https://archive.org/details/elementsofdrawinOOclar •4 ELEMENTS OF DRAWING AND PAINTING IN WATER COLOURS ; BEING A SUPPLEMENT TO THE ELEMENTS OF DRAWING AND PERSPECTIVE, PUBLISHED IN CHAMBERS' EDUCATIONAL COURSE. BY JOHN CLARK, AUTHOR OF " AN ESSAY ON DRAWING AND COLOUBINO," " PBOORKSSrVE LESSONS IN LANDSCAPE DRAWING," " A SERIES OF PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS IN LANDSCAPE PAINTING IN WATBB-COIOURS," ETC. LONDON: WM. S. ORR AND CO., PATERNOSTER ROW; AND W. AND R. CHAMBERS, EDINBURGH. MDCCCXXXVIII. LOVDON : BRADBURY AND KVAN8, PRINTERS, WHITEFRJAItS. PREFACE. The greater number of the introductory works in water-colour painting in its several branches, for the use of beginners and students, being too expensive to be very extensively circulated, the idea of the following work suggested itself, as a suitable, if not an indispensable, companion to the author's " Elements of Drawing and Perspective,'* published in Chambers' " Educational Course." Following up the view of utility combined with cheapness, it has been the author s uniform endea- vour throughout the work, to combine, as far as possible, brevity of language with fulness and clear- ness of practical detail ; to show the pupil how to begin at the beginning ; how to advance step by iv PREFACE. step in the progress of execution ; and liow to give the finishing touches to the whole. In all these cases, the several materials requisite to be used, in the various parts of the process, have been care- fully mentioned ; and, so far as colours are con- cerned, the mixtures, shades, and tints required, are minutely particularized. In the body of the work, such technical terms and expressions only have been used, as could not possibly be dispensed vnth ; at the same time, not to leave the student without a guide, in perusing other works where such occur more frequently, a plain explanation of all the more important ones has been given, at the commencement of our work. Besides the more mechanical details, which have been more copiously given than in works of much greater magnitude and j^retensions, the author has been anxious to lay a foundation in the mind of the student by the exposition of sound principles of art. With this view, the harmony and contrast of colours arc explained upon acknowledged scientific principles, and illustrated by coloured diagrams. PREFACE. V For the same reason, the student is, throughout, most urgently recommended to observe nature for himself, rather than trust to representations of nature by even the greatest masters, — though the latter in their proper place are, of course, worthy of being carefully studied. If the author has been successful in performing the task which he set himself, he hopes, that the work may be found as useful, as he was most anxious to render it. LIST OF PLATES. LANDSCAPE PAINTING. PLATB FAGS 1. Diagram of Colours ....... 14 2. Gradations of Tint 18 3. Second Process in Colouring 27 4. Principal Object in Light 30 5. Principal Object in Shade 45 FLOWER PAINTING. 6. Leaves and Buds . . . . . . . . 65 7. Light and Shade in Flowers — Heartsease . . .74 8. Ditto ditto Fuschia . . . . 77 9. Ditto ditto Gentian .... 80 THE HUMAN FIGURE. 10. Figure 1. — Measurement of the Human Figure . . . 88 Figure 2. — Human Figure in Action . . . .99 11. Measurement of the Head 100 12. Expression of the Face 101 13. Hands 102 14. Feet . . : 103 15. Plates of the Muscles 104 16. Expressions— 1 to 6 116 17. Ditto 7 to 12 117 18. Arrangement of Drapery 119 PORTRAIT PAINTING. 19. Woman and Child 135 20. Portrait— Frontispiece ....... 136 2] .^Old Man, fiom Rembrandt 149 HISTORICAL PAINTING. 22. Group from Lairesse . . . . . • .159 23. Youth Drawing his Mistress ou the Wall . . . . 161 24. The Prodigal Son 161 CONTENTS. PA C K Preface ....... . i Introductory ........ I Technical Terms and Materials .... 3 Harmony OF Colours . . . . . . . 10 Landscape . . . . . . . .17 Process of Colouring with fiat Tints . . . . 18 Tinting and Re-tinting . . . . .21 Second Process of Colouring . . . . 27 Study of Colours in Nature . . . .28 The Subject in Light . , . . . 30 The Subject enlarged . . . . .40 The Principal in Shade . . . . . 45 On Composition . . . . .50 Peculiar Excellences of esteemed Landscape Painters . Utility of Poetry . . . . . . 5G Embellishments . . . . . rig Flower Painting . . . . , . 61 On Setting off . . . . . .64 Process of Colouring . , . . . 67 Light and Shade in Flowers . . . .69 Heartsease . . . . . . . 72 Fuschia . . . . . .77 Gentian . , . . , . . 81 Thk Human Figure . . . . .86 Proportions and Measurements . . . . 89 viii CONTENTS. PAGE On Sketching the Figure . . v .94 On Drawing the Head . . . . . 100 On Drawing the Muscles .... 103 On Attitude . . . . , . 104 On Drawing the Hands and Feet . , .107 Colouring . . . . . . . 110 On Drawing the Head and Face . . .113 On Expression . . . . . . 116 On Drapery . . . . .119 Miniature and Portrait Painting . . . 121 Arrangements . . . . . ,128 On Preparing the Ivory . . . . . 131 Process ...... 132 On Female Miniatures . . . . . 133 On the Incorporation of Opake Colours . . .138 Cake Colours . . . . . . 140 Historical Painting . . . . .151 Arrangement . . . . . . 152 The Cartoons . . . . . . 1 53 Light and Shade . . . . . . 155 Colour ...... 156 Anachronisms of Artists . . , . . 171 On Copying . . . , . .176 Transparknt Painting . . . . . 182 Origin of Transparencies . . . . 1 83 Choice of Paper . . . . . . 184 Process ...... 186 Choice of a Subject . . . . . 190 Strengthening the Effect . . , .191 DRAWING, AND PAINTING IN WATER COLOURS. INTRODUCTORY. The art of Painting in Water Colours, wliich ori- ginated in Britain, has lately made very rapid progress towards perfection. About fifty years ago, this art was limited to a hard outline, the light and shade produced by washes of Indian ink, with a few slight washes over these of some transparent tints. This ap- peared at that period to be the whole extent to wliich such materials could be effectively employed ; but the art has gradually advanced to a perfection that entitles it to compete in force and brilliancy even with paint- ing in oil colours. Some artists, indeed, contend that painting m water colours is superior to painting in oil, more particularly in pictures of small size ; because water being a more pure and transparent medium, the colours are less liable to lose their freshness, while B 2 INTRODUCTORY. the glass frames, in which such paintings are usually kept, preserve them from the effects of the air. The following pages were written with the design of furnisliing hints that may prove useful to those who wish to pursue the study of painting in water colours to the higher departments of the art. They may be deemed a continuation of a series of remarks on the mode of acquiring a knowledge of perspective, pencil outline, light, shade, and effect, published in one of the volumes of " Chambers's Educational Course." In the " Elements of Drawing and Perspective," the volume just referred to. Colour is not introduced ; but the subjects there treated of will conduct the young artist by gradual steps to the commencement of the present work, which is intended to embrace a wider range, more extended views of nature, and a more minute description of the materials requii-ed for paint- ing landscapes and other objects in water colours. 