^t -^ypN^- m 3 ■■■ / m $t)\Vtg ■ a M ^^ ^ffljMSi Si^Si WBflflmHi&aMffl Atf ESSAY o N LANDSCAPE PAWTIXG. HfigBEI hRKBI '■■.iFf^-a:'.-?* ■Mflfl I H H 1 BBHHi *p ^* ^s^s^W* ■■■■■ A N ESSAY ON LANDSCAPE PAINTLVG. REMARKS GENERAL AND CRITICAL, ON THE DIFFERENT SCHOOLS AND MASTERS, ANCIENT OR MODERN. LONDON 'RINTED FOR J. JOHNSON, NO. 72, ST. PAUL'S CHURCH-YARD. 178*. HMM^PH^I^^Bm^ffl |hm| IjiijiBipilBJfifpB^^ r M^^ TO THE READER. X HE following hints have been fug- gefted to the author by fome years clofe attention to the fubjed' ; to the works of the bed matters here and abroad. They have not been com- piled, or, as a celebrated writer ex- preffes it, fwelled by the pouring the contents of one veiTel into another : the MWJM|HBEpra|mtmMla L vi "J the remarks, whatever may be the public opinion upon them, are ge- nuine ; and, for the execution of the work, it fhoulcl be conildcred, that, in treating a fubjeft of art, there muft. be tautology where the words are fpecific. CONTENTS. MHH ■ MHH HBBHHnB ■■■■■■Ml CONTENTS. PAGE. 17 CHAPTER I, OF M* powers of painting in excit- ing plcafure, - - CHAPTER II. Of the different fchools and their mafters, - CHAPTER III. Hm£j for forming the tafle of an En- glifh fchool, with remarks on the land/cape painters of this country, $3 General remarks on landfcape paint- ing, So AN BHHMM IF A N E S S AY LANDSCAPE PAINTING. CHAPTER I. OF THE POWERS OF PAINTING IN EXCITING PLEASURE. IN contemplating a picture, the pleafure received generally arifes from one of two principal canfes. Ei- ther from an immediate acknowledge- ment in the mind, of the fkill of the painter, his knowledge, the grandeur of his ideas, the excellence of his pen- B cilling MfliMHsKpKHP PMfVHHIMMI 10 On Landscape Painting. cilling, the effect and propriety of his colouring, and his power of forming a whole ; or from the perception of a ftrong refemhlance to nature ; to fcencs, the impreflion of which the mind retains, perhaps, without know- ing exactly when they were received. In the firft inflance our admiration of the painter's abilities may take place principally; becaufe, though the piece be well compofed, well co- loured, &c. yet little attention may have been paid to the detail of nature in its parts, to its delicate characters and graces. And in the fecond in- flance. On Land/cape Painting. 1 1 fiance, the beautiful refemblance of nature may make the primary impref- fion on the mind, although the fcene fhall not be any way remarkable ; al- though the piece does not appear ela- borate, neither tefbiiies any particular or fecret knowledge. To illuftrate this, it may be obferved, that many painters have adopted a peculhr man- ner, which they have managed with fuch fkill, firmnefs of pencil, and eafe, that, though it docs not much refera- ble nature, yet their pictures are jnft- ly deemed excellent, and are highly valued by thofe, who, from their B 2 knowledge 1 2 On Land/cape Painting. knowledge in the art, are pleafed with the apparent fkill of the matter. Others have a habit of finifhing fo highly, that though the forms of every thing reprefented may be ftrict- ly natural, yet the neatnefs and deli- cacy of the artiiVs manner, may have carried him far beyond the truth. The mod remote and evanefcent parts may be touched with a degree of accuracy, not at all refembling the appearance of thofe objects in nature; whilft the gradations and perfpe&ive propriety are fufficiently retained by the diminution only of the parts from the I ^ r ^r^'^^* , i*>)^fis?"'i > ''f : ?r rK \*i' s i *F^fit'*i**>ff\$ i »&!i On Land/cape Painting. o the firfl grounds. Many inftances may be fhown on the other hand, where the genius and (kill of the painter makes only a fecondary con- fideration. One remarkable proof may be mentioned : a picture may be fo well finifhed, and the pencilling fo concealed, that it fhall not be very apparent how the effect is produced ; and thus, what is in fad a higher de- gree of merit, will (till produce the fame confequence, and not give us a notion of the artift's hand whilfl we obferve it. In fhort, the meanefl ob- ject in nature, a ftone, the flump B 3 of t* ' j B H MWJ JlipwIlffi 1 4 On Land/cape Painting. of a tree, a piece of broken ground, ■ff imitated mofl exactly, will imme- diately affect the mind with pleafure ; though the painter has mown nei- ther fancy nor tafte in his choice ; whilfl the richeft, or grandeft fcene, conceived and painted in the mofl mafterly ftyle, may want that air of truth, may be painted almoft by re- ceipt, but will alfo convey pleafure, either of a higher or leffer, but cer- tainly of a very different kind. I do not mean to infer, that every pic- ture muft neceffarily be under one of thefe predicaments, but my obferva- tion ,---7^ . ,v t ^M I , , /' l f r f*^^ s ^ r^'-^iHr^V. ■■■■■■ On Land/cape Painting. 1 5 tion induces me to think that they generally are. I was led to thefe remarks, which perhaps may not be very ufcful, by confidering the falfe- hood of another opinion ; that a good picture will plcafe every one, though perhaps not equally ; whereas it is evident, that it fometimes requires great judgment to admire with pro- priety : and it is as true, that many may be very accurate judges of paint- ing, and yet know very little of the detail of nature ; may admire the eafell more than the fcene itfelf in nature. Thefe distinctions may fa- tisfy wS 16 On Land/cape Painting. tisfy the doubts and reprefs the ridi- cule of the ignorant and unlkilful in the art, by rendering the paffion of the connoilTeur more intelligible to them. May mow them that there are other juft caufes for admiration than thofe which affecl: them, and that the difference of tafte may be neither the effect of vain affectation nor mere caprice. CHAPTER On Land/cape Painting, 1 7 CHAPTER II. OF THE DIFFERENT SCHOOLS AND THEIR MASTERS. .Lmndscape painting has been con- fidered as the loweft branch of the art, yet in the lift of painters, the number of thofe who have really excelled in this line, is compara- tively very fmall. This is in fome meafure a proof, that an adequate perfection in it is not fo eafily at* tamable. It is fomewhat remark- able, '* s #**?