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MONTHLY. RETROSPECT OF THE FINE ARTS 
The Loan of all new Prints and Communications of Articles of Intelligence are requefitds 
"_ opening of the exhibition of the 
4 =Royal Academy engroffes a large 
portion of the attention of all admirers of 
the arts, and in our next Retrofpect we 
fhal] endeavour to difcriminate the various 
merits of the articles that it contains—for 
merit they unqueftionably have among them, 
though not of fo diftinguifhed-a kind as 
was to be feen there fome years ago, when 
the produgtions of fome artifts now no 
more were the leading articles, and ina 
degree compenfated for the mafs of unin- 
tere(ting matter with which other parts of 
the walls were covered. The Shakefpeare 
gallery and fome fimilar undertakings are 
{aid to have diffufed a tafte for poetical 
and hiftoric compofition among the peo- 
ple—but whether or not this is communi- 
cated to any Jarge portion of the prefent 
race of artifts is another queftion. Cer- 
tain it is, that z¢hezr improvement has not 
been quite equal to what was hoped and 
expected. But there may be reafons that 
have retarded their obtaining it. It wa 
{aid of phyfic, that the ancients began by 
attempting to make it a /ciexce, and 
failed ; the moderns began by attempting 
_to make it @ trade, and {ucceeded. Some- 
thing in a degree fimilar may be faid of 
painting. ‘The fplendid achievements of 
the brave, or the benevolent actions of the 
good, and fubjeéts of a fimilar nature to 
thofe ef Mr. Barry’s admirable pictures 
in the Adelphi, were at one time the 
leading articles—but now, portrait, por- 
trait, portrait, engrofles all. Some of 
thofe who attempted this fuperior ftyle un- 
queltionably failed—but the attempt was 
glorious. The purfuit led them toa know- 
ledge of what the art demanded, (and the 
Jate Sir Jofhua Reynolds pra€ticed ) even in 
portrait, a portraiture of the mind as well 
as the face. Wedo not extend this to 
the delineation of thofe unhappy counte- 
nances which have nothing like an index 
in any one feature—for that would be re-- 
quiring what would deftroy refembiance ; 
but where there is a ray of fen‘e lurking 
in any one feature, it may juit as well be 
transferred to the canvas as left out. This 
' applies with peculiar force to an exhibi- 
tion , for, except the intimates of the per- 
fons whofe heads are here fubmitted to 
public view, comparatively few can judge 
of the refemblance. General approbation 
can only be obtained upon the fame prin- 
Giple az at any other public exhibition ; 
Monxtury Mac, No 123, 
and we do not crowd the theatre to fee the 
aftors who perform, but to mark the pa{- 
fions and emotions that are there difplayed. 
Our young artilts are too apt to look at 
fome preceding painters, of either the an- 
cient or modern {chools, as the models of 
perfection; and from the young men who 
fludied at Rome, the public expeéted 
wonders, but they were generally difap- 
pointed; for thefe ingenious gentlemen, 
by frequently poring over many pictures 
, that were faded by age, and dimmed -with © 
dirt and varnifh, reconciled their eyes to 
a dark, dingy, and. brick-duft colouring. 
Bad as this was, the modern French glita 
ter, which glares upon the fight like a bed. 
of Dutch tulips, is @ill worfes If each of 
thefe clafles would take the trouble of 
ftudying nature as it is, they would 
amend their pragtice, and add to their 
profeffional characters ; and why will they 
not apply to the fountain-head, inflead of 
the muddy and mixed ffreams-that flow 
from it? 
To young ftudents the contemplation 
of good modeis is unqueftionably ufeful 
and neceffary—but the models ought to. 
be good ; if Mr. Barry’s advice had been 
followed, the Royal Academy would have 
begun a felection of them fome years 
fince; and we augur great improvement 
from what is faid to be in the contempla-. 
tion of the Marquis of Stafford, who, we 
have been informed, intends to form his 
fine collection of pictures into a gallery, 
which is to be open three days a week for: 
the ftudy of our Englith -painters. It is 
devoutly to be wilhed, that this report is 
founded in fact 5 it isa project highly ho- 
nourable to a man of rank, and fraught 
with great promife of advantage to. the 
arts of Great Britain. hat inimitable 
hiftoric painter, the -late Mr. Mortimer, 
devoted much of his time, and acquired 
a correétnefs of drawing fcarcely ever 
equalled, by the fiudy of the very fine 
cafts of the flatues at the Richmond gal 
lery, to which the Duke, for feveral years,. 
admitted every artitt who chofe to attend, 
The number of candidates for places in 
the exhibition of this year furpaffes, we 
believe, that of any other; and we have 
been told, that upwards of fifteen hundred 
pi@ures were returned to the artits who 
painted them; many of them for want of 
roem. The prefident, finding the num- 
ber fo great; voluntarily took out three 
3 pifiures 