3 TECHNICAL TERMS AND MATERIALS. It will render the following directions easier to comprehend, if the student will make himself pre- viously familiar with a few peculiar terms in use amongst artists. Those who have already studied perspective, pencil-sketching, and shading with one colour, must be acquainted with some of these, hut it is not therefore judged expedient to leave this hi doubt. Outline, is the line or lines marking the boundaries of one object or more, whether tliis be formed by the pencil or in any other manner, such as by the line where two different colours meet. Remote Distance. The parts of a natural landscape or picture farthest from the eye of the observer. Plate II., No. 2. Mid-Distance. The portion of a natural landscape or picture nearer to the eye of the observer than the remote distance, but not so near as the foreground. Plate II., No. 3. Foreground. The portion of a natural landscape or picture nearest the eye of the observer. Plate II., No. 4. 4 TECHNICAL TERMS AND The Principal. The part of the picture which is intended as the chief object — the object of attraction to the eye. Breadth of Light. The part of a picture most brilliantly coloured, or where the greatest portion of light is shown to fall. Slbordixate Lights. Portions of the picture coloured more or less brilliantly in different parts from the breadth of light, as when a moanlight land- scape, besides the breadth of light reflected from a lake, is also shown reflected from a cascade or a rivulet. Catching Lights. The edges or small parts of objects touched with brilhant colours, to bring them out in relief, such as the moonlight-edged cloud so prettily described m Milton's Comus : Was I deceived, or did a sable cloud Turn forth her silver lining on the night ? Reflected Lights. Lights which fall on the shaded sides of objects, by being reflected from water or the like. jVIass. a bold or broad propoi-tion of any subject iii a picture, either in light or shade. Local Tint. The colour of any object in a picture when nothing interferes to aff"ect its brightness as on the foreground. Tone. The general effect or appearance of the colour- ing as influenced by what are termed wami or cold colours. A Icadmg or key-colour gives the tone to a picture. MATERIA LS. 5 Warm Colours. Those in which red or yellow tints appear. Cold Colours. Those in wliich blue or green tints predominate. Tint. Every gradation of colour or tone m light- ness, from its most perfect or intense state till it im- perceptibly passes into wliite. Neutral Tints. Grey is termed, by way of emi- nence, the neutral tint, being the mean between black and white ; but any two of the secondary colours will neutralise each other as well as the primaries in due pro- portions. The neutralising or compensating power is the foundation of all agreement or hannony amongst colours. Hue. By this term is meant any compound colour undiluted. The primary colours are not considered to be hues. Shade. Every gradation of colour or tone in deep- ness, from its lightest tint till it passes into black. Contrast. Opposition of any two things as to cha- racter, whether it be in lines, lights, shade, or colour. Keeping. The due harmony or correspondence of all the parts of a picture as to light, shade, or colour, so that none of them shall appear overdone. Harmony. The peculiar arrangement of lines, lights, shade, and colour, which shall be most conducive to the beauty of effect consistent with nature. Effect. The influence produced on observers by the B 2 6 TECHNICAL TERMS AND result of the combination of subjects and execution in a picture. Softening off. The reducing the too strong edge of a tint, so that it be rendered gradually weaker and weaker, till no edge can be distinguished. The method of effecting this, is to cover about three-fourths of the required space with the tint ; qjid, while it is still moist, with another pencil dipped in water, continue to act on the strong edge to be softened off in the most convenient direction, till the appearance of colour is lost as you approach to the clean part of the paper. Blending. A similar process to softening off, where one tint is required to be intermingled or rather laid over another tuit, as when the warm glow of a sun-set or sun-rise on the horizon is to be imparted to the cold azure tint of the sky, so richly exemplified in many of Cuyp's pieces. Picking-in. The restoring of any accidental uncven- ness or inequality in a tint, by neatly and carefully covering the unseemly or deficient spots with a small pencil, and with a tint accurately prepared to match with the parts, to be picked in. Touch. The application of colour to produce charac- ter and effect, by rendering outlines more bold and free, lights more brilliant, shades darker, distances more remote, and the like. Sponging. This operation is necessary when broad tints have not been evenly distributed, or laid on too MATERIALS. 7 strongly ; these may be corrected by a sponge, softened and nearly filled with water, passed gently two or three times over the whole of the subject, taking care to cleanse the sponge the instant it is observed to have the least tendency to soil any of the parts which should be cleaned. Sponging, it must be carefully remarked, should never be attempted after the compound tints have been introduced. Previous to this, it has a fine efi^ect on the sky and the remote distance, making them appear as if the air were really interposed to produce the aerial perspective. Sponging should be used with great caution, for no pure tint can be laid on paper that has been sponged. Taking-out. This process will. be required when a wrong colour has been laid on a mass, or where it is necessary to introduce touches of light on a strong tint. Pure water is applied, by means of a pencil, to the parts where taking out may be required ; and just before the water disappears, by absorption or evapora- tion, while the part remains moist, press it with a clean linen cloth, gently wiping it, till the colour is removed. Tf it be requisite to clear the paper entirely of the colour, it may be effected in the same way as pencil- marks, by means of Indian rubber. Making-out. This is a degree of exaggeration with respect to objects which, in accordance with their relative distance in nature, would be very indistinct or invisible. It is, in fact, a slight violation of the laws of perspective by means of extra touching, but so as 8 TECHNICAL TERMS AND not to affect the general perspective. It has a similar effect to the use of an eye-glass by pei-sons deficient in the power of distinct distant vision, though they are not exactly near-sighted. Pencils. The best hair pencils ai'e those which, when bent, will again sprmg to a good point, what- soever quantity of colour they may be charged with. The sable pencils are much more expensive than those made with camel's haii-, but the additional cost is in some degree made up by their comparative durability. The swan-quill size is the most useful. Flat camel hair pencils are the best for softening oflF. It is important to remark, that a pencil which has been employed for laying on any particular colour should not be used for any other colour before it has been thoroughly cleansed ; for the least tinge of another colour will be destructive to purity of tint. Paper. The drawing-paper should be laid on a drawing-board, after previously wetting it with care on both sides, and permitting it to expand. While it is still damp, it should be fastened on the board by means of glue along the edges : or the dra^^ing-paper may be damped, and fixed into a drawing-board con- structed with a rabbet and a back-board. ^^Tiichever of those drawing-boards be used, the paper, when dry, ought to present a smooth surface, on which tmts may be easUy laid on ; and if there should any inequality arise from washing with tints, the smoothness will be restored by permitting it to dry. MATERIALS. 