248 P A I N 
oil but when the)' painted pieces on which they built no 
part of their fame. 
9. Let the lludent place his eafel in fuch a way as to 
make the light paf's over his head; one (ingle light, of 
courfe, is neceflary to paint by. Some artifts, in their 
hurry of bulinefs, have painted final! lubje&s by candle¬ 
light, and with great effect; but this fuppofes in them a 
great knowledge of the power of their pigments, as it 
is evident that all yellows lofe a great deal of their inten- 
fity when feen by artificial light. 
10. The queftion, whether it is better to paint with 
few or with many colours, has been long agitated, but 
has never been decided ; every artifk following and in¬ 
dulging, in this as in many other points of the art, his 
own ideas and fancy. As it is placed beyond doubt that 
there are hut three elemental colours in nature, the mixture 
and compofition of which produce thofe innumerable 
tints which delight the light of man, and conftitute the 
beauty of the univerfe, it feems natural to think that 
three pigments, yielding thefe three colours, viz. red, 
yellow, and blue, would be fufficient to tranfport from the 
pallet to the canvas all hues imaginable ; white, however, 
being the refult of thefe three colours mixed, and the black 
the abfence of light, ought to be reprefented by pigments 
particular' to themfelves. According to this principle, 
no more than five pigments are required to paint any 
f’ubjedt ; this is true in theory; but, when we fit down to 
pradtife, we find that our colours, as they are, foon be¬ 
come very rnfutficient. We have no true red nor true 
yellow ; the blue is the belt; as the colour called Pruflian 
blue approaches nearer to perfection, uniting the two 
molt effential qualities, depth and tranfparency. Car¬ 
mine and lake partake of thefe qualities, it is true ; but 
their red implies blue, and therefore is not a perfedt red. 
Vermilion blazes with great brightnefs, but inclines to 
yellow, and has no tranfparency. Terra di Sienna, well 
chofen, well ground, and unburnt, offers a good yellow, 
but not unmixed with red ; and yellow ochre, fo ufeful 
in local tints, a colour that works fo pleafantly, and has 
fo ftrong a body, wants both tranfparency and depth. 
After thefe obfervations, which might be exemplified to 
a great length, but are fufficient to make the ftudent un- 
derftand eafily and perfectly the point we argue upon, it 
appears clear, that we muff have recourfe to-other earths 
and minerals, or other preparations, to arrive at the feve- 
rai tints which nature offers to our ingenuity as models 
to copy after. There is, for inftance, i a burnt Jienna, a 
certain kind of yellow and of red, which, if they could 
be feparated and worked by themfelves, would be of great 
ufe ; but they are fo united in the natural ftate, that 
man’s induflry is unable to part them ; yet we may imi¬ 
tate their hue, by mixing a little lake with raw or un¬ 
burnt fienna. But, what will be the refult ? In a few 
years the lake will lofe half of its intenfity, whiie, on the 
contrary, the fiennaearth will keep Ready, if not increafe 
in ftrength, and then produce a difeord where you had 
brought-in harmony. We may fay the fame of Cologne 
earth, of Indian-red, and, in fad, of all compound co¬ 
lours, whofe genuine complex tints may be imitated by 
the union of two pigments. The reafon of this we con¬ 
ceive to be that, in the fil'd inltap.ee, viz. in burnt fienna 
the red and yellow are homogeneous elements of that kind 
of earth, both endowed with the fame ftrength ; whereas, 
in the latter cafe, raw Jienna and lake are two heteroge¬ 
neous principles, of unequal vigour and different ten¬ 
dency. 
11. The room in which your eafel (lands, and fupports 
the canvas ready to receive your thoughts embodied by 
the help of pigments; in one word, your painting-room, 
ought to be pervious to one ray of light only, that is, to 
have only one window ; or elfe you, will lofe yourfelf in a 
maze of half-lights and half-fhadows, out of which you 
will never be able to extricate your pencil. Louis the 
XIVth of France (who underftood much better the art of 
war than the art of painting), having determined to fit 
T I N G. 
for his portrait to M. le Brun, one of the beft artifts of 
his realms, commanded his attendance in a well-known 
apartment of Verfailles called L’ceil de Bceuf, the Bull’s 
Eye, a room furrounded with windows. The painter felt 
uneafy, but the awe excited by his fovereign forced him 
for fome time to.an involuntary filence: he fketched and 
rubbed out, drew again, and wiped oif what he had done ; 
till the king afked him what could be the caufe of his un- 
eafmefs. The polite artift, in the true French ftyle, an- 
fwered, “ The rays of glory which play around the head 
of your majefty are too ftrong for mortal fight; therefore 
1 fnall humbly crave the honour of painting my fovereign 
in a darker room.” The king underftood him; and or¬ 
dered the eafel to be removed to a fingle-windowed apart¬ 
ment. 
Of the DIFFERENT KINDS. of PAINTING. 
As all the objedts in nature are fufceptible of imitation 
by the pencil, the matters of this art have applied them¬ 
felves to different fubjedts, each one as his talents, his 
tafte, or inclination, may have led him. From whence 
have arifen very minute divifions : the Encyclopaedia 
Britannica enumerates no fewer than eighteen different 
daffies of painting. The principal branches of the art 
are, however, Hiftory, Portrait, and Landfcape. What 
has been faid throughout the courfe of this article ap¬ 
plies chiefly to the moft important branch, hiftory-paint- 
ing; it remains therefore to infert fome rules and obfer- 
vations upon the two other branches : and we (hall then 
conclude with fome remarks upon what may be called the 
trade of painting ; namely Economical or Houfe Paint¬ 
ing. V 
It is of great importance that an artift fhould confult 
his own genius and ability before he engages in a parti¬ 
cular line of art: 
’Ere on the waiting ground his ready hand 
y Sketches new forms, and bids his groups to (land ; 
-sFirft let the painter paufe, reflect, and find 
h What fubjedts beft may fuit his pregnant mind. 
5 For various fubjedts various talents claim ; 
And lofty fouls at lofty laurels aim, > 
While modeft merit courts an humbler fame. 
u Of Hijlory fome boldly fearch the ftore ; 
3 And dip their pencils in the reeking gore 
° Of hard-contending holts. The bloody fight, 
£ And towns in flames, become their foie delight. 
K They (how the pallid virgin, (truck with fear, 
And mothers weeping on their children’s bier. 
Whilft others, fond of calm and rural fchemes, 
^ Will feek the lhade.s, and trace the winding ftreams 5 
u Place on their banks the (hepherds and the flocks, 
o And goats that teem to hang from (helving rocks. 
^ There Dryads meet with Satyrs in the dance ; 
1-1 Here Phyllis treads with wonted elegance ; 
And from the neighb’ring market brings with eafe 
The lighter bafkets of her barter’d cheefe. 
Prometheus-like, fraught with celeftial ray, 
. Our dearer friends from nature thefe pourtray, 
fc And on the lading canvas bid them live. 
2 A mother’s face to orphans they revive ; 
H Or to the widow’s mind, by magic art, 
o Retrace the faithful partner of her heart, 
** Whom death has doom’d to reft in calm repofe : 
And thus, by fidtious joys, footh real woes. 
This on the humid walls of-lofty domes, 
Or porticoes, with rapid pencil roams; 
q And boldly l’weeps his giant figures o’er, 
u A work immenfe ! Llere fwells the diftant (bore, 
“ With bright’ning rocks, beneath the azure fky. 
Here palaces allure the wond’ring eye 
In perfpective ; and, whilft our minds admire, 
Deceive the fight, and gradually retire. 
Others 
3 
