NOTES ON THE ART OF PAINTING. Note I. Verse 3. The rival Sisters, &c. M. DU PILES opens his annotations here, with much learned quotation from Tertullian, Cicero, Ovid, and Suidas, in order to show the affinity between the two arts. But it may perhaps be more pertinent to substitute in the place of it all a single passage, by Plutarch ascribed to Simonides, and which our author, after having quoted Horace, has literally translated: Zwypapíav sivaι ΦΘΕΓΓΟΜΕΝΗΝ τὴν Ποίησιν, Ποίησιν δὲ ΣΙΓΩΣΑΝ τὴν Zwypapiar. There is a Latin line somewhere to the same purpose, but I know not whether ancient or modern : Poema Est pictura loquens, mutum pictura poema. M. Note II. Verse 33. Such powers, such praises, heav'n-born Pair, belong To magic colouring, and persuasive song. That is to say, they belong intrinsically and of right. Mr. Wills, in the preface to his version of our poet, first detected the false translations of du Piles and Dryden, which say, "C so much have these divine arts been honoured:" in consequence of which the Frenchman gives a note of four pages, enumerating the instances in which Painting and its professors have been honoured by kings and great men, ancient and modern. Fresnoy had not this in his idea: He says, "tantus inest divis honor artibus atque potestas," which Wills justly and literally translates, Such powers, such honours, are in arts divine. M. Note III. Verse 51. 'Tis Painting's first chief business to explore, What lovelier forms in Nature's boundless store Are best to art and ancient taste allied, For ancient taste those forms has best applied. The Poet, with great propriety, begins by declaring what is the chief business of theory, and pronounces it to be a knowledge of what is beautiful in nature: That form alone, where glows peculiar grace, V. 9. There is an absolute necessity for the painter to generalize his notions; to paint particulars is not to paint nature, it is only to paint circumstances. When the artist has conceived in his imagination the image of perfect beauty, or the abstract idea of forms, he may be said to be admitted into the great council of Nature, and to V. 19. Trace beauty's beam to its eternal spring, And pure to man the fire celestial bring. To facilitate the acquisition of this ideal beauty, the artist is recommended to a studious examination of ancient sculpture. Note IV. Verse 55. Till this be learn'd, how all things disagree! R. The mind is distracted with a variety of accidents, for so they ought to be called rather than forms: and the disagreement of those among themselves will be a perpetual source of confusion and meanness, until, by generalizing his ideas, the painter has acquired the only true criterion of judgment: then with a Master's care, Judge of his art, thro' beauty's re: lms he flies, It is better that he should come to diversify on particulars from the large and broad idea of things, than vainly attempt to ascend from particulars to this great : general idea for to generalize from the endless and vicious variety of actual forms, requires a mind of wonderful capacity; it is perhaps more than any one mind can accomplish: but when the other, and, I think, better course is pursued, the Artist may avail himself of the united powers of all his predecessors. He sets out with an ample inheritance, and avails himself of the selection of ages. Note V. Verse 63. R. Of all vain fools with coxcomb talents curst,-The sententious and Horatian line, (says a later French editor,) which, in the original, is placed to the score of the ancients, to give it greater weight, is the Author's own. I suspect, however, that he borrowed the thought from some ancient prose-writer, as we see he borrowed from Plutarch before at the opening of his poem. Note VI. Verse 65. When first the orient rays of beauty move— M. The original here is very obscure; when I had translated the passage in the clearest manner I was able, but necessarily with some periphrasis, I consulted a learned friend upon it, who was pleased to approve the version, and to elucidate the text in the following manner: "Cognita" (the things known), in line 45, refers to "Nôsse quid in natura pulchrius," (the thing to be learned,) in line 38: the main thing is to know what forms are most beautiful, and to know what forms have been chiefly reputed such by the ancients. In these, when once known, i. e. attended to and considered, the mind of course takes a pleasure, and thus the conscious soul becomes enamoured with the object, &c. as in the paraphrase. Note VII. Verse 79. With nimble step pursues the fleeting throng, M, The power of expressing these transitory beauties is perhaps the greatest effort of our art, and which cannot be attained till the Student has acquired a facility of drawing Nature correctly in its inanimate state. R. Note VIII. Verse 81. Yet some there are who indiscreetly stray, Where purblind Practice only points the way. Practice is justly called purblind; for practice, that is tolerable in its way, is not totally blind: an imperceptible theory, which grows out of, accompanies, and directs it, is never wholly wanting to a sedulous practice; but this goes but a little way with the Painter himself, and is utterly inexplicable to others. To become a great proficient, an artist ought to see clearly enough to enable him to point out to others the principle on which he works; otherwise he will be con |