Chapter IX

Fuseli's Lectures at the Royal Academy.--Letters respecting them
from Mr. Farington.--Letter from Sir Henry Englefield, on the
subject of the ancient Vases.--Death of Fuseli's friend,
Lavater.--Fuseli's Visit to Paris in 1802.--His Letter from thence
to Mr. James Moore.--His acquaintance with the French Painters
David and Gerard.--Results of his Visit.--Letter from Mr.
Roscoe.--Fuseli's Remarks on some of the Paintings in the
Louvre.--Letter from Mr. Smirke.--Fuseli elected Keeper of the
Royal Academy.--Incidental Anecdote.--Letter to Mr. Joseph Johnson.

In March 1801, Fuseli delivered three lectures on painting, at the Royal Academy, which were numerously attended, and he gained much applause.

The feelings of the Academicians, the students, and the public, with respect to the lectures, will be shewn by the following letters from Joseph Farington, Esq. R.A. the friend of Fuseli, and a gentleman who at this time took a lead in all the affairs of the Royal Academy.

"Tuesday, March 17, 1801.

"DEAR SIR,

"Though I did not attend your lecture last night, I was not the
less interested for you, and, before the evening closed, had the
satisfaction to receive, from one who was present, an account that
was equal to my wishes. Be assured that you have made a due
impression on the minds of the members, and have added to the
credit of the Academy, and to your own reputation.

"I shall hope to see you soon.
"Believe me to be, dear Sir,
"Your's most sincerely,
"Jos. Farington."

"To Henry Fuseli, Esq."

"Tuesday, March 24, 1801.

"DEAR SIR,

"I have still more reason to congratulate you on the effect of your
last night's discourse, which made a still stronger impression in
your favour. Go on, for the honour of the Academy, your own credit,
and, I hope, interest.

"Dear Sir,
"Your's truly,
"Jos. Farington."

"To Henry Fuseli, Esq."

"March 31, 1801.

"DEAR SIR,

"Last night I saw Mr. Daniell, and this morning another person who
was at the Academy last night. The room, I am informed, was more
crowded; a proof of spreading reputation, and the satisfaction
general.

"More encouragement to succeed cannot be required.

"Dear Sir,
"Your's very sincerely,
"Jos. Farington."

"To Henry Fuseli, Esq."

These lectures Fuseli published in the month of May 1801, in a quarto volume, which was dedicated to his friend, William Lock, Esq. of Norbury Park. As they have been long before the Public, it is unnecessary now to speak of their merit; suffice it to say, that they have been translated into the German, French, and Italian languages.

The publication of Fuseli's lectures having made a great sensation among artists, and that on ancient art in particular having been much canvassed by them as well as by antiquaries, he wished to gain, and, if he saw fit, to embody in future editions, as much information as could be obtained on this subject; he therefore made application to his friend the late Sir Henry Englefield, Bart. for his observations upon the Vases of the ancients, commonly called Etruscan, which that gentleman gave him in the following letter:

"Tilney Street, August 24, 1803.

"DEAR SIR,

"At your desire, I communicate to you such observations on the
ancient Vases, commonly called Etruscan, as a minute examination of
many of the finest specimens in the magnificent collection of Mr.
Thomas Hope, and the select and very beautiful one belonging to Mr.
Edwards, have enabled me to make, particularly with respect to the
mechanical process used in the decoration of them.

"The material of these vases is clay of a very fine and close
quality, extremely light, and of a colour nearly the same in all, a
light and agreeable orange red.

"They all, without exception, are covered with a varnish or glazing
of a dark colour, but not in all of the same tint; in some, it has
a greenish hue, and a lustre of a metallic appearance; this is most
striking in those found near Nola. In many, the varnish is of a
brown black, like asphaltum.

"The vases may be ranked in four classes.

"1. Those covered with varnish without ornament or painting of any
kind.

"2. Those which bear on the natural ground of the ware, figures in
black varnish.

"3. Those whose figures are left in red, the vase being covered
with varnish.

"4. Vases covered entirely with varnish, on which ornaments are
painted in colours.

"Of the first sort it will be necessary to say but little. Many of
the most exquisitely formed Nolan vases are of this sort. The
varnish appears to have been laid on while the vase was on the
lathe. The parallel strokes visible on the surface of the varnish,
and its extreme equality of tint, prove this. No better mode can be
devised for varnishing, except dipping the ware into the liquid
varnish; and this was not done in these vases, as the varnish never
covers the hollow of the foot, nor descends deep within the neck. I
cannot at all say whether the vase was varnished while yet wet, or
first suffered to dry, or even baked a first time, as is the
process in much of our common modern glazed earthenware.

"The second sort bear in general marks of the most remote
antiquity. The figures are universally of a stiff and meagre form,
the drapery close, and the folds few and hard. Yet in many the
composition is good, and the action of the figures vigorous. They
exactly resemble in style the bronzes still remaining of Etruscan
work.

"The mode pursued in painting them was this:

"The intended figure was painted without any previous discoverable
outline in varnish, and then resembled exactly those figures so
common under the name of Silhouettes. When the varnish was quite
dry and hard, the features, the limbs, and the folds of the
drapery, &c. were scratched through it with a pointed tool, which
was applied with such force as to cut some depth into the clay of
the vase. This sort of outlining was sometimes carried round parts
of the contour, which appeared to the artist not sufficiently
distinct without it. The hands and fingers are often thus partially
scratched out. Parts of the drapery and ornaments on the heads of
the figures were then covered with a coat of coloured paint. Violet
occurs most frequently; often a green, and sometimes white. In some
vases of the most ancient and rudest appearances, animals,
particularly birds, are coloured not only with these colours, but
also red and yellow; and the appearance and style of these vases
have a great resemblance to the Egyptian paintings on their mummy
chests. The vases of this sort are said to be universally found in
the deepest graves, so deep indeed, that over them sepulchral
chambers of a later date, with vases of a totally different
character are often found. That the colours above-mentioned were
put on after the outline was scratched in, is ascertained by the
circumstance of the colours having in many instances run into, and
partially filled up, the strokes engraved in the vases. This
species of painting is evidently the first improvement on the
simple Skiagrams.

