251 
PAIN T I N G. 
either by dignities, virtues, or great qualities, we cannot 
be too exaft, whether the parts be beautiful or not: for 
portraits of fuch perlons are to be (handing monuments to 
pofterity; in which cafe, every thing in a pidlure is pre¬ 
cious that is faithful. 
Of Landscape and Architecture. 
We are now come to that peculiar application of the 
art of painting, which reprefents extended views of what¬ 
ever is attached to the furface of the earth ; as mountains, 
rocks, woods, buildings, See. It is alfo applied to views 
of the fea, particularly when any portion of the land is 
feen. 
When our young painter has made a fufficient progrefs 
in thofe principal branches of his art, the deiigning, per- 
fpective, colouring, and drapery, of human figures, he 
fhould turn his thoughts to landfcape and architedlure : 
for, by ftudying them, he will render himfelf univerfal, 
and qualified to undertake any fuhjedl. 
The great points which the artilt ought to aim at who 
pradtifes landfcape-painting, are, to maik juft proportion 
and true perfpeflive ; to obtain a free and varying touch, 
which may fully charadterize the various objedls he mult 
of necefiity be called upon to imitate ; and to produce 
the effect of fpace, or what is technically termed dijiancc. 
There are two kinds of proportion which require at¬ 
tention in order to produce a pleating landfcape. One is, 
between the quantum of the furface of the picture appro¬ 
priated to the fky, and that allotted to the earth, or the 
figures intended to be introduced, be they mountains, 
houfes, rocks, or trees ; and the other is that of the va¬ 
rious parts of the pidlure, reciprocally, according to their 
various diftances in the feene. Of the latter, after the 
fize of the objedls on the fore-ground is determined, per- 
JpeElive is the foie regulator: therefore, a knowledge of 
the principal rules of that fcience is here abfolutely re- 
quifite. With regard to the former of thefe proportions, 
the fubjedt of the pidlure will undoubtedly furnilh the 
beft means of deciding juftly. If the feene be mountainous, 
viewed from below, and at a fhort diftance, the fpace al¬ 
lotted to the Iky mull be final!, and near the top of the 
pidlure. If, on the contrary, the view be of an open 
champaign country, the reverie will be the juft charadte- 
riftic of the pidlure ; and the Iky will occupy by far the 
larger part. In general, much more grandeur is acquired 
by a low horizon, and an ample fpace of iky, than by any 
other proportion ; and, next in effedt to that, is the di- 
redl reverie. 
Though landfcape-painting has not the fame powerful 
means to work with as hiltoric painting, which enjoys 
the great advantage of animation and exprellion in its 
fubjedls, and likewife prefents the greatell difficulty to 
overcome; yet, no true and enthufiallic lover and obferver 
of nature can avoid acknowledging that it pofielfes the 
power of exciting great filtered in the mind. A ftorm 
reprefented by the pencil of Gafpar Pouifin, or a calm 
by that of Claude, will not fail to imprefs the obferver 
with ideas of terror, or of gentlenefs. The one, who 
fkilfully traced the paths of the wind in its ravages, and 
the deformity produced by the falling, (bower; and the 
other, who loved to dwell upon the beauties of the 
earth in moments of undilturbed tranquillity ; equally fil¬ 
tered our feelings, and excite thofe emotions which fuch 
varied circumltances in nature are calculated to infpire. 
Compared with fuch views of the higher objedls and 
aims of art, the pradlitioner in landfcapeportrait-paintivg, 
or one who paints views of particular l'pots, finks into 
about the fame ratio as the portrait-painter of mankind 
holds to him who engages his talents in the reprelenta- 
tions of hiftory. Yet ltill his talk is not devoid either of 
pleafureor filtered. The fame principles are required for 
pradtice, but they are unfortunately often obliged to yield 
to peculiarities which dettroy their fimplicity and prevent 
their effedt; unlefs the artid has obtained that extraor¬ 
dinary talent of introducing cafual circumdances, as ideal 
fti.idows, accidental refiedtions, and agreeable figures, fii 
fuch a manner as to unite or improve imperfedt forms, and 
guide orattradl the eye,from difagreeable.parts-. As is the 
aim of the improver of grounds, or, as he is now termed, 
the landlcape-gardener, fuch. ought to he that of the land- 
fcape-painter. Wherever blemilhes in form occur, they 
fiiould be hidden, and, where natural beauties are be¬ 
llowed,they fhould be exhibited to view; and adorned 
with the proper adj muffs of trees, water, clouds, or figures. 
