Three modes of seeing nature: Commonplace, Selected, Idealized.

"In taking a general view, and comparing the productions of art, they will be found easily divisible into three distinct classes, formed upon three distinct principles or modes of seeing nature, and indicative of three distinct ages or stages of refinement in the progress of painting. First, those of which the authors, agreeing with Dryden, that "God never made his works for man to mend," and understanding nature as strictly meaning the visible appearances of things, (any alteration of which would be at least unnecessary and impertinent, if not profane,) have, in consequence, confined themselves to the giving, as far as in them lay, an exact copy of their originals, as they happened to present themselves, without choice or selection of any kind as to the manner of their being. Secondly, those in which the artists, departing a little from this bigotry in taste, have ventured to reject what they considered as mean and uninteresting in nature, and endeavoured to choose the most perfect models, and render them in the best point of view. The third class would consist of the works of those who, advanced another step in theory, have looked upon nature as meaning the general principles of things, rather than the things themselves; who have made the imitation of real objects, give way to the imitation of an idea of them in their utmost perfection; and by whom we find them represented, not as they actually are, but as they ought to be.

"This last stage of refinement, has been called the ideal, the beautiful, or the sublime style of art. It founds its pretensions to superiority on the very superior powers required to excel in it, and on the infinitely greater effect, both as to pleasure and improvement, which it is calculated to produce on the mind of the spectator; and hence the pure, simple, energetic, and consistent principle on which it rests, is, indubitably, to be considered as the true and real interpretation of the term nature, always to be

Highest style.-Beauty, the perfection of an object in its kind.

kept in view, not only by those who would excel in painting, but by all who wish to attain the highest style in any of the imita tive arts.

"Many painters and critics, from observing the difficulty of settling the proper meaning of the term nature, have thought fit to substitute beauty in its stead, as the immediate object of the great style of art. But beauty being a word to the full as indefinite, if not as complex, as the word nature, we shall not be surprised to find that many painters, of no mean abilities, have been led into very fatal mistakes from erroneous and inadequate conceptions of its meaning; we shall not be surprised at the namby-pamby style of many of the works of Albani; we can hence account for the manner and affectation of Guido, who, understanding the term in too confined a sense, thought he was of course to paint, on every occasion, the most beautiful women; and taking, accordingly, in his opinion, the most beautiful antique statue for his model, he constantly repeated in his works the same face, without variation of expression or character, whatever was the subject, situation, or action represented: whether a Venus or a Milkmaid, the Assumption of the Virgin, the Death of Cleopatra, or Judith cutting off the Head of Holofernes. This principle has also evidently been the great stumbling-block of the whole French school, to which it owes the larger share of its absurdity and insipidity, its consumptive languor, and its coquettish affectation.

"I will not undertake the perilous task of defining the word beauty; but I have no hesitation in asserting, that when beauty is said to be the proper end of art, it must not be understood as confining the choice to one set of objects, or as breaking down the boundaries and destroying the natural classes, orders, and divisions of things, (which cannot be too carefully kept entire and distinct;) but as meaning the perfection of each subject in its

Highest effort of genius.-End of Painting twofold.

kind, in regard to form, colour, and all its other associated and consistent attributes. In this qualified and, I will venture to say, proper acceptation of the word in regard to art, it may be applied to nearly all things most excellent in their different ways. Thus we have various modes of beauty in the statues of the Venus, the Juno, the Niobe, the Antinous, and the Apollo; and thus we may speak without exciting a confusion of ideas, of a beautiful peasant as well as of a beautiful princess; of a beautiful child or a beautiful old man; of a beautiful cottage, a beautiful church, a beautiful palace, or even a beautiful ruin.

"The discovery or conception of this great and perfect idea of things, of nature in its purest and most essential form, unimpaired by disease, unmutilated by accident, and unsophisticated by local habits and temporary fashions, and the exemplification of it in practice, by getting above individual imitation, rising from the species to the genus, and uniting, in every subject, all the perfection of which it is capable in its kind, is the highest and ultimate exertion of human genius. Hitherto shalt thou go, and no farther every step in every direction from this pole of truth, is alike retrograde-for, to generalize beyond the boundaries of character, to compose figures of no specific age, sex, or destination, with no predominant quality or particular end to be answered in their construction, is to violate propriety, destroy interest, and lose the very essence of beauty in contemptible nothingness and insipidity.

"Let it, therefore, be always understood that the end of painting, in its highest style, is twofold: first, the giving effect, or the true appearance of objects to the eye; and secondly, the combination of this with the ideal, or the conception of them in their greatest perfection, and under such an arrangement as is calcu lated to make the greatest possible impression on the spectator.

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Requisites for success.-History.-Landscape-Still-Life.

With such purposes in view, consisting of such a multiplicity of parts, and requiring such an uncommon assemblage of powers, mechanical and mental; of hand, of eye, of knowledge, of judgment, of imagination, and of indefatigable perseverance in study and practice, to enable a man to perform any one part with tolerable success, it can be no wonder that the art has not as yet, in modern times at least, reached the desired perfection; nor ought we to be surprised to find even the most celebrated masters materially defective in some one or more of its branches-those who possessed invention having been frequently deficient in execution; those who studied colouring having often neglected drawing; and those who attended to form and character having been too apt to disregard composition, and the proper management of light and shadow. The whole together, indeed, seems almost too great for the grasp of human powers, unless excited, expanded, and invigorated by such enthusiastic and continued encouragement as that which exclusively marks the bright era of Grecian taste.”

The art of painting may be divided, according to its subjects, into three grand divisions: History, Landscape, and Still-Life. Under the general head of Historical, are classed all those designs which represent man in any of his relations-allegorical and mythological subjects, battle-pieces and portraits, as well as scenes drawn from history and common life. The representation of sea-views and other natural scenery, forms the second division. The term Still-Life refers to the imitations of all inanimate objects, as fruit, dead game, household furniture, &c.

Historical painting is the noblest and most comprehensive branch of the art, as it embraces man, the head of the visible creation. The historical painter, therefore, must study man, from the anatomy of his figure, to the most rapid and slightest gesture expressive of feeling, or the display of deep and subtle passions

Historical painting.-Florentine school.

He must have technical skill, a practised eye and hand, and must understand so to group his skilfully executed parts as to produce a beautiful whole. And all this is insufficient without a poetic spirit, which can form a striking conception of historical events, or create imaginary scenes of beauty. Long and patient cultivation both of the taste and the mechanical means of execution, are indispensable; for though a lively imagination may easily invent interesting scenes, how difficult is it for the inexperienced artist to present in visible forms that which he had thought perfectly distinct in his own mind. To obtain this skill, requires long practice, both in designing and colouring; the artist must have executed numerous studies, be familiar with the best models of art, and above all with the Protean forms of Nature.

THE FLORENTINE SCHOOL.

For many ages, the city of Florence has been one of the principal seats of the fine arts; and has produced, in all their various branches, a number of justly eminent professors. In the thirteenth century its senate introduced several artists from Greece, by whom the style and taste of the students were formed; and hence arose the elder Florentine school, at the head of which is Cimabue, the first Italian painter whose name is on record. With Leonardo da Vinci commenced the modern Florentine school. He was followed by Michael Angelo, and a host of other great masters. The leading principles of this school of painting may be denominated grandeur, dignity, and force. The gallery of the Academia delle Belli Arti, of Florence, presents a perfect epitome of the history of modern painting, from the first faint glimmer of the thirteenth century to the height of its glory