"The vases of the third description, namely those whose figures are
left in red, on a ground of dark varnish, are by much the most
common of any, and are found of all degrees of excellence, from the
most careless and slight finishing, to the most exquisite work; but
in all, the style of design is essentially different from those
described above, with the figures in black. In the red figures,
however negligently executed, there is a fulness of form, and a
freedom of drapery perfectly similar to the remains of Greek art
which have reached us, whether in sculpture or coins.

"The process also of this execution is entirely different from the
second sort, and will be now minutely described from repeated
observations of many of the most exquisite of them, made not only
with the naked eye, but with glasses of high magnifying power.

"The first thing painted on these vases was an outline of the
figures, not only of their contour, but the markings of the
features, muscles, folds of the drapery, ornaments, &c. This
outline, in those vases which are of fine execution, was made with
an instrument which carried a very fine and equal point, and at the
same time left a very full body of the colour used on the vase. The
colour itself appears to have been of a thick consistence; for if
the strokes, even the finest, (which are as fine as could be made
by a good pen,) are carefully examined with a magnifier in a side
light, it will be distinctly perceived that there is a slight
hollow in the middle of each, owing to the colour having flowed
round the point which traced it, and met behind it,--just as we see
in a road where the mud is of a semi-fluid consistence, that the
track of a wheel is filled in with the pasty mire, leaving a
depressed line in the centre of the rut.

"It is impossible to say whether the instrument used for these
outlines was of the nature of a pen or a brush; yet I am inclined
to think from the flowing appearance of the lines, that a firm and
finely pointed brush or pencil was used. Whichever it was, the
hands which guided it possessed a steadiness and freedom of
execution, almost incredible. Lines of a great length and difficult
curvatures are carried over the convex surface of the vases,
without the least wavering or indecision, or any lifting the point
from the vase, or any repetition, or filling up of the stroke. An
attentive examination of the outline will ascertain this fact
beyond a doubt, and a further proof of it may be drawn from the few
instances in which strokes of very great length have been done at
twice, particularly in a vase of great size and admirable execution
in the collection of Mr. Hope, representing probably the story of
Triptolemus, where the long parallel lines marking the feathers of
the wing of a Genius have been suspended about half way; and no
particular care has been taken to conceal the junction of the
lines.

"This vase also furnishes a very rare and instructive instance of
what, by artists, are called _pentimenti_, or changes of design.
The wheel of a chariot and part of the arms of a figure, with a
patera or cup in the hand, have been considerably varied; and the
first outline is still visible like a faint red chalk stroke, but
without any appearance of enlargement or smearing, so that it
should seem that the false stroke was scraped off by a sharp edge,
carefully applied to the surface of the vase when the varnish or
paint was nearly dry.

"That the outline was performed with this freedom and celerity, and
scarcely ever altered, may be further inferred, from the great
inaccuracies of drawing so frequent even in those vases whose
design and execution are of the very highest class. Perhaps an
absolutely unerring precision of hand has never been the lot of any
artist, however excellent. The drawings of the greatest masters
prove that they found many things to alter in their most careful
first lines; and the union of excellence and defect on the vases
can, I think, only be accounted for in the supposition of an
unaltered line.

"What has been hitherto said of the mode of outlining this sort of
vases is applicable only to the finish of them. In those of
inferior finish, the outlines are much thicker, and laid on with a
less body of colour; and in many of the coarsest, there is reason
to think that no outline at all was made, but that the figures were
merely left red in the general wash of the vase, with the
dark-coloured varnish, and the outlines of the features, folds of
the drapery, &c. were put in with a large brush, and in a very
careless manner. Indeed, on the very finest of the vases, the
subordinate decorations, such as the honeysuckle (as it is called)
ornament so frequent under the handles, were simply left red in the
general wash of varnish over the body of the vase; at least no
outline of them is now discoverable. To return to the painting of
the finest vases. The outline already described being perfectly
dry, the artist with a brush or other similar instrument which bore
a full body of colour and made a stroke of about a quarter of an
inch in breadth, went carefully round the contours of the outlined
figures. In this operation, an opportunity was given to make slight
alterations in the design, and in some degree to amend the contour.
This seems to have been often done; for the original outline is
often covered in parts by this wash, and appears projecting from
the surface of the vase under it; affording also a proof that the
outline was dry and hard before this wash was laid on. Frequently,
also, this wash does not come quite up to the original outline;
but in general the wash follows the outline in a most steady and
masterly manner. Probably at this time the hair of the figures was
put in with a thin wash of the same varnish or colour, managed with
peculiar freedom and dexterity, and so washed out to nothing at the
extremities of the flowing curls of the tresses, as to have the
lightest and at the same time the most finished effect. It is to be
observed that the hair, which in some parts is as dark as the
ground of the vase, is not carried quite to the ground, but that a
small space is left red round the hair, in order to relieve it from
the ground of the vase.

"The truth of the contour being thus secured by this narrow border
of ground carefully laid on the covering, the remaining surface of
the vase with its varnish, might be safely entrusted to an inferior
hand. That the varnish was laid on at twice, is evident by
inspection of any well-finished vase, where the first narrow line
of varnish is distinctly visible under the general wash.