9 Colours. Colours are sold, with few exceptions, iii single cakes, or in boxes containing from twelve to forty- eight cakes. Many of these are mixtures, or duplicates vnih slight variations, wliich tend to perplex the beginner, till a knowledge of their several proper- ties has been acquired by practice and experience. Painters of eminence have been kno^vn to obtain all the variety of tints wliich they required from the primitive colours, yellow, red, and blue ; such as a cake of yellow ochre, a cake of red ochre, and a cake of indigo. A very great variety of tints may be pro- duced by skilfully intermingling these three colours ; and their power may, by judicious management, be rendered equal to their variety. The student may be advised to confine himself at first exclusively to these ; but afterwards others will be wanted for various pur- poses, and a list is therefore subjomed of those which are mentioned in the followmg pages. YELLOWS. REDS. Yellow Ochre, Indian Red, Raw Sienna, Lake, Burnt Sienna, Carmine, Gamboge, Vermilion, Chrome, Venetian Red. Indian Yellow. BLUES. BROWNS. Indigo, Madder-Lake, Prussian Blue, Sepia, Antwerp Blue, Bistre, Ultramarine. Lamp Black. 10 HARMONY OF COLOURS. It is an invariable maxim in every department of study connected with the fine arts, to store the mind well with all the requisite knowledge before employing the hand in attempts at expression; for if the pre- vious ideas are mdistinct or obscure, it is impossible that the expression of these can be clear or effective. The neglect of acquiring tliis mdispensable preliminary knowledge, with respect to colouring in particular, always renders the application of colours one of the most unmanageable and perplexing of an artist's opera- tions. The tact in separating objects or masses in a picture by means of the colours best appropriated to the respective parts of a subject, can only be acquired by the previous study of natural appearances, and the recollection of their effects. An assemblage of colours seldom fails to attract the eye ; and ^\ith reference to their harmonious com- bination, different degrees of pleasure will be produced on spectators of varying powers of discernment and acquirements of taste. Suppose a number of cubes of wood are painted in several gradations of the three prmiitive colours — yellow, red, and blue, and of the HARMONY OF COLOURS. 11 three compound colours — orange, green, and purj^)le ; these scattered promiscuously on a white surface, and looked at through a small hole in a card, held at such a height and distance that all the cubes could be seen at one view, much of the nature of colours might thence be learned by an inquisitive student. The incongruity of one portion of the view, or the pleasing association of another portion, would be immediately apparent ; and while some of the contiguous colours would have a soft effect, other assemblages would appear harsh, rugged, and in violent contrast, which would give rise to suggestions for varying the combinations, removing discordant colours, and substituting such as might prove harmonious. Experiments of tliis kind indeed might lead to improvements in colouring which otherwise would never have occurred. " Colours in the works of art," says Mr. Hay, in his excellent work on Harmonious Colouring, "are regulated, in their arrangement, by laws founded on natural principles. There are, no doubt, many varie- ties of tastes in regard to colours, both individually and arranged. Many have fancies for, and antipathies to, particular hues. All have their tastes m regard to particular styles of colouring ; some being fond of the gay and lively, some of the rich and powerful, and others of the deep and grave. Some have a partiality for complex arrangements, while others prefer extreme simplicity. It does not signify under what circum- stances a variety of colours may be presented to the 12 HAllMOXY OF COLOURS. eye ; if they be harmoniously arranged, the effect will be as agreeable to that organ as harmonious music to the ear." The principles upon which this simplicity and har- mony are founded must be sought for in all-instructive Nature. It is most strikingly apparent in the colours of the rambow, and in what may, with no great im- propriety, be tenned the artificial rainbow, formed by passmg light through a glass prism. There are three colours considered as primitive, or the basis of all others, namely, yellow^, red, and blue. Correctly speaking, black is not a colour, but the absence of all colour, though there are few blacks which are not more or less tinged with blue, brown, or some other tint. ^\liite, again, is the union of the three primitive colours, as is shown by Field, in the proportion of three yellow, five red, and eight blue ; but in other proportions white, like black, is tinged with various tints. In common language both white and black are called colours. " Of the three primary colours," says Mr. Hay, " Yellow partakes most of the nature of white, being the lightest of all decided coloui-s. Its contrast colour is purple, a compound of the other two primaries. It constitutes, in combination with red, the secondary orange ; and when compounded with blue, it produces the secondary green. These two colours are, there- fore, its melodising hues ; and its most powerful con- trast is black. HARMONY OF COLOURS. 13 " Red, the second of the primaries, is the most positive of all colours, holding the middle station between yellow, which is most allied to light, and blue, which is most allied to shade. The hues with which it melodises in series are orange and purple, being its combinations with the other two primaries. Its contrasting colour is green, a compound of yellow and blue. " Blue is the third of the primary colours, and nearest in relation to shade or coolness. Its contrast- ing colour is the secondary orange, and its melodismg colours in series, green and purple. These, however, require to be subdued when opposed to blue in its intensity." Each of the intermediate compound colours or se- condaries have others, \\'ith which they are contrasted or harmonise, through every variety of tint. In order to obtain a knowledge of the harmony of every colour applicable to the practice of painting, the student must assiduously investigate the numerous combinations observable in nature, and perseveringly endeavour to reproduce these artificially. It is, how- ever, satisfactory to know that their most pleasing combinations are strictly regulated by the laws of harmony through the countless varieties of colour, from their brightest or deepest tone to theu* tenderest tint. While the student, therefore, is investigating effects observed in nature, he ought to make constant reference to these laws to direct his inquiries. c 14 HARMONY OP COLOURS. For tlie purpose of assisting the memory to recall with facility the principles from which the laws of harmony and contrast are deduced, the diagram, Plate I., is annexed, illustrative of the positions of the primitive colours — Yellow, Red, and Blue — placed on the sides of an equilateral triangle, with compound tints, or secondary colours, between them: — Ch'een^ composed of j^ellow