflection, is evident, by his having re¬ 
frained from painting the head of the Saviour, till he 
could completely fatisfy his mind with what features and 
expreffion lie ought to compofe a reprelentation of his 
divine character. We are told the fame ftory of Haydon, 
in his picture of Chrift’s Entry into Jerufalem, now exhi¬ 
biting in London. 
About the beginning of the century in which Leonardo 
was born, the ufe of oil was adopted as a vehicle for 
painting; and afforded the means of molt extenfive im¬ 
provement, particularly in colour and effeCt. Dillemper, 
or colours mixed with fize and water, appears to have 
been, the firft adopted practice; and afterwards, frefco, 
as more durable, and better adapted to larger purpofes. 
But both of thefe modes are limited in the execution, 
more particularly the latter, in which, no means being 
given to change or retouch the colours without evident 
difparagement to the work, the artift was obliged to 
adopt as Ample a plan of conduCr as poffible in the ma¬ 
nagement of his defigns. But, when a vehicle was difco- 
vered,.. 