"This process finished the greater part of the vases, even the
finest; but on some, particularly those of the largest size, when
every thing else was quite dry, some parts of the design were
coloured with washes of two different tints. The horses and parts
of the armour are painted with white, which when dry is opaque, but
when wetted becomes nearly transparent. Parts of the drapery and
ornaments round the necks and on the heads of the figures, and some
of the shields, are painted yellow, and several small flowers and
ornaments of foliage, which are interspersed among the figures, are
painted in white and yellow. The internal outlines and muscles of
the horses are painted with lines of a light orange on the white;
and the white shields are ornamented in the same manner. That the
white horses were painted after the original black outline of the
human figures was dry, is evidently seen in the magnificent vase in
the possession of Mr. Edwards. In that vase a leg of one of the
horses comes across the thigh and drapery of a figure, and the
original outline of that figure is visible under the white colour
which forms the horse's leg. All these colours are so fixed on the
vases, probably by fire, that they resist the action of aquafortis.

"The vases of the last sort, namely, those which have ornaments in
white and other colours painted on a black ground, which covered
the whole surface of the vase, are very rarely to be met with. Mr.
Hope possesses several, which Sir William Hamilton told me were
all found in one sepulchral chamber, in which none of any other
sort were placed. The cause of this singularity it were vain to
enquire. No figures are represented on these vases, but the
ornaments are light wreathes of ivy, or vine-leaves, with masks and
other bacchanalian symbols. The execution is careless, but
spirited; the paint used seems of the same quality with that above
described as covering the horses, &c. in vases of the third sort;
and the mode of applying it appears in no wise to differ from what
would be now pursued. It is not, therefore, necessary to say any
thing further on this subject.

"It is singular that on vases so profusely adorned with painting,
scarcely an instance of any thing like bas-relief or sculpture of
any kind occurs; on the handles of Mr. Edwards's great Vase, two
full faces in very flat relief are seen; but, con rispetto
parlando, is it quite certain that these handles are entirely
ancient?

"These are the observations which a very careful examination has
enabled me to make on the mechanical process used in adorning the
ancient earthern Vases called Etruscan. To your judgment, Dear Sir,
I submit them, confident that you will, _Si quid novisti rectius
istis, Candidus_--rectify my errors.

"I am, with sincere regard,
"Your obliged and faithful,
"H. Englefield."

"To Henry Fuseli, Esq. R. A."

Early in the year (1801) Fuseli was much dejected by the intelligence of the death of his old and esteemed friend and fellow-student, Lavater. This singular man fell a sacrifice to what he considered his clerical duty; for, when Zurich was occupied by the French, in an attempt to afford consolation and alleviation to the sufferings of his townsmen, which usually accompany the presence of an invading army, he was stabbed by the bayonet of a soldier, under which wound he languished for some months, and closed a valuable and useful life on the 2nd of January, 1801.

The treaty of peace which was signed at Amiens in 1802, afforded the English an opportunity of visiting France, and examining those treasures of art which Buonaparte had torn by violence from Italy, Germany, and Holland, when those countries were subjected to him, in consequence of the conquests of the French armies. Fuseli being determined to view them, went to Paris, accompanied by some friends, with the intention also of collecting materials for publishing, for the information of travellers, a critical account of the principal pictures and statues which then adorned the Louvre. The party consisted of Mr. Farington, R.A. Mr. James Carrick Moore, Mr. Halls a young artist, and himself.

Urgent business compelled Mr. Moore to return to London earlier than he had anticipated; but the remainder of the party passed six weeks in Paris, during the months of September and October, whence Fuseli wrote to Mr. Moore the following letter:--

"DEAR MOORE,

"I had once a valuable friend in the Rev. Mr. Whalley, who took
great pains to improve me by his correspondence; he was able at all
times to write faster than he could think; from which you probably
might be led to surmise that his epistles would have been fuller of
news than observations--you would be mistaken; they were essays
crammed with trite observations, such as delight in a
magazine;--news I never heard from him. If I except _you_, I must
own that all my correspondents on your side of the water are very
like him. Your letter from Dieppe gave me some useful information,
such as might preserve my knee from another _synovia_,[49] or my
neck from a crick; and if you took more delight to penetrate my
character than to fit me for a trip across the water, in your last,
you have at least convinced me that you thought more of _me_ when
you wrote, than of _yourself_,--a phenomenon that at once decides
your character in my mind, and furnishes me with a master-key for
_your_ heart; in any other way you would have found poor Harry

'Too shallow, much too shallow,
To sound the bottom of his Jemmy's mind.'

"I am, I hope, in the last week of my stay in this paradise of mud,
and fricandeaus. God! what additional ecstasies you have lost by
your precipitate flight! So many pictures, which would have
exercised your critical faculty; the _Apotheosis of St.
Petronilla_, by Guercino, in which a colossal dowdy on this side of
the grave is transformed to a celestial beauty on the other; the
_Fontana d' Amore_, by Titian, a picture which transports you to
the plains of Arcadia, or the vale of Enna; the whole-length of
Cardinal _Bentivoglio_, by Vandyck--a soul personified--a male
soul, I mean: for the mirror of all female spirit, soul, mind, and
graces, would have been held up to you by Titian again, in the
portrait of _his Mistress_ untwining her ringlets, or, as Petrarch
would have called them, her

'_Crespe chiome d'or puro lucenti._'

"_Madame, dont je baise les mains_, will explain this to you: and
so much for what you have lost at the Museum.

"Since your departure, we have been joined by Mr. Robert Smirke,
than whom no young man I ever liked more, and only wish and fondly
hope he will say the same of me, when he talks of old men. I have
been with him to see the house of Madame Ricamier, the ultimate
standard of Parisian taste, whose enchanting bedchamber he has not
only measured, but drawn with a taste which improves it. As Harriet
loves Latin as well as Italian, I will gratify you both with the
inscription on the pedestal of a small marble figure of Silence at
the head of the bed. 'Tutatur amores et somnos conscia lecti.'
Halls, who sees, observes, says little, laughs more, is frequently
indisposed, and looks forward to England, requests to be remembered
to you, and may be sure of his request. The inquisitive traveller,
my other companion and manager, does the same, but has not
forgotten that you would not let him stretch his legs on one of the
beds at St. Juste.[50] He and I have been presented to the
"_Section des belles lettres et des beaux arts_" of the Institute
at the Louvre, where we were equally tired, I by understanding, and
he by not understanding, what we heard.--My love to Graham--adieu,
till you see me in Grosvenor-street.