and blue ; purple^ composed of red and blue ; and orange, composed of red and yellow. The colours, when placed in this manner, show that if the primitive and secondary tints be opposed to each other, they are more harmonious, or more strikingly contrasted, than would result from their promiscuous or random assemblage. In this way it will be seen, on mspection, that j^ellow is contrasted with purple, red is contrasted with green, and blue is contrasted with orange; and the principle is capable of being extended to all the varieties of tint of which each of these colours is susceptible. The position of the colours in the diagram also shows the contrast or opposition of warm tints to cold tints, and that the melodising tints to the secondary colours are the primaries of which they are composed. " As each class or genus of colours," says Mr. Field in his Chromatography, " primar}^, secondary, and tertiar}^ has the property of combining in a neutral or achromatic state, when duly subordinated or com- pounded, it follows, that each secondary colour being compounded of two primaries, is neutralised or con- Y R. B. RIMITIVE roi.OKS J' I. A IT-; 1 HAR3I0NY OF COLOURS. 15 ti-asted by the remaining primary alternately ; and that each tertiary colour being, like a primary, com- poimded of secondaries, is also neutralised or contrasted by the remaining secondar}' alternately. The eye is quiet, and the mind soothed and com- placent, when colours are opposed to each other in equivalent proportions chromatically, or in such pro- portions as neutralise their individual acti^ities. This is perfect harmony^ or union of coloui-s. But the eye and the mind are agreeably moved, also, "when the mathematical proportions of opposed or conjoined colours are such as to produce agreeable combinations to sense ; and this is the occasion of the variety of Jiarmony^ and the powers of composition, in colouring. Thus colours, in the abstract, are a mere variation of relations of the same thing. The neutralising powers of coloui's, called com- pensating, have also been improperly denominated anti- pathies, since they are the foundation of all harmony and agreement in colours ; too much of any colour in a painting being invariably reconciled to the eye by the due introduction of its opposite or equivalent, either in the way of compounding, by glazing or mingling, or by contrast ; in the first manner with neutralising and subdued effect, and in the last with heightened effect and brilliancy; in the one case b}' overpowering the colour, in the other by overpoweiing the eye ; wliile in each the equilibrium, or due subor- dination of colours, is restoi-ed. It is not sufficient. 16 HARMONY OF COLOURS. however, that the artist is informed what colours neutralise and contrast, if he remain unacquainted with their various powers in these respects. If he imagine them of equal force, he will he led into errors in practice from which nothing but a fine eye and repeated attempts can relieve him ; but if he know beforehand the powers wdth which colours act on and harmonise each other, the eye and the mind will go in concert with the hand, and save him much disappoint- ment and loss of time, to say nothing of the advantage and gratification of such fore-knowledge in realising their beauties with intention." The practical part of painting consists in laying colours on the objects of a picture so as to exliibit them under the peculiar circumstances in which they are placed with respect to the coolness or glow of the atmosphere, or the light, shade, or reflection which may be thrown upon them. The use of colours, accordingly, is the blending and adapting of them so as to impart to every object in a picture a natural appearance, and by a general harmony of the tints to produce a pleasing effect upon the spectator. It will be our endeavour, in what follows, to simplify the mechanical parts of the processes, wliile, at the same time, attention will be recommended to be given to the study of nature intellectually. 17 LANDSCAPE. Perspective being to drawing in the same relation as grammar is to language, no student should ever commence painting without making himself master of the rules of pei-spective, and without assiduously re- ducing these to practice. From the work on the " Elements of Drawing and Perspective," of which this is a continuation, it may not be out of place to recapitulate here, that whatever be the extent of a picture, the station of the spectator and the extremities of the base line will fonii three given points, which being united will produce an equi- lateral triangle immediately in front of the picture, at the height or elevation of the horizontal line. Again, that when the station of the spectator is removed from the centre, point of sight is placed perpendicularly to the station, and that the vanishing points for objects seen at that angle are regulated by the distance of the station marked on the horizontal line on either side of the pomt of sight; the expanse of vision being an angle of sixty degrees, and the vanisliing points an angle of ninety degrees. It may be necessary to remind the student that he must make himself familiar with c 2 18 LANDSCAPE. the various technical terms, both relating to perspec- tive and those explained in a preceding page. If a landscape be supposed to comprehend three gradations, these may be expressed by imagining three irregular masses to occupy a sheet of drawing-paper, as represented in Plate II. No. 1. The upper portion, is nearly half the space within the square. No. 2. One third of the lower space. No. 3. About one half of the remaining space. No. 4. The base of the subject. The nearest space. No. 4, is termed the foreground; No. 3, the next above it, is the mid-distance; No. 2, immediately above this, is the remote distance; and No. 1, the upper space, is the sky PROCESS OF COLOURING WITH FLAT TINTS. Beginning with blue, dip the end of a cake of indigo in water, and rub off into a saucer a small quantity of the colour. Reduce this, by means of water, to a tint of pale blue, such as may be seen on a fine day tinging the edge of the horizon, when — " Distance lends enchantment to the view, And robes the naountain in its azure hue,'' PLEASURES OF HOPE. Then, with a flat pencil, take up nearly as much of this pale blue colour as it will hold, and cover with FLAT TINTS. 19 it the upper space of the paper, No. 1, by passing the pencU quickly from side to side, beginning at the top, and taking care never to return to the part previously covered ; but while the whole is wet, take another flat pencil, previously wetted in pure water, and pass it from side to side rather diagonally, to lessen the power or depth of the blue tint by insensible gradations as it approaches the horizon — an effect which may be ob- served in every natural landscape. When this becomes dry, strengthen the blue tint a little by means of more colour, and with a swan-quill pencil wash in the space No. 2, termed the remote distance ; while with another pencil a little water may be passed over the edge of the colour, so as to lightly stain the space. No. 3, beneath, with the view of removing any crudity or harshness in the tint. As soon as this is dry, make a tint of red ochre about the same strength as the blue, and with a swan- quill wash in the space No. 8, called the mid-distance, passing a little water over the loM^er edge of the colour, as in the preceding case. When this is dry, make a tint of yellow ochre of