^ ^^^^H < i S On Land/cape Painting. able, that Italy has produced very few landfcape painters ; its delicious fcenes, ruins and villas, have been left chiefly to the pencils of thcfe Flemifh artifts who have travelled thither for improvement. This will appear from the great fuperiority in numbers upon the life, of Flemings who painted at Rome, and made the beauties of Italy the models of their tafte. It may, perhaps, be not un- entertaining to take a fuccinft view of the moil: eminent mafters in land- fcape, in the different fchocls ; we fhall not find the lift very numerous. ITALIAN HBfiffl ■HmH f^M ■' '^9$>^^w^ On Land/cape Painting. ig ITALIAN SCHOOL. Nicolo Pouflin* Gafpar Pouflin. Salvator Rofa, Baton. Titian. Caracci. Franc. Bolognefe. Claude Lorraine. SECOND CLASS. In which are alfo included, thofe artifls ivhofe land/capes are commonly fubor- dinate to fome hiflorical defign. Albano. F. Laura, Francefco Mola. Tempefta. Marco Ricci. Orizonti. Swanefeld. Luccatelli. Zuccarelli. FLEMISH HHH I U 1 1 (mMm 20 On Land/cape Painting. FLEMISH AND DUTCH SCHOOLS, In the clear \ bright and bejl manner. Berghem. John Both. Paul Brill. AfTelvn. Moucheron. Elfheimer. IN THE DUTCH MANNER. i Py naker. Glauber. Polemburgh. Hackaert. Breenburgh. Jacob Ryfdael. Wynants. Hobbima. Waterloo. Vander Neer. IN THE FLEMISH SCHOOL, PROPERLY. Rubens. Van Uden. Teniers. John Brueghell. SECOND Oft Land/cape Painting SECOND CLASS. 21 Van Goyen. Her. Sachtleven. Jacob de Heufch. Griffier. Corn. Huyfman. Fouquier. Artois. Savery . ' Keerinx. Dekker. Molenaer. P. Molyn. PAINTERS OF CATTLE AND FIGURES, PRINCIPALLY. Rofa de Tivoli. Ph. Wouvermans. A. Vandervelde. Cuyp. Potter. Du Jardin. In BMBBHBBB W&M BW«mffliliiBro8i 2 2 On Land/cape Painting, In the Italian fchool I have not con- fined the lifl to fuch as were Italians by birth : the Pouffins were born in France, but went early to Rome, and painted there entirely. Swanefeld was a Fleming by birth, but travel- led to Rome when young, was a dif- ciple of Claude's, and painted intirely in the Italian manner. Among the Spanifh painters, Ve~ laftpaez and Murillo painted land- fcapes admirably ; but their works of this kind are very fcarce. In the French fchool, Patell and Vernet have O/i Land/cape Painting. sg have flione 111 oft confpicuoufly. I {hall referve an account of the Englifh artifts for a feparate part of the work. With regard to that ftyle of compo? fition, which is foinetiincs called he- roic landfcape, in which the two kinds of compofition are united, I (hall confider it in three points of view. Firfl, where the landfcape is fubordinate to the hiftorical defign, being introduced either to exhibit local propriety, or merely to give a pleafing back ground, as is the cafe mod frequently with Albano, F. Lau- ra, Mola, andN. Pouflin : this I think is MM HHWM ™|^^nJ^m^MM m^| ^K j ^ j ^ 24 On Land/cape Painting is the happieft,and indeed only proper union of the two branches ; becaufe it is certainly beft to give the chief importance to thofe obje&s in the piece, which are in their nature moft interefting ; and by which the parti- cular circumftances of the fcene are to be juftified and explained. In this cafe the landfcape becomes the em- bellifliment of the ftory, from which the eye does not wander till it has learned and confidered the action re- prefented : by thefe means, the effect of the piece as a whole, is greatly maintained, the tranfltion to the parts I • I I ^H ^^1 t#n$^$frffi(fty$' ^^^r^S'*^ On Land/cape Painting. 25 parts is more eafy, and the attention is not divided. On the contrary, where the painter's genius and abili- ties are mod eminent in landfcape, fhould he be tempted, when he has wrought his piece to perfection, to introduce fome hiilorical incident which is to be fubordinate to the land- fcape, the confequence will be as ex- actly reverfed, as this proportion is from the former : the advantages be- fore enumerated, will not only be wanting, but defeds intirely oppofite will be admitted. And to confider it in the third point of view, fhould C the Smen hhh wSsSSKSs hwhRbvIsI BHRilEPBPi 26 On Land/cape Painting. the intereft of the piece be at all equally divided, it is needlcfs to fay that the eye mufc be diR rafted and unquiet ; and one elTential point will certainly be loft, the fimplicity of the whole. S. Rofa has avoided thefe defects in his favourite fuhjects in a mafterly manner; for, though it is impoflible to fay which is the moft excellent, his figures or his land- fcape, yet, by choofing fuch fubje&s as are exa&ly adapted to the fcene, without exercifing the mind in any hiftorical action, the union of effe£l is not deftroyed. His 0/z Land/cape Fainting. 2 7 His banditti have this advantage very eminently, by their immediate reference to the fcene only, and to nothing in the memory of the be- holder. In fame of his folemn fcenes, he has introduced characters equally well conceived : a philofopher read- ing, or in meditation ; a foldier chain- ed, or fome other incident which has fufficient dignity for his grand fcene- ry ; but at the fame time has fo much repofe, and is fo proper, that the eye can confider the whole at once. At all events, where the landfcape paint- er means to introduce a flory of any C 2 confluence, s8 On Land/cape Painting. confequence, and to preferve at the fame time the importance of his land- fcape, the fcene itfelf fhould make a part of the flory. A few inftances may explain this. In a celebrated collection, there is a beautiful land- scape of Claude, the effect of which is ruined by the ftory of St. George and the Dragon, which is introduced into it : it is plain, the painter, whofe talents fhone particularly in land- fcape, intended thefe figures as a fub- ordinate part of the compofition. One of the grandefl fcenes Mr. Wil- fon has painted, reprefents a land ftorm, " : ' HI On Land/cape Painting. 