"Henry Fuseli."

"10 Vendemiaire, in Christian,
2d October, 1802."

"I have not yet heard from my wife: if you should be led by your
calls into the neighbourhood of Queen Anne-street, and would tell
them I am coming, you will do a kind thing."

The society of Fuseli, while he was in Paris, was courted by the principal painters of the French school. David, whom he had known at Rome, paid him much attention, and wished to introduce him to the First Consul; this he however declined, as well as many other civilities which this eminent painter offered, for he frequently said, "When he looked at David, he could never divest his mind of the atrocities of the French Revolution, nor separate them from the part which he had then acted, for they were stamped upon his countenance."[51] Gerard also showed Fuseli great respect, and on every occasion expressed a high admiration of his genius.

Every one who visits the galleries of the Louvre to examine its pictures and statues critically and with care, is convinced that much of their effect is lost (particularly that of the pictures) in consequence of its being generally lighted on each side by windows, and only a small proportion of the picture-gallery by sky-lights. Fuseli, who had seen and recollected most, if not all, of the celebrated pictures, of the Italian schools in particular, in the churches or palaces for which they were painted, and to which the artists had accommodated their light and shadow, was particularly struck with the difference in their effect, and deplored their removal. He likewise perceived with great regret, the injury which they had sustained and were sustaining from the hands of the French picture-cleaners, or, as they are generally called, picture-restorers; and that, among others, the celebrated "Transfiguration," by Raphael, although it had suffered less than most, was in some degree impaired.

As the peace between England and France was of short duration, one of the objects of Fuseli's visit was lost, and his observations on the works of art then in the Louvre were not therefore published. The memoranda which he made were afterwards incorporated either in his "Lectures on Painting," in his "Fragment of a History of Art," or in the observations on the works of artists, in his editions of "Pilkington's Dictionary of Painters."

In the year 1803, he gave a picture to "The Union" Society at Liverpool: which he presented to the members, to use his own words, "as a trifling pledge of gratitude to a country which has reared the humble talents which I possess." Mr. Roscoe acknowledged the receipt of this picture by the following letter:--

"MY DEAR FRIEND,

"I have waited, day by day, for the last month, in expectation of
either seeing you or hearing from you; and my patience being now
quite exhausted, I can no longer refrain from enquiring what can be
the reason of this alteration, or, at least, long protraction, of
your intended visit to this place.

"In my last, I endeavoured to express the pleasure I felt in the
hope of seeing you so soon, and only requested that I might have a
line before you left London, that I might arrange matters (being
now a man of business) so as to enjoy as much of your company as
possible. We are now near the middle of November; the fine weather
leaving us, and winter fast approaching; yet I still flatter myself
that I may see you, and shall do so, till I hear from you to the
contrary. Why not spend your Christmas with us, when days are
short, and little professional time can be lost by it? At all
events, let me _hear_ from you, that I may either continue to enjoy
the hope of seeing you, or reconcile myself as well as I can to my
disappointment.

"It is now two or three weeks since the large case of pictures came
safe to hand; "The _Union_" is placed in its proper station, where
it has an uncommonly fine light, and looks extremely well. The
printer of one of our papers wants to say something fine about it,
and has called upon me for a description. Can you suggest what I
shall say as to the _allegorical_ part of it, or shall I try to do
the best I can, both with respect to that and the execution? which
could not have been more suitable, or had a better effect, if you
had seen the place. I know no method that would have so direct a
tendency to encourage the high style of painting in this country,
as the introduction of good pictures into public buildings, and
even churches; on which last subject, I hope to show you some
remarks, which will appear in my Life of Leo X. now almost ready
for the press. I allow this would be little satisfaction to the
artist, if he was to give his time, talents, canvass, and paint, as
some people do. You and I will, however, settle this point, I doubt
not, to our mutual satisfaction.

"Having read thus far, take up your pen without delay, and let me
at least once more see your _magnanimous pothooks_ on the back of a
letter, addressed to your ever faithful and affectionate friend,

"W. Roscoe."

"Liverpool, 12th Nov. 1803."

"P.S. The Allegro and Penseroso are safe at Liverpool, but are much
too large for any situation I can give them at Allerton."

In order to give some notion of Fuseli's projected work, for which chiefly he went to Paris, the following criticisms upon some of the pictures then in the Gallery of the Louvre may be acceptable: these he was kind enough to offer to me when I was about to visit France in the year 1814.

JULIO ROMANO--THE CIRCUMCISION.

This picture, which is known from the print published in Crozat,
deserves rather to be considered as a curiosity than as the work of
a great master; its composition bears some resemblance to the
cartoon of "Peter and John healing the Lame Man," of Raphael; but
the simplicity and dignity of the master are lost in the crowd with
which the pupil surrounded the ceremony. Though the columns occupy
full as much space, and are as prominent and as full of ornament in
the cartoon as in the picture, and although the principal actors
are placed in both between them, they are not perceived in the work
of Raphael, till we have witnessed the miracle, whilst in that of
Julio, they lead us to the ceremony, which eclipses the actors in
its turn.

PAOLO VERONESE.

1. The Nuptials of Cana.
2. The Feast of Levi the Publican.
3. The Madonna, St. Jerome, &c.
4. The Martyrdom of St. George.
5. Jupiter launching his Thunder on the Crimes.
6. Christ carrying his Cross.
7. The Crucifixion.
8. The Pilgrims of Emaus.