similar strength to the red, and wash in the fore- ground. No. 4. The beginner who makes his first attempt at wash- ing-in may feel disappointed if he do not produce even- ness and equality ; but this, he may be told, is not expected, though it is to be hoped that after a little practice he will acquire the tact of so regulating the 20 LANDSCAPE. degrees of strength in each of the three tints, as that there will be no difficulty in distinctly recognising the gradation from the foreground to the remote distance ; the yellow ochre on the foreground being most pro- minent, the red ochre on the mid-distance less so, and the indigo on the remote distance giving an idea of the effect produced by aerial perspective. Wlien these separations of distances partake of forms, like broken ground or hills, a more powerful impression of the keeping essential to landscape paint- ing will be made on the mind of the student ; and, perhaps, in propoi*tion as these forms vary from parallels to each other, the ideas excited will be ren- dered pleasing or interestmg ; irregularity of surface being in some measure essential to the picturesque in scenery. After the first tints have been laid on, they may be strengthened by repetitions of tint upon tint, which will produce a variety of tones^ and the effect will be in accordance with the appropriateness of such addi- tions. It must be carefully remarked, that in making repetitions of tmts, the aerial perspective must be pre- served by keeping the blue as the basis or leading colour of the remote distance, mingled red and blue of the middle distance, and mingled yellow and red of the foreground. The student is strongly advised to practise such applications of the primary colours in a variety of forms, and in different powers of tint, till he become TINTING AND RE-TINTING. 21 practically familiar with their relative effects and the mode of distributing them. If he be too anxious to advance in the employment of colours, without going through these indispensable preliminary exercises, he will soon meet with unconquerable difficulties, and will be compelled to go back to the commencement, with, in all probability, bad habits established, which it may not be so easy to conquer. It will, therefore, be un- wise to require the hand to perform that which is not understood by the mind ; we might, with equal wisdom, endeavour to feel our way in the dark, where, with a trifling exertion, we could procure a light. At this stage of the student's progress, the black-lead pencil must only be employed as a means for drawing the outlines of forms, till a degree of confidence be acquired sufficient to indicate these outlines by hair pencils in colour. TINTING AND RE-TINTING. Upon tints wliich have been washed in as the basis of a landscape, hills may be introduced in parts of the distance, or the sides of those already indicated may be broken to give variety. Trees may also be introduced in undulating masses, or buildings may be drawn to enrich the scene, taking care always to preserve the aerial perspective. Trees may also be elevated on the foreground, or a road may be stretched out with broken 22 LANDSCAPE. ground or stony surfaces, with plants adjoining and other accessaries, to admit of local colours and power of touch. For these purposes, Prussian blue, lake, burnt sienna, and Indian yellow, may be added to the three colours used to design with ; and, by variously distributing and overlaying them, a great variety of tints may be made conformable to the truth of natural represent- ation. A person, of unimproved taste, on looking at a paint- ing, is chiefly struck with glaring colours ; but it must be always borne in mind, that colours in nature are rarely gaudy or obtrusive, however rich or deep in tone they may be, because the varying circumstances of light, shade, and reflection, are always operating, more or less, to subdue and harmonise the more glaring tints. The student ought to direct his attention to this point, both in study ing nature and in practising his art. It is a general rule, that colours and tints, when used simply without intermixture, are much clearer than when they are compounded, for the instant they are mingled in any proportion, they resign a part of their transparency. "WTien a strong tint of indigo, for ex- ample, is laid on, and, after it becomes dry, an equally strong tint of yellow is laid over the blue, a much more transparent and pure gi*een will be produced than if the same tints of yellow and blue had been mixed in a saucer before they were laid on. The same will be found to hold good with respect to every description of TINTING AND RE-TINTING, 23 compound tints ; and hence it will be indispensable for the student to ascertain, by experiment and repeated practice, in what manner any tint, previously laid on and become dry, will be aflfected by another laid over it. Without a considerably extensive practical know- ledge of this kind, the mechanical process of colouring in constant requisition will not go on with facility, and many interruptions and mistakes must ensue. In accordance with these principles, it will be found that colours similar in tint, but of a different chemical character or preparation, will contribute more to trans- parency of touch, than repetitions of the same colour, more particularly in colouring roads, buildings, or broken grounds. The student will derive more know- ledge upon those points from careful practice, than from the most miimte directions either of masters or of books ; but, as it is our duty to put him in the w^ay of self- study, we shall give an illustration of the principles as applied to a particular case. Let it be required to produce a tmt of warm green, to colour a part of a field or the foliage of plants or trees — • yellow and blue alone will not answer, for these give a raw, cold tone, and therefore some red must be added to impart the warmth of tone that may be requisite. The best way of arriving at the necessary result is, to make three tints in three separate clean saucers, of red ochre, of lake, and of burnt sienna. Then dip a hair pencil in one of these, wiping it two or three times on the edge of the saucer, till it be moderately full of the 24 LAXDSCAPK. tint, and wash with this, al)out an inch in width, of a piece of clean paper, continuing to move the pencil by a waving action dowTiwards, till the tint, becoming gi-adually exhausted, is greatly lighter than at the top. Repeat the same process on inch spaces of the paper contiguous to the first with each of the other two tints, and let them stand till all are perfectly dry. Now, make a tint of green by mixing indigo and Indian yellow of any degree of strength, and mth this wash over the whole of the three tints on the paper. By this process a great number of different tones of green vnll be produced, and the examination of these will soon indicate the particular warm green which was the object of the experiment, as well as the appropriate- ness of several other tints to particular objects in land- scape scenery. It will be important here to remind the student, that if the red had been intermingled in the saucer mth the yellow, and the blue in one tmt, the effect, instead of being clear and transparent, would have been obscure and confused. Again, let it be required to produce a powerful tone of green for colouring the dark leaves of plants in a foreground, or the like, a similar experiment to the preceding may be made in the following manner : — Make a tint of purple with blue and lake, lay a portion of this on a piece of paper, let it dry, and over it wash the green tint, as in the preceding process. Additional power, if it ])e not sufficiently produced at TINTING AND RE-TINTING. 