2g florin, in which is introduced the {lory of Niobe, from which it is im- poflible for the eye to efcape, as it contains many figures, all in action, and a huge Apollo in the middle of the fky. Mr. Wilfon's known and approved powers in landfcape, would lead one to think, that he alfo meant thefe figures mould be fubordinate. Zucarelli has been more happy in pla- cing the incantation of the witches before Macbeth in a land ftorm, in a celebrated picture painted by him, as the fury of the elements is fo pro- per upon this occafion, and afflfls the C 3 effect ^bjbhHBpmpsBbSBI MflHHR mlPwBwPSH 30 On Land/cape Painting. effect of the (lory fo well. However, I believe the chief caufe of the fine effect of this picture is, that the ffcory is evidently principal in the compo- fition, the proportion the figures bear to the landfcape, and their fituation in the front line indicate this. In another beautiful picture of Mr. Wil- fon's reprefenting Cicero at his villa, the objections before mentioned do not take place ; the figures there are highly proper, and give a wonderful meaning to the whole fcene. 10 On Land/cape Painting. 3 1 To return to the lift before given, let us firft confider, that however eminent the name of Titian may be as an hiftorical painter, it has ever been allowed, that his talents are frill more confpicuous, and appear to greater advantage in landfcape. The ftrift attention he paid to nature, enabled him to paint without the va- nity and pride of fome great artifts, of whom fo many trull: to the creative powers of their own pencil, and think it beneath them to imitate where they can compofe. Although their me- mory may afford them the necefTary materials " <2 3* On Land/cape Painting. materials for their work, yet there is always fomething which eminently dirtinguifhes the works of thofe who fludicd from nature immediately. Titian pofTefTed another excellence ; his colouring remains frefh and bril- liant to this day, a circumftance fo much defired in the works of many very diflinguifhcd matters, whofe co- lours, by growing black, lofe their effect., by which means the keeping of the whole piece is often deftroy- ed. Caracci, though his landfcapes bear the flrongeft teftimony of his great merit, yet did not copy nature with On Landscape Painting. 33 with fo much felicity as Titian ; his manner has lefs fweetnefs, though not lefs truth : the forms of his trees, and every objecl: he introduces, have a noble and diflinguifhing character, but his colouring is not fo tender, nor his pencilling fo delicate. However, in heroic landfcape he had a great fuperiority, and thefe perhaps are not the lead valuable of his works. What he wanted in thofe points, in which he was inferior to Titian, was given to his fcholar, Bolognefe, who carri- ed the manner of his illuftrious ma- fter to great perfection in his land- scapes. pffpflPfflpj ■BwajrawKml %BBm «j 4 On Land/cape Painting. fcapes. The colouring of BafTan is deemed his chief excellence, as he is allowed to be incorrect in his draw- ing, and mean in his tafte ; but even the merit of his colouring is not fo evident in his landfcape ; there is, however, a pleafing fimplicity in his representations of nature, and abun- dance of truth in all his performan- ces of this kind. The landfcapes of N. Pouflin have always a fine effect., and are compofed with the fame chafte propriety and truth that di- ftinguifh his other works. To dwell upon the praifes of Claude would be ufelefs, On Land/cape Painting. 35 ufelefs, as his excellence is fo well underflood and admitted ; yet, con- sidering that he and G. Pouflin are, ftri&ly fpeaking, the only mailers in this fchool, who have given up their whole fouls to this branch of the art, they may juftly claim particular no- tice. Claude imitated nature in her mod beautiful drefs, and heightened all her charms, by taking every ad- vantage in obferving andreprefenting the happieft moments of time, and every beautiful effeci of fun and tran- quility. His aerial tints are admira- ble ; the keeping and difpofkion of parts ^^^ ■ ■■■MP j 6 On Land/cape Painting. parts in his pictures uncommonly jufl and well underftood ; and where ruins or buildings are introduced, they are always of the moft elegant kind. G. Pouflin, who loved to paint in the open fields, and to obferve na- ture under all her variety of charac- ter, delighted more in representing land florins, in which it is impoffible fufficiently to admire the wonderful efFedt of light and made, the charm- ing loofenefs and a&ion of the trees, the breaking of his grounds, and the fweet harmony of tint obfervable in his works. Yet it mud be owned, he had Ml On Land/cape Painting. 37 had confiderable faults ; his fore- grounds are fometimes too black ; the horizontal line is often carried fo high, that the whole fcene, inftead of receding and fhooting away from the eye, feems to mount ; inftead of {landing on an eminence, we are pla- ced in a valley : and, as he was a little deficient in the aerial perfpec- tive, this fault in fuch of his compo- (Itions is more confpicuous. The buildings he introduces have a noble fnnplicity in their character, but they are often crowded, piled one upon another, and fo fcattered about the pidure, tHRNMtpHMBfHnfHffli 3 8 On Land/cape Painting. picture, that the eye is not fufficient~ ly detained upon any one objedt or group. He is faid to be a little too green in his tints, but of all the tints a mannerift can adopt, if he is refol- ved to be partial to one, this is the mod agreeable to the eye and to na- ture. The merits of S. Rofa have already been celebrated. His fides, in general, are very inferior to other parts of his pictures, as they are of- ten muddy, and want lightnefs. The leafing; of his trees is light, but always the fame : his defects, however, are conftantly balanced by excellencies peculiar ■ I s, WSk WUBBHBSBBKBbHMKBbM On Landscape Painting. 39 peculiar to himfelf. Orizonti was a charming painter, and obtained that title, (his real name being Van Bloc- men) by an excellence in conducting his distances, the want of which per- fection we have juft lamented in Gafpar. Tempefla painted with a great deal of fpirit and fancy, but is frequently coarfe and hard ; never- thelcfs, his pictures are in high efti- mation. F. Laura pofTefTed many great excellencies as a painter ; his landfcapes are very delicate, his ideas extremely elegant, and his method of expreiling them very juft. Mola had a very *& • 4'J^-i." 