The two first, the third, and last of these pictures, are perhaps
the fullest models of that ornamental style by which a great critic
has discriminated the Venetian from the rest of Italian
styles,--"monsters to the man of native taste, who looks for the
story, for propriety, for national, unartificial costume,--mines of
information to the student and the masters of art." The most
technic comprehension of a magnificent whole, and supreme command
over the infinite variety of its parts, equal suavity, energy, and
ease of execution, go hand in hand with the most chaotic caprice in
the disposition and the most callous tyranny over the character of
the subject. Whatever relates to the theory of colours, of solid,
middle, and aërial tints, to the opposition of hues warm or cold,
and the contrast of light and dark masses, is poised here with
prismatic truth; the whole is a scale of music. It is more by
following the order of nature and of light in the disposition of
the whole, that Paolo attained that illusion, which approaches to
deception, than by the attempt of making _fac similes_ of the
parts. He knew that dark, juicy, and absorbent colours come
forward, that white recedes, and that the middle parts partake of
both, and hence, uniting the two extremes by the intermediate tint,
he obtained that superior harmony on which the Venetian school
rests its superiority of colour, and which Rubens sought with
unequal success in the capricious disposition of a nosegay or a
bunch of flowers.

THE MADONNA OF FOLIGNO--RAPHAEL.

None who has seen this picture at Foligno, will recognize it here.
Whatever praise the ingenious and complicated process of
restoration may deserve, that of having restored to the picture its
original and primitive tone makes certainly no part of it: as well
might the ingredients of a dish ready-dressed by a _restaurateur_
of the _Palais Royal_, be said to resemble the unprepared viands of
which it is composed. I am far from ascribing the want of
resemblance to the restoration; it could only give what
remained--the bleak crudity of its aspect. The comparative
imbecility of some of its parts accuse another hand that
succeeded.[52] Pictures _ex voto_ can claim little merit from
composition. "The Madonna" of Foligno, and the "St. Cecilia" of
Raphael; the "St. Sebastian" of Titian, &c. are discriminated from
each other by little else than by a more or less picturesque
conception of the ground on, or before which the figures are
placed: it is expression, therefore, which makes their chief merit,
and this is the great loss which we have suffered in the "Madonna
of Foligno." Neither the "St. John," the "St. Jerome," nor the head
of "St. Francis," acknowledge the hand, the eye, or the feelings of
Raphael. The "St. John," though perhaps not even in its original
state sufficiently dignified, is become a savage, and what is
worse, a French one. The "St. Francis," and "St. Jerome," have been
tinted into insipidity; but the head of "Sigismond Conti," the
"Madonna and Child," appear to have suffered less, and the angelic
countenance of "The Cherub with the Tablet," beams with its
primitive radiance the impasto of Raphael.

RAPHAEL WITH HIS MAITRE D'ARMES.

Tradition has persevered to give this admirable picture, known from
the print in Crozat, to Raphael. It does not, however, require more
than a comparison with his other portraits, from the first to that
of Leo the Tenth, to see that the donation is gratuitous; if it
were to be given to any other master, Giorgione has undoubtedly the
first claim upon it, and there is no known work of his which can
dispute its precedence, though it agrees with them in style. That
conscious purity of touch which, exclusively, scorns all
repetition, visible chiefly in the nose and nostrils of the Maitre
d'Armes, the unity of tone in the whole of the colour, and that
breadth, which, without impairing the peculiarity of character or
the detail, presents the whole at once,--dualities never attained
by the dry and punctiliory Roman principles, speak a Venetian
pencil. The forefinger of the right arm is perhaps not designed, or
foreshortened, with the energy or correctness which might be
expected from the boldness of the conception, or from the power of
either Raphael or Giorgione: but the character of the hand as well
as its colour, is in unison with the head. Why the principal
figure should be called a Maitre d'Armes is not easily conceived;
it is certainly the most important of the two, and the leading
figure of the picture. The second, although full-faced, is
subordinate, and can by no courtesy of physiognomy be construed
into the head of Raphael, unless the heads in the Tribuna at
Florence, in this gallery, in Vasari, in the school of Athens, &c.;
as well as the head of the figure wrapped in a _Ferrajuolo_, and
sitting in a painter's study, as meditating, by M. Antonio, be
spurious. It bears indeed some resemblance to a head etched by W.
Hollar, and subscribed with his name; but the authority on which
that appellation rests, is too futile to be admitted.

JOHN AB EYCK.

If these be the works of John ab Eyck, there is not only an
additional proof, that he could not be the inventor of
oil-painting, but likewise that, for near a century after him, the
colour of the Flemings continued in the same retrograde taste which
checked the Italian design, from the time of Lorenzo Ghiberti to
that of Leonardo da Vinci. The pictures here exhibited as the works
of Hemelinck, Metsis, Lucas of Holland, Albert Durer, and even
Holbein, are inferior to those which are ascribed to Eyck, in
colour, execution, and taste. Compared with their composition, the
pictures of Andrea Mantegna are nearly reduced to apposition; and
the draperies of the three figures on a gold ground, especially
that of the middle figure, could not be improved in simplicity or
elegance by the taste of Raphael himself. These three figures,
indeed, are in a style far superior to the rest; but even these,
whether we consider each figure individually, or relatively with
each other, their masses, depth, and relief, cannot be surpassed by
those which are ascribed to the German, Dutch, and Flemish masters
of the succeeding century. The three heads of God the Father, the
Virgin, and St. John the Baptist, are not inferior in roundness,
force, or sweetness, to the heads of Leonardo da Vinci, and possess
a more positive principle of colour; the harmony of _chiar' oscuro_,
at which Leonardo aimed, admitted of no variety of tints than what
might be obtained by the gradation of two colours. His carnations
appear to have been added by glazing; such is the head of Mona Lisa.

PHILIPP DE CAMPAGNE--THE VISION OF ST. AMBROSE.