2o first, may be given by increasing the proportion of blue. In all cases of compound tints, it will be necessary to consider which pai-ticular colour will best bear the friction of the pencil, and preserve the greatest clear- ness during the process of re-tinting. In this respect, repeated washing will not injure the clearness of indigo, Prussian blue, lake, carmine, nor sepia ; but the earthy ochres, gamboge, sienna, vermilion, and ultramarine, not being well adapted for smooth clear tints, how dexterously soever they may be laid on, will not bear to be re-tmted. The student must, therefore, to pre- vent frequent disappomtments, endeavour, by experi- ment, to ascertain this point of character in all the colours which he may have occasion to employ, and for which preparatory tmts should be first washed-in. Varying these experiments in every possible way, will also teach the student not only that it is impossible to produce a powerful bright tint by one mixture, but also that many repetitions of tints positively destroy all clearness of tone and effect, a dii-ty grey being often the result of unskilful re-tinting. It will be indispen- sable, therefore, in order to produce the desirable clearness of tint, for the student to ascertain and re- member the particular tmts which neutralise or destroy each other. The time spent in making such experi- ments, though no progress in the meanwliile be made in colouring pictures, so far from being lost, will, in the D 2(5 LANDSCAPE. end, prove to be an immense gain, independent of the confidence it will always be certain to establish. The preceding remarks on tinting and re-tinting have been confined to the example of the colour green ; because, if there be difficulty, it is with this colour it is most likely to be experienced. Green is the pre- vailing tinge of nature ; it mingles in every scene ; it forms a portion of all the productions of the garden ; and it is beautiful in drapery. In the rose, the association of the tints of pink and green appear in harmonious contrast, if such terms may be used, enriching each other in the most delightful manner. In the rose, as in the diagram, Plate I., the primary red is associated with the secondary compound green. The preservation of clearness will greatly depend on the requisite power of tint being used when it is first laid on the paper, — a remark that applies to all tints which may be adopted to express similar degrees of distance ; for example, in a range of mountains. Tints which are afterwards employed to impart shade and to break monotonous lines, are distinct appli- cations of colour in washing or in touching, as the character of a particular sul)ject may require. A firm clear tint, of an appropriate tone, is the best basis to proceed upon, and is more manageable than one which is too light or feeble ; for if it be found to be somewhat too heavy in particular parts, this may be obviated by judicious taldng^out^ SECOND PROCESS. 27 Such preparatory hints as the foregoing, will, if duly attended to, considerably lessen the difficulties the student will have to contend with in his first attempts at colouring. SECOND PROCESS OP COLOURING. If a sketch, such as is represented m Plate III., have been taken from nature, let it be drawn from the sketch-book, of much larger dimensions than the original sketch, and brush away the dust of the black-lead pencil to prevent its afterwards mixmg with the tints. Then prepare to colour it, by making a neutral tint of indigo and red ochre, so that the tone shall be neither blue nor red, and of a power that shall neither be ob- trusive and vulgar, nor feeble and insipid. With tliis tint, in a good-sized hair pencil, wash over all the parts of the subject not in the light, in order to form the half-tints ; but this grey basis will require, when it is dry, to be strengthened with a little indigo, repeated on those parts which are in shade, as well as on such parts as may require a deeper tone, re-tinting till the requi- site effect shall have been produced. It is important to take care, in making these repetitions, not to carry any wash or tint so near to the edges of a preceding tint as to produce a hard or vulgar appearance. In all cases, where any object in the picture faces or is opposite to the light which falls upon the whole subject, the illuminated parts must be preserved clean, avoiding all hardness on the edges, and observing to 28 LANDSCAPE. render those nearest the eye more distmet than those which are more remote. This is effected by touching the more distant lights with a pale tint of grey. The next step is, to make a green tint with indigo and yellow ochre, with which the trees ought to be washed over ; taking the same precautions as m the pre- ceding case with respect to the more remote and the nearer parts, by keeping the former light, and going over the latter more than once. The sky and the water must next be partially washed with a tint of indigo, repeating this on the parts of these in front. In the same manner a tint of red ochre may be partially washed on the buildings, and a tint of yellow ochre upon the vessel, repeating both of these tints where the grey tint first laid on does not appear to accord with the tones of the lights. The preceduig will give the student some idea of the several colours, and the mamier of managing them adapted to a landscape of this description. STUDY OF COLOURS IN NATURE. Before attempting to take pencils and colours into the field, the groves or the hills, to copy from nature a weed, a branch of foliage, or a distant scene, the student ought previously to have thought well on the subjects in unison vdth the endeavour to express them on paper, — exertions which tend to awaken many ideas that might otherwise never enter the mind. STUDY OP COLOURS. 29 From such studies he may leaiii, that greens, in some measure, suggest the mixture of colours by which they may be imitated ; that the separation of parts in a tree does not indicate violence of tint ; that local colours dimmish in brilliancy in proportion to their remoteness of distance from the eye ; and that distant hills recede in proportion to the tenderness of the blues or greys which accord with the aerial perspective. A plain surface of colour, exposed to the light, pre- sents a bright uniform tint ; but, if it be placed obliquely to the stream of light, it will present only a half-tint of the colour it exhibits in full light ; while, if it be placed so as to be opposed to the stream of light, it will present one uniform tint of shade, tinged, of course, with the colour shown in the full light. These facts show that colour, in a full brilliant light, is partially deprived of its tmt, that an oblique position exhibits the half-tint in a subdued or broken tone, and that shade gives a dulness approacliing to black. It likewise will appear to the student who examines those points attentively, that colours possess a consi- derable power of relieving each other by contrast, as already explained, independently of their lights and shades, their skilful opposition of light colours to dark colours, and their half-tuits to either of the latter in masses. Taking a view of all these various circumstances, some idea may be formed of the