'Jpj.A'.r? ■ j;« I f$ tyyj< 40 O/i Landscape Painting. a very agreeable pencil, very mellow and rich ; his fcenes have a great fo- lemnity, but his local colours are not always good or proper, nor the ef- fect of his pictures remarkable. Luc- catelli painted landfcape very agree- ably : his fcenes are elegant, and his pencilling free ; his manner is more folid than that of Zuccarelli, who is alfo a very pleafing painter, and imi- tated him. J. Mille imitated Pouffin with good fuccefs : his pictures are generally well coloured, and have a pleafing effect. It would be tedious to enumerate the different and parti- cular ■■pgBBptpW On Landscape Fainting. 41 cular merits of each, in the more ex- tenfive lift of Flemifh painters. Thofe which are clafTed together, as having adopted the clear warm manner of painting, refemble each other fo near- ly in their excellencies, though not perhaps in equal degrees, that the praifes of each muft be rather uni- form. Berghem and Both, are par- ticularly eminent among thefe, as Ryfdacl is among thofe who painted more in the Dutch manner. In treat- ing of lanclfcape particularly, I am al- moft induced to give a very material preference to Ryfdael. He united D the HWH BwWWPSwB 42 On Lanclfcape Painting. the exquifite truth of the Dutch man- ner, with a degree of tafte not fur- oafled even in the Italian fchool. Ryfdael is never vulgar or inelegant, always natural, frequently beautiful and pidturefque, and fometimes unites a orandeur of tafte with each of the o foregoing excellencies. To Berg- hem he is in many refpetis undoubt- edly inferior ; but, though Berghem was always elegant in his defigns, and admirable in the perfpective proprie- ty, delicacy of touch, and brilliancy of his pictures, yet there is a fame- nefs in his landfcapes, many of which are ■ 9| HH9HHH ■ hHRhHHHHH ^s&f&i i^i 5 ^ On Landscape Painting. 43 ate entirely fuborclinatc to his cattle and figures. There is not that end- lefs variety which is feen in Ryfdael's choice. In all the lift of painters, no one fo conftantly produces that delight, which we, in a former part of this work, defcribed as arifing from the ftrong refemblance of nature, in all its delicate familiar characters. The fcenes of Both, on the contrary, produce a pleafare very different, re- flating more from our admiration of the painter's fkill, fancy, colouring, &c. his pictures are always rich, warm, and elegant ; the refemblance D z t>£ HnMHHKJHSMHM^HHSN^a hsmnirBhI '44 On Land/cape Painting. of nature not very (trong, the fweet- nefs of his pencil, the luftre of his colouring, and the luxuriance of his imagination, always manifeft. The pictures of Moucheron bear much the fame character, as alfo do thofe of Pynaker,Polemburgh, Eliheimer, and Bartolomeo. Wynants had a more peculiar manner ; his works bear a ftrong refemblance to nature, are finely finifhed, and have a fweet ef- fect. He delighted much in repre- fenting broken ground, find hills, or chalky banks, in which the transpa- rency of his colouring is charming. However, On Land/cape Painting. 45 However, it mud be obferved, that the forms of his trees are always the fame ; that the great attention he he- flowed upon the flumps of trees, thirties, docks, &c. in his foregrounds, which are often entirely difpropor- tioned to his landfcape, frequently rendered his pi&ures mere reprefen- tations of flill life. The fame objec- tion of a want of variety in his fub- jecls, and in the forms of his trees, holds againfl Hobbima : his tafte is far inferior to Ryfdael's, though his pencil is more mellow and lufcious ; his fubje&s arc always fimilar, folemn D 3 groves, ^B I •v> , 5»(')R"As'»»;;i' *.c«»<- • n.>.,»t^.vt, 46 Ora Landscape Painting. groves, with trees of the penfile or weeping kind, richly covered with fo- liage, androads leading through them ; a hut or two, compleats the fccne. He had great (kill in the management of light, which he always diftributed in a pleafing manner : his diflances are feldcm very good, but there is fuch a look of nature in his pictures, that they never fail to pleafe. The name of Waterloo is too dear to all lovers of landfcape, to be palled with- out fome mark of honour. Whoever has feen his etchings, will allow him to be the greateft mafter of fimple nature ■■■■■■■■ On Land/cape Painting. 47 nature that ever lived. His pictures arc very fcarce, and his touch in painting fo little known, that all kind of trafh is afcribed him. I had once an opportunity of feeing a genuine picture of his, which was a mod de- lightful performance, true nature in every part. We come now to thofe painters who adhered to the old Flemifh man- ner, and contented themfelves with the fcenes their native country af- forded. — The landfcapes of Rubens, exhibit nature fimple and unadorned. They i$.*%K>w ■■&'**>■& '•*'*' -JA* MWHHW i mmw HHi 48 On Land/cape Painting. They are painted with wonderful force, and are highly valued ; and yet Rubens feems to have painted more ; becaufe, with a pencil like his, he could paint any thing. He does not appear to have delighted much in it, and though his landfcapes have fo forcible an effect., yet the fcenes feem chofen with indifference, never either rich, warm, or beautiful in themfelves, Teniers's chief fkill is feen in his figures ; yet his land- fcapes fhow the fame fmooth delicate pencil, the fame filvcry tone of co- lour, and where they are not encum- bered I HHHHIHHi HHHBn 0« Lancljcape Painting. 49 bdred with great Flemim lioufes, or with figures difproportionably large, liave a charming effect, and are very valuable. Of Van Udcn and Brueg- hell it may be faid, that the firft painted with great truth, but little elegance, and the lad with great neat- nefs, but no truth ; at leaft, as far as refpe&s his landfcapes, the colouring of which is always extravagant, and the manner neither loofe nor free. V an Goyen pofTefTed great fpirit ; and, confideringhis pictures as mere draw- ings, they are many of them excel- lent ; but as paintings, we mull be a little ■hh| H^^BHhHmI h 50 072 Land/cape Painting. little dif^ufted, to fee buildings, roads, trees, water, horfes, and men, all of the fame colour. The fame obfer- vations may be applied to Molyn. Griffier and Sachtleven, painted views of the Rhine in a very finifhed and agreeable manner. It is fufhcient to fay in the praife of De Heufch and Hackaert, that their pictures are fre- quently afcribed to Both. Artoiswas an excellent painter in the true Fle- mifli ftyle ; he reprefented nature with great force and truth ; his fecnes are well chofen, and his touch and co- louring very mafterly. C= Huyfman is f^^SyiSK^ffi MH l^sfe^P HHI Busman ■■■■■■■■■■■■I Oft Land/cape Painting. 