The title of this picture is not accurate. It is an intermediate
figure of Apostolic gait, and in garments of legendary colours,
that shews the saints arrayed in white, who themselves seem less
occupied by the errand for which they came, than by the place which
they had left. Whatever in this picture is not vision is admirably
toned, solemn, dim, and yet rich, the colours of a sacred place,
and cloistered, devout meditation. Of these, St. Ambrose himself
partakes; but the Apostle who addresses the Bishop, and the two
Saints themselves, are by far too ponderous, and their outlines far
too much defined for celestial beings, and for the clouds on which
they are placed: their drapery, although admirably folded, recalls
in the saints too strongly marble, and in the Apostle too palpably
reality.

A DEAD CHRIST.

This figure, which has much of the genuine stern Italian colour,
resembles the Dead Christ, as he is called, in the library at Basle
by Holbein, in attitude perhaps,--is inferior to it in truth, but
certainly much superior in style: it has much of Carravaggio; the
head in shade has a mysterious effect, but the fore-part of the arm
with the hand wants the rigid truth of the Italian master whom he
seems to have imitated.

LE BRUN--THE DEATH OF CATO.

The countenance of this figure is as unlike Cato, as the style of
colour is to all other works of Le Brun: it is a common man with a
beard, powerfully drawn, and painted in an austere Italian tone.

NICHOLAS POUSSIN.

From the extensive list exhibited, we shall select four to make a
few characteristic observations--"The Martyrdom of St. Erasmus,"
formerly an altar-piece at St. Peter's in Rome; "The Philistines
struck by the Plague;" "The Death of Saphira;" and "Winter, or the
Deluge."

The actual martyrdom of St. Erasmus is one of those subjects which
ought not to be told to the eye--because it is equally loathsome
and horrible; we can neither pity nor shudder; we are seized by
qualms, and detest. Poussin and Pietro Testa are here more or less
objects of aversion, in proportion to the greater or less energy
they exerted. This is the only picture of Poussin in which he has
attempted to rival his Italian competitors on a scale of equal
magnitude in figures of the size of life; and here he was no
longer in his sphere; his drawing has no longer its usual precision
of form, it is loose and Cortonesque; his colour on this scale has
neither the breadth of fresco, nor the glow, finish, or impasto of
oil.

In "The Plague of the Philistines," he has again laid too great a
stress on objects of aversion;--instead of the effects of
infection, he has personified the effluvia of putrefaction; he has
indeed discriminated his story from all others of the same species,
by the introduction of the mice, the temple of Dagon, the arch, and
the fall and fragments of the Idol: and the variegated bustle of
the colours is covered by that frowning tone, which ought to
preside where "Jove hangs his planetary plague into the murky air."

In "The Death of Saphira" it is unnecessary to treat here what has
been observed in another place,[53] that it is neither told with
perspicuity nor adequate dignity. We shall only observe, that if
the drawing and drapery of his figures be in his best style, the
colour is in his worst. It presents to the eye neither light nor
shade, and might furnish a definition of tints that never ought to
approach each other. That austerity of unbroken colour which has
been considered as a characteristic of the Roman school to which
Poussin properly belonged, and of which the best specimen is given
in the Transfiguration, admits of an euphony unattainable by the
dim crudity adopted by Poussin in this picture.

For all the aforegoing defects, the last picture to be noticed,
"The Winter, or Deluge," makes up twenty degrees, which, in every
requisite of real painting, places Poussin in the first rank of
art. It is easier to feel than to describe its powers; it is,
compared with the former, the most palpable part of the astonishing
difference of effect between the works of the same man when
inspired by sentiment or suggested by cold reasoning. What we see
before us is the element itself, and not its image; its reign is
established, and by calm degrees ingulphs the whole; it "mocks the
food it feeds on." Its lucid haze has shorn the sun of his beams;
Hope is shut out, and Nature expires.

A. VANDYCK.--LA MÈRE DE PITIÉ.--ST. MARTIN, &c.

"The Mother of Pity" appears to me the most impressive of Vandyck's
pictures in point of expression. The face of the mother, though
not ideal, has elegance, and grief tempered by dignity. The Christ,
extended from her lap, has less of attitude than his other Christs,
and a truer colour. The bodies of the dead Christs of Vandyck, in
general, appear rather transparent, silver leaf over some dark
substance, and sometimes, especially in the legs, resemble some
stained marble more than a body: but here we see real substance, a
frame of flesh forsaken by circulation: it seems an imitation of
the Christ of Caravagio, but handled with greater delicacy. The
whole would, in my opinion, have possessed greater pathos, and
perhaps produced a stronger effect, had he sacrificed the Angel and
St. John to the solitary group of the Mother and Son.

The composition of St. Martin resembles that of Albert Durer. The
countenance of St. Martin is not that of a man who will readily
part with his own comforts to alleviate the sufferings of others.
That of his companion has more mind, more dignity, and better
forms. The paupers are excrescences of deformity; but in colouring,
the picture unites every power of Vandyck and of Rubens, in a very
high degree.

"Charles the First, &c." This picture may be considered in two
different lights; as a picturesque composition, and as a
representation of character. In the first, there cannot perhaps be
conceived a more happy combination of the different materials,
whose concurrence is required to constitute a harmonious whole.
Nothing can surpass the comprehension which balances its masses of
light and shade, equally lucid and juicy, deep and aërial, various
and united; its colour at once soothes and invigorates our eye; but
when we recover from the enamoured trance of technic enjoyment, we
look for the character and the sentiment embodied by such art; we
find, instead of Charles, a cold, flimsy, shuffling figure, with
pretension to importance, but without dignity,--a man absorbed by
his garment.

"La Kermesse, ou fête de Village--Kermis, or Village
Gambols."--Rubens.

This is rustic mirth personified. Rapidity of conception and
equality of execution equally surprise in this composition; variety
and unity separate and combine its numerous groups; the canvass
reels; the satiated eye might perhaps wish for a little more
subordination, for a mass more eminently distinguished by white or
black, to give a zest to the clogging sweetness of the general
form. But Rubens worked under influence, and his pencil roamed
through the whole without predilection: he was not here a painter;
he was the instrument of untameable mirth. There is a group in this
picture which seems to have been suggested by the struggling group
of two soldiers in the cartoon of the horsemen, by Leonardo da
Vinci. This may be judged a cold observation; but artists must
judge coldly.