A perfon not converfiuit with the powers of combination 
and contrail in delign, can have no conception of their 
extraordinary power to heighten theeffedl, of the dulled 
feenes, and the meaned objects. It (hould therefore be 
the principal talk of the artid to obferve thofe which are 
condantly occurring among natural objedls, their eftedts, 
and the different fentiments they excite; fo that he may 
poiTefs a dore to recur to, in time of need. 
It is a wrong idea that has been often inculcated by in¬ 
genious writers on the art, that a landfcape ought to ex¬ 
hibit Nature truly and exadtly as it is reprefented on the 
retina of the eye. There are parts which ought to be 
hyperbolized, if we may ufe the exprelfion, and others 
that are better kept down. The medium of the air be¬ 
tween the objedt and the eye, throws harmony on the 
whole, which is not attainable on canvas but by a fevere 
attention to the effedt of light and lhadow ; oblerving at 
the fame time, that allowance mud alfo be made for the 
dilference of fize in the objedls, and the difadvantage of 
being feen in an apartment; whereas the original land¬ 
fcape is unbounded, and animated by torrents of unim¬ 
peded light poured inceffantly upon all its parts. It is 
curious to obferve, that the mechanifin of the eye is 
equally affedted by a well-painted landfcape as by the 
natural one; that is to fay, that we experience a fenfible 
motion in the orb of the eye to fwell or flatten the cryf- 
talline, as we pals from-a near to a dillant objedt: this 
effect is lefs perceptible in looking at a print. 
It is obvious that, in a landlcape, the trees of the fore¬ 
ground cannot be introduced in the fird drawing, or 
(ketch, unlefs they are of fo prominent a feature that the 
Iky becomes fubordinate to them. 
The general tone of your dead-colouring mud be deter¬ 
mined in a landfcape from the hour of the day, and the 
feafon of the year; from the Hate of the Iky, whether 
clear and illuminated with a bright funfhine, or cloudy 
and overcad with milty vapours. The grey and tranquil 
tints of morn rejedt the brilliant pride of cinnabar and 
vermilion, of burnt fienna, and other warm pigments; 
the gentle warmth of Naples-yellow, the natural deini- 
tint of Cologne-earth, are here modly required; but yield 
their province to the above-mentioned, when the difpen- 
lator of light rides up to his meridian dation; a,nd when, 
infenfibly verging to the arms of his beloved Thetis, 
Apollo inclines his purple car to the wed, then carmine, 
lake, Indian-red, mixed fometimes to the golden hue of 
ochre, or the azure brightnefs of ultramarine and Pruffian 
blue, ought to aflid the art in her way to give a good imi¬ 
tation ot Nature. Even thofe parts of day ought to be 
modified by the feafon of the year; the fined morning in 
December ought not to be painted like a Cummer dawn ; 
and the Jhowery, yet pleafant, evenings of April and May, 
bear little refemblance to the funlet of autumn. No 
landfcape-painter ought to expedh any attention from the 
public, if he does not forcibly feel tbejuftice of thefe ob- 
iervations, and put them in practice. 
The Greeks were not at all acidified to landfcape- 
painting. Pliny, who reckons as Greeks all thofe artifts 
who pradtifed in Sicily, at Alexandria, or on the Allan 
coalt, mentions a hundred and thirty-three Greek painters; 
but, although he abounds with anecdotes of the figure or 
perfon painters, neither he nor Paufanias notice any one 
celebrated pidlure, or painter, of landfcape. 
Among the Romans there were painters of landfcape. 
Pliny fays, that Ludius, in the time of Auguftus, firlt in¬ 
troduced that agreeable way of painting, on the walls of 
apartments 