5 1 is a painter little known in this coun- try ; vet no Flemifh artifl can bond of more originality in his tafte than this mailer. His trees are of a very lingular character, very tall, rich in their foliage, with the light breaking all over them. Much might be faid of the merits of each of the fchools ; the principal ornaments of which, we have been reviewing. It is fortunate, perhaps, for the Dutch and Flemifh artifts, that things little flmilar cannot eafily be compared. However, I could wifh i' ■rv'-f/, '*'■* ■••- <;-.•)/. }>.-'■?','?••;■> ■ ■rw<-^. I -.'-. «T 52 Ott Land/cape Painting, wifh thofe who, from having made a vifit to Italy, think it neceifary to defpife the works of the Flemings and Dutchmen, to confider that the Italians themfelves a£l very different- ly ; they highly efiieem the genuine performances of thofe artifts, buy them up at large prices, and readily admit them into their cabinets. CHAPTER H Sl^l llttliflf 'IS ' ' On Land/cape Painting 53 TJTXTT CHAPTER III. AN ENGLISH SCHOOL ;— WITH RE- MARKS ON THE LANDSCAPE PAIN- TERS OF THIS COUNTRY, iriiTHERTo few attempts have been made towards forming an Englifh fchool. And in this branch of the art particularly, our countrymen have contented themfelves with imi- tating the ideas of other mailers, when they mould have copied nature only. In this country, the merely copying <-*>• ;:*.- j m* 54 On Land/cape Painting. copying from nature, would of itfelf give a character to the landfcapes of our painters, which would be pecu- liar, and would fufficiently eftablifh the tafte of an Englifh fchool : for England has undoubtedly many un- rivalled and peculiar beauties, many chara&eriftic charms and graces wor- thy of the pencil. Every foreigner is immediately and powerfully ftruck with the beautiful verdure that pre- vails here through the year, owing perhaps to circumftances not fo fa- vourable to fops and damps, to its in- fular fituation. Nothing is to be found Oft Land/cape Painting. 3. found in any country at all refem- bling an Englifh park; nature no where appears in fo luxuriant a drefs, fo uncontrolled in her forms, and fo lively in her tints. Willows and poplars are almoft the only trees common in Flanders; and the wil- lows, though they grow very beautiful- ly there, are fufFered to become great trees, and are not condemned for pol- lards, yet have a poornefs of charac- ter. The Dutchman, in his richeft fcenes, feldom exhibits any other fo- liage than that of the elm, which a- bounds in their low and moift grounds. The fflffflffffliffp^^ BBHHHHHBB 56 On Landfcape Painting i The Englifh park and foreft, afford an infinite variety of chara&er in its trees, an endlefs choice of foliage. We have alfo a great advantage over Italy itfelf, in the great variety and beauty of our northern Ikies ; the forms of which are often fo lovely and magnificent, where fo much ac- tion is feen in the rolling of the clouds : all this is nearly unknown to the placid fouthern hemifphere. The veftiges of Roman grandeur, the fine ruins of temples, of triumphal arches, of magnificent aqueducts, and every kind of elegant architecture, extant in BBnHHHH^nHKGHMHI^BI^HHHi^lHBHi I On Land/cape Painting, 57 in Italy, are undoubtedly very valu- able objects to the painter. But the Englifli artift need not regret the want of thefe models, when fo many beautiful and venerable ruins are eve- ry where to be feen in his own coun- try. The remains of Gothic ai> chitecture have been the admiration of the mod refined and claflic minds. Pope, with great elegance, compares the writings of Shakefpeare to thofe noble piles, in his preface to that author's works : the mufe of Shakefpeare is particularly dear E to MMHHlpHMP HPHWi9PRiiMPi*9PBWlp 58 On Land/cape Painting. to his own countrymen : his com* pofitions are in the higheft degree affecting to them, becaufe they arc ftamped every where with fome- thing confonant to the Englifh cha- racter, to their genius and feelings ; if, therefore, the refemblance before mentioned, as applied by the poet, is apt and juft, it follows, that thefe ve- nerable reliques of our anceflors, mufl have the fame confonance of charac- ter, the fame congenial beauties. Al- though the refined in tafte may pre- fer the chafle and noble proportions of On Land/cape Painting, r } g of Grecian art, to the more irregular and wild ideas of northern climes, whilft each remains perfect, and the competition is for the beauty of a whole ; yet, in the venerable ftate of ruin, there is an awful romantic wild- nefs in the Gothic remains, that moves the mind very powerfully. Much of the excellence and beauty of Grecian and Roman buildings is - deftroyed, when the general fymme- try of the whole is violated ; but the Gothic pile, in the parts of which fo much elegance is ever allowed, lofes lefs of its propriety by the devaflations E 2 of - - 1 ■ mGmt&BtBmmBH-* > ' - — H Go 0# Land/cape Painting, of time. The ivyed arch, the taper-; fhafted column, the fhattered turret, will perhaps gather new charms, when detached from the whole, from the clumfey buttreiTes, from other lefs beautiful and incongruous parts. The light and graceful fpire lofes no- thing when deferted by its furround- ins towers ; but the dome will want the relief of its ample wings and ex- tenfive colonades. In furveying the remains of Grecian or Roman art, we inftantly lament the lofs of cor- refponding beauties, we deplore the ravage of time ; but in beholding the Gothic O/i Land/cape Painting. 