Zustris.--"Venus on her bed waiting for Mars, playing with Cupid
and her Doves."

This wanton conceit is a singular phænomenon on the Dutch horizon
of art. We know no more of Zustris than what the catalogue chooses
to inform us; but his work proves, that if he could conceive
amorously, or what might be better styled, libidinously, he grew
cold in the progress of execution. The face of Venus does not
assist her action. The picture wants shade, and glow, and keeping;
but there is an idea of elegance in the lines, and the flesh wants
only shade to become Venetian.

TITIAN--PORTRAIT OF TITIAN AND HIS MISTRESS.

The full value of this picture cannot perhaps be appreciated better
than when it is considered after the examination of a portrait by
Rubens. The unaffected breadth, the modest, unambitious reflexes,
an air of suffusion rather than penciling, a certain resignation
even in the touch, shew us Nature, rather than its image. This
charming female displays a mind superior to the cares of the toilet
she is engaged with, sees beyond the mirror which her lover holds,
and at which her lover, if it be her lover, assists. The great
merit of Titian, and perhaps his exclusive merit as to execution,
is to be totally free from all pretence, from all affectation. His
vehicle conveys the idea of the thing, and passes unobserved. To
Tintoret, to Paolo--the thing in general served to convey the
vehicle. The Miracle of St. Marc derives all its merit from that
whirlpool of execution, which sweeps undistinguished all individual
merit into one mighty mass. As a whole, of equal comprehension,
energy, and suavity, it astonishes the common man of organs, and
the artist who enters into the process of this amalgama, equally;
but when the first charm is over, and we begin to examine the
parts, we shall not find they were drawn forward, distanced, or
excluded by propriety and character."

The intimacy which commenced in Paris, in the year 1801, between Fuseli and Mr. Robert Smirke, the celebrated architect, was kept up; and when he left England for Italy, the former gave him letters of introduction for Rome, which he found very useful. This kindness on the part of Fuseli, was acknowledged by Mr. R. Smirke in the following letter:

"Rome, March 20, 1803.

"DEAR SIR,

"I have, you see, a second time availed myself of your permission
to write to you; but as it is now above two months since I sent my
last letter, you will not find the intrusion, I hope, troublesome.
There is, I always feel, a sort of pleasure in communications of
this kind with a distant friend, which is extremely agreeable; when
writing, at the moment, I forget the distance of 1500 miles, and am
talking with him. You desired I would endeavour to write to you in
Italian; I must confess, however, that as yet I feel such a
deficiency in my knowledge of that language as to make me afraid of
venturing upon so bold a task; and as I have been so neglectful as
not to attend regularly to instructions in it, I am afraid it will
be yet some time before I can venture. In justification,
nevertheless, I have to say that I never avoid the opportunity of
being obliged to make use of it; and in the house I live, no
language but Italian is spoken.

"It was a considerable time after my arrival in Rome that I
succeeded in finding Signor Ven. Gambini, though doubtless only
from want of more proper application. I found that his memory of
you and your friendship with him had not failed in the slightest
degree; he enquired with much kindness after you, and showed me
immediately a book, in which he has preserved with care a sketch
you made upon one of the leaves; the only memorial, he told me,
that he had of your work. He has a bust of you, which he has placed
in his principal room, between those of Clio and Melpomene; it gave
me really much pleasure to see the remembrance of a friend, absent
between twenty and thirty years, so warmly preserved. His reception
of me was, as you may suppose, extremely kind and civil; but as I
find him surrounded with books, probably in a busy employment, and
that so different to mine, I have not seen much of him, nor cannot
but be afraid always of being troublesome.

"It is now nearly two months since I arrived in Rome, having
scarcely stopt on the road after leaving Pisa, whence my last
letter to you was dated, except for two or three days at Sienna.
Florence pleased me very much, from the slight view I had of it. I
was there but a day, as I purpose spending a month there, at least,
on my return from the southern parts of the country. The Gallery, I
suppose, must be much less interesting since the French have taken
so much from it; but as it is, it struck me particularly. I was
much pleased with the arrangement; for though it has nothing of the
astonishing _coup d'oeil_ of the Louvre, I should think it was
better calculated to shew the statues and pictures, and still more,
to assist the artist who studies from them.

"I have been very highly gratified with what I have seen in Rome.
The numerous remains of excellent Roman art, both in sculpture and
architecture; the magnificent appearance of many of the modern
buildings; the splendour of the churches, and many collections of
paintings, cannot fail to make it always a most interesting place
even to those who at other times have felt but slightly the
excellencies of art. It has, I imagine, suffered a good deal during
the last eight years. What the French have taken, (though perhaps
the finest works,) is not the only loss, for the distress and
poverty attending the confusions of the country have caused the
sale of the best pictures in many of the collections, and a sad
neglect in general of their palaces. St. Peter's did not quite
equal my expectations. I never anticipated _much_ from the
architecture; but it was in the general appearance to the eye that
I was in some degree disappointed. The grandeur of the approach
(the circular portico, fountains, and vestibule) is certainly most
striking; but in the interior particularly, there appears to me a
great want of proportion, and from the colossal boys and
decorations crowding about it, the just scale much destroyed;
neither do I think the richness of the finishings, or the strong
glare of light admitted into the building, quite appropriate to the
solemnity of its character. In the Vatican adjoining, I believe but
little alteration has taken place since you were here, except in
the rooms containing the statues. They are chiefly small, but have
been fitted up with much elegance. The wonderful picture of Michael
Angelo in the Capella Sistina is quite uninjured. Those in the
ceiling will not, I am afraid, (as they ought,) resist for ever the
injuries of weather. One small piece affected by damp on the
outside has fallen. What a pity it is they did not observe the
precaution made use of by the ancients, by which many of their
fresco works remain as perfect as when first painted! A space of
two or three inches was left between the wall and tile on which the
stucco was laid, so that it was completely defended from all
exterior damps. I was disappointed in the Arabesque paintings of
Raphael in the Galleries; of course not in the design, but in the
present condition; they are so injured by being exposed to the open
air, as to be much obliterated. His fresco paintings in the same
palace are in good preservation. Of Michael Angelo and Raphael,
though I had seen but very few of their works, and certainly among
the least able to appreciate their merits till I came here; I had
no idea of what painters they were, nor how they could so represent
Nature in all its actions.