extent of the means of which artists avail themselves in their imitations of D 2 30 LANDSCAPE. nature, and the important inference will become ap- parent, that beauty, so far as painting is concerned, or, in other words, picturesque beauty, is not to be attained by multiplicity of colours, so much as by the skilful and tasteful combination of a few. THE SUBJECT IN LIGHT. In the subject represented at Plate IV. the slight indications of clouds, or rather broken haze in the sky, may be washed-in with a neutral tint composed of indigo and red ochre, lightly repeated on the side in shade, taking care that the tint may shade off lighter towards the horizon. Next make a tint of indigo, adapted to the peculiar tint of the atmosphere, and in accordance with the power the subject is intended to have when finished, and with this w^ash-in the parts of the blue sky in the spaces left between the haze-clouds, avoiding all dis- agreeable forms. It must be borne in mind, also, that the clouds and the clean edges which have been left untouched with colour, will appear in front of the azure of the sky. The indigo tint must be repeated at the top in order to strengthen it a little, and softened off towards the horizon, for the purpose of producing the blended gra- dation of tone displayed in the natural sky. When all these tmts have become perfectly dry, ]iass a flat camel-hair pencil, or a soft sponge, across SUBJECT IN LIGHT. SI the whole of the sky in the direction of the horizon, taking care to leave no part of it untouched. After going once over it thus, cleanse the pencil or the sponge in pure water, and immediately repeat the process, even more than once where the gradation of the tints may require softening. By keeping the pencil or the sponge very clean, the lights on the edges of the clouds may be distinctly preserved, while great tenderness of aerial effect may be produced. In the preceding process of sponging, let the sponge be passed beyond the boundary lines of the picture on either side, while all the water must be removed, to prevent its returning upon the subject. WTien it is perfectly dry, the upper portions of the clouds and the blue sky may be retouched with their appropriate tints ; and, in addition to these, a very light tmt of lake may be washed upon some parts of the clouds to give them a pleasing and natural variation of tone, there being very frequently a slight tinge of red in the natural clouds. The edifice being the principal in the scene, and full in the light, wash it over with a tint of yellow ochre of a strength sufficient to give a decided opposition to the blue tints of the sky. It is indispensable, that the whole piece have the power of the tints regulated, by those tints with which the subject was commenced. Accordingly, when the tint of yellow ochre has been passed over the edifice, and also over the whole of the ground beneath, let the 32 LANDSCAPE. picture be held at a little distance for the purpose of judging of the effect produced, and to see whether the tints relieve one another harmoniously. If, upon the effect being proved in this manner, the yellow appear too weak to exliibit a pleasing contrast, let it be strengthened by re-tinting; and if, on the contrary, it be too strong, reduce it by carefully wash- ing it over with a clean hair pencil and pure water ; and while it is wet, rub off the superfluous colour with a piece of soft linen. It will be almost unnecessary to remind the student, that much of the effect will depend on the skill with which the proper strength of the yellow tint is managed. As it will be impossible to reduce to an equal tone so large a space of yellow, it will be useful to examine whether some part of it harmonises with the blue of the sky, and if so, wash the yellow where it appears too strong with water, and where too weak, re-tint it with yellow. The just contrast required may be ascei-tained by the yellow not appearing hard, crude, nor vulgar, from the tint being too strong ; nor pale, nor dim, from its being too feeble. When the due tone of the yellow tint has been ob- tained by the several processes recommended, incor- porate some Indian red with the neutral tint, and with this wash-in the side of the edifice in shade, as well as its apertures. The power with which this tint is laid on, must be regulated by that of the preceding colours. SUBJECT IN LIGHT. 33 It must therefore be neither so strong as to appear hard or heavy, nor so feeble as to fail in expressing distinctly the peculiar tone of the parts in shade. It must be tried, in tliis respect, m the same way recom- mended for trying the yellow tint, by holding the pic- ture at a little distance, and observing the effect ; and, as in the former case, reducmg or strengthening the tint as the taste and the judgment may suggest. All tlils requires much care and patience, but what is thus effected wUl be lasting, not being the random touches of chance, but the result of investigation and judgment. Next make a light green tint with indigo and Indian yellow, and ^vith the exception of the winding path, which must be left as previously tinted with the yellow, wash over the ground with this light green. In order to avoid making the edges hard, the pencil should not be charged with so much colour as in other cases. It is necessary to observe, that the light falls on a great portion of the ground, illuminating a breadth, with the side of the edifice, which is in the light ; the gi'een tint must in consequence be kept sufficiently tender not to injure nor destroy this breadth of light, but, at the same time, of such strength as to harmonise with, and appear as, a basis to the building. A little yellow ochre must next be mixed with neutral tint, and washed over the trees on either side of the edifice, and where they are seen through the apertures. The upper pai-ts of these trees, where 34 LANDSCAPE. they are relieved against the sky, should be very lightly touched, hut the lower parts should be strengthened by re-tinting. Next, a tint composed of burnt sienna, with a little sepia, may be washed over the mass in front, keeping the upper edges light. It will require some attention and judgment from the student, to determine the pro- per degree of strength. If it be laid on too strong, it will appear hard and vulgar, or devoid of transparency ; and if it be too weak, it will not throw the edifice into sufficient relief. The same trials must be made by holding the picture at various distances as before, exercising the judgment with care in maldng the necessary alterations. As the black-lead pencil Imes will not have been obliterated by the Avash over the foreground, let a few tints of green be washed in, and repeat the broA\Ti tmt where strength is required to separate the parts. The whole ought to be kept as broad and clear as jjossible, and j^articular care ought to be taken not to disturb any of the tints first laid on, by the friction of the pencil in the process of re-tinting. ^It will assist in the harmony of effect, to touch with red a spot on the figure in the front of the piece. When these several processes have been completed, the subject will be covered in with broad tints, and be rendered fit for the several processes of toning, touch- ing, and finishing, to be immediately explained. The picture may now be considered in the state SUBJECT IN LIGHT. 