6i Gothic ruin, every idea of this kind is loft in the firfl impreflion, in the fentiments of awe and enthufiafm. In fa£t, this particular branch of painting is entirely open to the artift for the foundation of an original me- rit. Thefe are fubjecis which we feldom fee treated but in drawings, frequently execrable ; they have ne- ver formed the grand choice of the painter in this country, at leaf! of any eminent painter. If the romantic fcencs of many of the ruined caftles, &c. in England and Wales, were to be represented by an artift, of ta- E 3 lents m H ff^ l B ^S ^^^ff^^^^ ^ ff^ S vK^^ W * P * PyJ F 62 On Land/cape Painting. lents as excellent, would they not have a finer, a more noble and inte- refling effect, than the piles of build- ing that decorate Poumn's landfcapes, which have fo much famenefs in their forms and fituations. I believe very little need be faid of the Flemifh and Dutch tafle in architecture ; any one who has feen the pictures of Van Da- len, and other painters of thefe fub- jecls among them, will be quite fatis- fied, that we need not borrow ideas from thence to improve our own. If the painter mould pant for fublime fcenes, ftupendous mountains, preci- pices, 0/i Land/cape Painting. 63 pices, waterfalls, he will find ample fcope to improve his imagination in the Welch counties, or in Der- byfhire, and the weft of England : if the beautiful effects of nature, inci- dent to lakes, fhould be his object, he need not leave his own country to fee the molt delightful in the world. The Englifh painter will owe no fmall ihare of gratitude to the inge- nious Mr. Browne, who has enrich- ed this country with fo many beauti- ful and picturefcjue fcenes. He has certainly justified and fulfilled his boaft, in which he declared, That it was 64 On Land/cape Painting, was his fole aim in his improvements, to form fcenes for the poet and the painter. He has undoubtedly fuc- ceeded. Nature comes from his hands polifhed and ornamented, but with no marks of violence in the re- formation. I cannot avoid, upon a fubjecl like the prefent, in which the forming an Englim fchool has been recommended, doing honour to the merits of another ingenious man, who, in an art fo nearly allied to the one we treat of, has eftablifhed, as it were, at one effort, a fchool for po- fterity, a manner peculiarly to be adopted iiSlSll Hi Hf On Landfcape Painting. 65 adopted by his countrymen in future, both for the rightful, and almoft ex- clufive title they will have to the in- heritance of it, as defcending from a native of their own country, and for its excellent and original merit. This is a juil tribute to the talents of J ;r, Woollet. In the following lift are included, the mod: eminent landfcape painters of this country : Lambert. Wilfon. Gainefborouo-h. Barrett. ow. Wright of Derby. SECOND mBH HI I I I I 1 1 • • ^g^^^tS 66 On LandfcaJ. ie Painting. SECOND CLASS. Wooton. Cozens. Tull. Wheatly. Smith of Chichef- Dean. ter. Devis. Lambert painted in a mod agree- able and pleafant manner : he made Pouflin his model, and if he cannot be allowed all his perfections, he cer- tainly wanted all his faults ; for his pictures are never obfcure in any of their parts ; the diftances always re- cede very beautifully, and nothing is overcharged Ml—— — — — — —JM — — M 1— On Landscape Painting. 67 overcharged in his compositions. He is undoubtedly a mannerift, but his manner is pleafing, his tone of colour is always the fame, but it is very harmonious ; he never offends us with the gaudy glare and rawnefs of many modern paintings, the ma- iler tint is finely kept up, the effect is clear and fober, and the taite of defign very happy. Though he imi- tated Pouflin, yet he chofe his fcenes frequently from his own country, and often from real views. Wilfon has eftablifhed a name of higher impor- tance 5 he is a painter of great fcience; the i.--r;5../«i ,•?«■>■«? H I I 68 On Land/cape Painting. the fmeft effects of nature are familiar to him. No one ever understood the aerial perfpecYive better than lie, not even Claude ; in this refpecl his me- rit is unrivalled. His fcencs are rich and grand, the parts extremely fimple, which contribute greatly to their ef- fect ; his foregrounds, however, ge- nerally want force, and his colouring is often too mealy and indeterminate. Perhaps, if he had condefcended to pay a little more attention in making out the parts of his pictures, he would not have thought historical incidents fo necelTary to them ; for without doubt, ■■■■ tfM %& Cto Land/cape Painting. G9 doubt, the lefs a landfcape is fmifhed, the more it will require fomething of that kind ; and the very converfe of this pofition I believe is as true. Barret was born in Ireland, was led to paint by the natural bent and force of genius, which has indeed been his only mftruetor ; he is likcwifc a great mafcer of efFeft, but he has fome ex- cellencies more peculiar to himfelf. He is the only one of our painters to has given the genuine character . he countries he has lived in to his. works, fele&ing only its richeft and ft beautiful features for his imita- tion. ■ .,-. I ■ ■ I V*,' i>. I ■ >■ ■ 7 o 0# Land/cape Painting. tion. Every tree he paints is diitincl- ly characterized, his pencil is as rapid as thought, and his touch uncommon- ly firm. He carries his labour no farther than the producing an imme- diate effect requires ; but the misfor- tune here is, that this efFecl: may be produced before the parts bear a due rcfemblance to nature, as it really ap- pears, and before the pidure has ac- quired any great degree of merit as a piece of art. The eye, when it comes to dwell upon the fcene, will, after a while, be difpleafed, upon obfcrving many flovenly and neglected parts. Another •SSSS ' life ss w$ On Land/cape Fainting. 