"I have seen most of the modern artists of Rome--they are chiefly
young. They have many large, bold undertakings in hand; several
subjects I have seen, twenty-five feet long, either for churches,
or for the Earl of Bristol, an old nobleman here of singular
character, who gives sometimes much encouragement, and often
beyond, I believe, even his power. The manner of painting is very
like what I think I have observed among the French: much attention
and minuteness in detail, while the great principal object of the
story is perhaps failed in. There is not however, I think, so much
extravagance in the representation of action, as I often observed
in the modern French pictures. Among the best historical painters
here are Camuccini, Landi, and Benvenuti. Of the sculptors, Canova,
of course, holds by far the highest rank; many of his works are
certainly very beautifully designed and executed. Next to him, one
of the name of Maximilian is placed as the best. With respect to
the modern architecture, both in its churches and palaces, I must
confess myself somewhat surprised that the excellent models of
ancient art constantly before them have not been more successfully
studied. In general, I think the taste is of rather a heavy,
disagreeable kind, but often a sort of magnificence in the whole
effect which is imposing. I purpose now leaving Rome for a time,
intending on my return to devote some time to more attentive and
diligent study. My time hitherto has been employed, for a great
part, in seeing all the different antiquities and buildings
contained within the extensive walls of the city and in its
suburbs. You may not perhaps have heard of my intention of spending
two or three months in Greece, as it is within so short a time that
I have determined upon it, and consequently since I communicated
it to my family at home. I have been making many inquiries here,
and find it a journey practicable, and as little subject to
difficulties as one can expect; I think too that one may derive
more advantage from a study of the ancient works there, which are
less known, and which have perhaps been the models of the finest
here, than from any in this country. When writing my last letter
home, in which I mentioned my intention, I thought of going by way
of Ancona, where I should embark in a vessel that went to any part
of Greece; since then, I have somewhat changed my plan, purposing
now to go by way of Naples and Otranto, and there embarking for
Corfu. It may still be nearly a fortnight before I set out, as some
preparation is necessary. Greece, it appears, does not afford the
little conveniences found in this country for travellers. I am very
well provided with letters there from the kindness of some English
I have met with here. There is one family from whom I have received
much kindness, (the Earl of Mount Cashell's,) with whom I believe
you are acquainted, as I have often heard you spoken of in it.

"My paper leaves me no more room than to say, if you should ever
have leisure to write me a few lines, they will be received with
the greatest pleasure; and wishing you the best health,

"Believe me, your very sincere friend,

"Robert Smirke."

"Henry Fuseli, Esq. R.A."

"My direction will be at Mr. Fagan's, Piazza Colonna, Rome."

In the year 1803, Fuseli left Queen-Anne-Street, and took the lease of a commodious house, No. 13, Berners' Street, which had been built by Sir William Chambers for his own residence; here he remained until December 1804, when he was elected Keeper of the Royal Academy, Mr. Rigaud being then his competitor. The salary and commodious apartments allotted to this office placed him in such circumstances as to render him, in a degree, independent of fortuitous commissions. Although now in his sixty-fourth year, he retained great mental and bodily activity, and from his taste and extensive knowledge in the higher branches of the fine arts, a more judicious choice could not have been made by the Members of the Royal Academy; this opinion was expressed by his late Majesty, George the Third, when the President, Mr. West, laid before him the resolution of the Academicians for his approval.

The following anecdote connected with his election has been told, but not correctly. When Fuseli tendered himself for the office of Keeper of the Royal Academy, Northcote and Opie voted against him; but being conscience-stricken, not only on account of his abilities, but from having received favours at his hands, they considered it right to call upon him the day after the election to explain their motives. After having heard them, and in their explanation they in some degree blamed each other; he answered, in his usual sarcastic manner, "I am sorry you have taken this trouble, because I shall lose my character in the neighbourhood. When you entered my house, the one must have been taken for a little Jew creditor, the other for a bum-bailiff; so, good morning."

This year (1804) Fuseli visited Liverpool for the last time, and passed a great deal of his time while there with Mr. Roscoe: on his return to London, he wrote the following letter to Mr. Joseph Johnson, the nephew of his much respected friend of that name:--

"London, June 21, 1804.

"DEAR SIR,

"Give me leave to return you my warmest thanks for your kindness.
Though my circumstances did not permit me to spend as many hours as
I could have wished under your hospitable roof, every moment I
passed with you and Mrs. Johnson, added some new obligation to
those which you had already heaped on me and mine, and it will be
one of my warmest wishes to be able to shew, at some time or other,
that my gratitude lies deeper than my lips.

"I have spent a day or two at Purser's Cross, which is the name of
your Uncle's place; though in the neighbourhood of London, it is a
sweet retired and healthful spot, and if he could be persuaded to
spend more of his time at it, must be eminently conducive to his
health. I hope Mrs. Johnson has not forgot her promise, to come and
reside and nurse him there, as soon as it is in her power.

* * * * *

"Please to present my best compliments to all the friends I saw at
your house, or in your company.

"I am, dear sir,

"Your obedient friend and servant,

"Henry Fuseli."

"Joseph Johnson, Esq."