7 1 Another mifchief too is created by this defire of difpatch, the ufe of tints, which produce effect very foon and eafily, but are at the fame time gla- ring and improper. Mario w is a painter of acknowledged merit and high repute ; he is perhaps not quite fo happy in his trees as might be wifh- ed, but where the fcene is on the fea^ coaft, or reprefents any exten five view, he is very fuccefsful. His co- louring is more natural, and his pic- tures are better finifhed than thofe of the artift juft named. In confidering Gainefborough's character as a oain- ter, 72 On Land/cape Painting. ter, I feci (Irons; inducements to give ]iim the preference to all his prede- ceffors or cotemporaries in this coun- try. His firft manner was very dif- ferent from that he has now adopted. At his outfet in life he appears to have ftudicd and preferred the Fle- inifii ftyle, and particularly to have imitated Wynants in the breaking of his grounds and choice of his fub- jecls ; in thefe pictures, however, he gives a faithful reprefentation of En- glim nature. His churches, cottages, to ' d 7 figures, hamlets, are all Englifh, and are painted with Uriel: attention to truth. On Land/cape Painting. 73 truth. Upon raaturer ftudy and riper judgment, he feems to have aimed at fomething more elevated ; he began to neglect the minuter characters of nature, and to depend more upon the chiaro ofcuro, and upon the beauty of his figures : yet he flill continued to paint in the Flemifh ftyle, but it was in the broader manner, more refem- bling Artois. Although in this lat- ter manner he g-Jves us little of the detail of nature in its more delicate graces, yet his works have encreafed inconceivably in their merit and va- lue, and the change has been a mod F fuccefsful WwSm^sfM 7 4 On Land/cape Painting. fuccefsful one. Nothing can be more charming, forcible, and harmonious than his colouring now is, his pencil- ling is broad and mafterly, the light and fhade wonderfully well managed, and the effect of his pictures not to be equalled by any matter, antient or modern. His figures are admirable, and being beautifully adapted to land- fcape, afford a ftrong proof how much this propriety adifts the good effect of the whole. Wright of Derby is an artift of a very Angular genius ; he is fond of exhibiting" grand effects of fire, fun, or moonlight ; all which fubjccts ■■HHHP 7 r - j On Land/cape Tainting. fubjects he executes with great force, fpirit, and effect. His touch is ex- tremely delicate, and his pictures fhow great patience in the finifning, and are remarkably tranfparent, the pencilling being vidble throughout. His reprefentations of the eruptions of Vefuvius, are the mod: fublime and celebrated of his works. Wooton painted landfcape often agreeably, but his pictures muft frequently ftand in- debted to the imagination of the be- holder for a meaning ; his touch and his colouring being very indiflinct. 'Full hardly repays to the world what F 2 he 76 On Land/cape Painting. he borrows from the Dutchmen ; yet his fcenes are always piclurefcme. Cozens is a name of confiderable va- lue to all admirers of landfcape. As a painter we only lament, that he fo feldom employs his pencil upon can- vafs. The drawings of this artiit are, for compofition, keeping, and effett, fuperior to any thing of the kind. They have a peculiar excellence, in which they referable painting ; for the efFecl is not, as is ufually the cafe, produced from outlines filled up, but is worked into light, fhade, and keep- ing, by a more artful procefs, the mafTes On Landfcape Painting. 7 7 mafTcs being determined in the firft making out, or defignation of the parts, and afford an harmonious effect, very unlike the ordinary compofitions of {"cratches and lines, which are juft conne&ed and embodied by a flirafey warning. Before I conclude this chapter, fome mention mould be made of a name fo eminent in landfcape as De Loutherbourgh, who refldcs at pre- lent in London. Were we to judge from the great prices his pictures bear, we mould rank him on a level F 3 with xo^^Kf - »^:'-;^-'!f---i-'' go On Land/cape Painting. lieve the eye. Undoubtedly it is a mod: charming circumfbmce, and the greateft ufe may be made of it by the painter. It has fome advantages in painting over every objed. As a lu- minous body, under which appearance it is ufnally reprefented, it affords a moft delightful luftre and brightnefs, and gives the painter the belt, oppor- tunity of difplaying the power of har- mony in its united effect, with the iky ; when reprefented in fhadow, it is equally happy, and has even great- er advantages over every other object under the fame circumftances : to ex-- plain 0?z Landscape Painting. g i plain this it mull: be obferved, that the lights and fhadows in a pi&ure, cannot be too broad, in order to pro- duce a fine effect ; and water is ad- mirably calculated to occupy thofe parts of a picture which are to be mailed in fliadow, becaufe it natural- ly wants that difcrimination of parts, fo much defired in every other object upon canvafs, and fo inconfiflent with the very nature of fliadow, which is, in different degrees, a privation of parts, as far as the eye is concerned. G 2 An ■ g2 On Land/cape Painting. An agreeable opening is necefTary to every picture, the eye loves to be deluded on ; but it is a common opi- nion with dealers and unikilful pain- ters, that every landfcape, be the fub- jecl what it may, mud have a view of diftant country for the back ground. This is abfurd : for inltance, in re- prefenting a foreft fcene, would it not give a far nobler idea of its depth and extent, if the eye was conducted thro' the natural openings or alleys, fo that the fcene fliould recede, yet without violating the fubjeft, than where the diftance, as it is called, is thruft all together ^^1 On Land/cape Painting. 93 together into one corner of the pic- ture, and fuggefts a totally new and foreign idea. When heath or downs form the fcene, the fubjeft may be carried on for the diftance with won- derful fimplicity and efFecl ; and in the flat fcene of rich and cultivated country, the diftance may extend with the fame propriety and agreement. Here, indeed, the diftance cannot be carried too far ; the gradations in this fubje£r. are fo little interrupted, that the eye is naturally led on, and paries quietly from the firft grounds to thofe more remote. Where the fcene is G 3 amidit 94 On Land/cape Painting, amidffc rocks and precipices, it will have a happy ciTec~t if the diftance it- felf fhould exprefs lofty obje&s, the waving tops of pines, or fummits of pointed rocks lefTening towards the horizon ; this will have the good ef- fect before recommended, and will alfo give a very grand idea of the lof- tinefs of the fituation in which the painter has placed us, In fact., the carrying one fubjett through the whole compofition, will, in all cafes, give a great and ftriking effect of uni- ty and fimplicity. There is in na- ture, a flrong fympathy of objects to each On Land/cape Painting. gr } each other : trees take much the fame form for a great extent : nor are the violent contrails, in which painters fometimes indulge themfelves, who compofe a group of trees as they would a nofegay, to be feen in na- ture. Many reafons concur in pro- ducing this ; the fame fpecies of trees orfnrubs, will generally occupy large tracts of land from the nature of the foil, and will take the fame inclina- tions from the influence of the wind : an attention to this circumflance, will add greatly to the fimplicity fo af- fecting in compofition. Every lover of g 6 On Land/cape Painting . of painting, muft often have admired the beauty of items following each other ; in fhort, this confent of parts and forms, is a great fource of plea- fure in all compofitions. In order to give fimplicity and force to a picture, it is a good method to begin with the principal object or group, and adapt the whole fcene to it, to keep the light as much together as poflible, and as near the centre of the picture, and to bring every object entire and clear into the canvafs. It is but a poor artifice to throw the grounds off by great black Items of trees run- ning H^HH On Land/cape Painting. 97 ning out of the limits of the fcene^ or by heavy obfcure banks of ground, which form a difagreeable line acrofs the picture. The chief and raoft ma* terial point in painting, is to know how much appears to the eye in na- ture : the principal difference be- tween the good and bad painter, con- fiils in this knowledge, or the want of it ; othcrwife, a tolerable method of handling, with good fubjecls to paint from, would alone make a goo. I painter. A fkilful artift is ever en- deavouring to deceive the eye, to leave an impreflion upon the imagi- nation g8 On Land/cape Painting. nation of parts not fhown, of parts that retire, that are loft in fhadow, or in intermediate fpaces ; the bungler, on the contrary, is conftantly aiming at fhowing every thing, every leaf of the tree is to be difplayed, till the whole becomes flat, and adheres to the canvafs without the leaf!: appear- ance of air, the grounds are piled one upon the other, and the unhappy and perverfe diligence of the artift, de- feats his own purpofes, becaufe he does not know to what parts to con- fine it. The unfkilful and ignorant, perpetually confound two things ex- tremely On Land/cape Tainting, gg tremely diftinct in their nature, the terms flight and unfinifhed : there i3 as much difference between a (light, and an unfinifhed work, as between a plain primed cloth, and a fine pic- ture. A flight picture is finifhcd, though not highly : the parts are all equally made out, and the keeping as perfect as in the mod elaborate piece. In an unfinifhed picture, there is no keeping, the parts are in different de- grees of forwardnefs towards fome ftandard of excellence, which is only partially attained. To fhow this more clearly, take a flight piciure, and ioo On Landscape Painting. and beftow more labour upon th£ foreground, finim it more highly, and the reft will immediately become un- finifhed, and will require the fame ad- ditional heightening. With refpect to thofe, who, from genius, and a fondnefs for the art, are defirous of making a collection, and are not yet intelligent in the petty artifices of dealers, fales, Sec. I fear experience alone muft inftrucl them ; for the mod; lively genius, even if accompa- nied with a proficiency in the art, will not enable a man to become a good connoifTeur, without time, obferva- tion, I ■hhhni 0/t Land/cape Painting. i o i tion, and an habitual acquaintance with the different fchools, their ma- ftcrs, their touch, and peculiarities of thought and manner. With regard to pictures that have been painted upon, or mended by other hands, a little practice will generally enable any one, who is at all converfant in the art, or has tolerable difcernment to difcover this, for many reafons : the parts that have been painted on, will, after a while, turn black, parti- cularly if the defect be in the fky. hi order to find if a picture is perfect, carry the eye round the delicate edges 102 On Land/cape Painting, edges of the trees, which generally fuffer mod ; here the re-touches will always be obvious, for, in faft, they are added by inferior meddlers in the art, and have never the fpirit of the matter's own hand. Another cir- cumftance will often lead to detec- tion, in the more delicate and highly finifhed pictures : we do not now grind our colours near fo finely as they formerly did ; and by this means the parts repaired will generally be very apparent. A clear and bright effect, which does not covet a parti- cular light or pofition, is the firft re- quifite ■ ■ Ora Land/cape Painting. 103 quifite in painting. I would caution every young collector againft the buying dark and obfcure pictures : he may have many inducements to commit this error, from the pleafure and felf-gratulation he receives, in finding fomething to admire in pic- tures, which, before his mind had im- bibed a paffion for the art, and before his tafle began to form, appeared to him as mere blots ; an imperfection in judgment, from not having yet feen the better and clearer pictures of the fame artiits, whofe works he is beginning to admire, may be another caufe is^fsilS «MH | ^^^ p H p ^ pi ^^ p iisili! 104 On Landscape Painting. caufe of his. falling into this miftakc. It is a grofs tafte that is eafily fatis- fled. It is not to be fuppofed, that thefe pictures came as they now ap- pear, originally from the eafel : no painter could be pleafed with obfcu- rity and indiftindiiefs ; and the igno- rant hi the art, may juftly look with ridicule on the man who is peering for beauties in midnight, and admires a chaos inflead of a reprefentation of the graces of the creation, THE END. LONDON: Printed ly C. ETHF:Rf'\~GTOX, No. 3, Peterbonugh-Ctnirt, Fleet-Street. B^HI^^HEHHi^BBH SPECIAL ! -P) ' z*^^% 11441 0* i mNfl