35 wliich is termed dead coloiii iiig., such as can be worked up to any proposed degree of finisli, taking care alwa3'8 to preserve the natural appearance of the several parts ; but the appearance which the picture has received from the flat tints will perhaps be meagre or crude, and requiring the colours to be mellowed into harmony. In a preceding page, some directions have been given respecting colours that may be washed over other colours ; but though the subject is inexhaustible, and to particularise every colour and tint under this point of view would confuse rather than instruct, it may be useful to mention a few that are applicable to the piece under consideration, leaving it to the student to discover others, by experience and extended practice. As it is a general rule, that the light parts of objects must be coloured more warmly than the shaded parts, if the lights be too warm, a pale wash of indigo will reduce their violence ; if the tints be too cold, a pale wash of red ochre will lessen their harshness. Tlie crudity of a green tint may be rendered mellow by a tint of lake, or may be rendered rich by a tint of bui-nt sienna. When blue tints are washed upon any part, they have a tendency to cause it to recede in appear- ance from the eye, and, consequently, to throw the contiguous parts into relitf; while red and yellow tints have the opposite effect, of bringing parts forward in relief, so as to appear advanced towards the eye. In proportion to the strength of each of these colours^ 36 LANDSCAPE. they, of course, assist in giving gradations of distance, in accordance with aerial perspective. Any power of cold tint that may be refpired, can be produced by a mixture of burnt sienna and indigo, and of warm tint, by mixing burnt sienna and lake. It will be necessary to neutralise or destroy all straggling lights, which fpiffect a breadth or a mass, by re-tinting them with greys if m the shaded parts of the piece, or with red ochre if in the light parts, taking care not to injure the aerial tone, which should be always pre- serv^ed under every alteration of tint. If a clearer light be required on any mass of colour, let a hail" pencU with clean water be passed over the part carefully ; and just before the water is evaporated, remove the superfluous colour, as before directed, by pressing over the part a piece of clean soft Imen to absorb any remaining moisture, and by rubbing it with crumb of stale bread to the degree required. When masses are found to be too yellow, they may be stained with a very pale thit of purple made with blue and lake, which will vary the tone without disturbing the transparency of effect; while, at the same time, this will render these masses less promi- nently relieved. This tint of purj^le, it may be remarked, must be done with only one application. AFhen parts require to be enriched, tints of gamboge may, Avith good effect, be washed over them ; but this gamboge tint must not be repeated, it being liable to bo disturbed by the friction of the pencil. ON RE-TINTING. 37 If the intended strength of colours in mixture has not produced the desired effects in the mstance of a broad mass, it must be increased by re-tinting with a pencil charged with as small a quantity of colour as will allow it to pass easily, without disturbing the tint beneath. Consequently, previous experiments must be made to determine what colours will produce the tint required. Should blue be one of the colours in question, it may be washed first over tlie part, because it is the least liable to be mjured by the friction of the pencil in applying any of the succeeding tints. "We can, therefore, after the blue, wash in with impunity the red or yellow oclires, the lakes, and the broA\Tis of sepia. After this we may apply raw or burnt sienna, gamboge, or gall-stone, and the transparency or clear- ness of the mass will not be disturbed. But should the order in which these colours have just been enu- merated be mverted, beginning with gamboge and ending with blue, a most unmanageable roughness of colour will be cei-tam to result. Tliis remark holds good more particularly with masses in shade, because, unless transparency^ of tint be there preserved, the scene must be defective in truth ; no. circumstance being more offensive m a picture than murkiness or opacity in the tints of the parts in shade. In the light parts of a picture, the colours which are applied are generally so thin, that it is very easy to manage any repetition of the tints. At the same time E 38 LANDSCAPE. it must be remembered, tliat repetitions of the same tint are apt to produce a spiritless effect, and instead of sharpness and distinctness of tone, a sort of disturbed consistence, termed woolliness^ will take place, than which nothing can be more insipid. In this way, the whole picture ought to be proceeded with, till the masses of lights and shades, such as the sky with the clouds, are washed in, and the distances Avhere the blues and purple prevail. On the second plan, where the bolder washes are required in broad and clear tints, and in the foreground, where the colours must be shown in their due degree of bright- ness, the same directions must be followed. It is indispensable to good management, that no part of the picture should be finished by itself ; and, therefore, all the parts should be proceeded with in regular advance, from the commencement of the first tints, to the application of the strongest colours. This regularity of procedure is necessary, in order to judge of the due gradations of the several portions of the subject, and in order to regulate the aerial perspective, without which the general effect, in accordance with the preconceived idea, camiot well be detennmed. After this has been accomplished, the toning, cor- rectmg, and touching may with propriety be proceeded with, as the picture will have occupied the undivided attention for the production of a general effect. Applying these remarks to the picture in the state to which it shall have been advanced by the washing ON GIVING EFFECT. 89 in of the flat tints, many suggestions will arise to direct variations of management, remembering to have a good reason for every touch or repetition that may be attempted. And as reasons are not to be found with facility when too much haste is made, it will be requisite to do everything leisurely and well, m ap- plying touch after touch. At every stage of the pro- cess, the effect must be proved by looking at the picture at various distances, in order to see that the keeping- be preserved, and that no spottmess has been pro- duced from too heavy or too numerous touches. In the process of giving effect to this scene, it may be remarked how little of positive white has been found necessary. The soft gradations and reliefs have been produced by tender tints, while black has been nowhere required. The recollection of these facts will prevent such colours being touched upon, or washed over each other, so as to produce blackness ; while the tender tints forming or surroundmg the mass of light may be varied and enriched, if care be taken to preserve them in accordance with the aerial perspective. After finishing the picture so far, it will be well to put it aside for a few days, when it may be re- examined ; for in this way many fresh suggestions respecting it will most probably arise in the mind, such as may be turned to useful account in painting other pieces, or in making an improved copy of the one in question. 40 LANDSCAPE. THE SUBJECT ENLARGED. If the same subject, Plate III., be copied six or eight times larger than it is exhibited in the plate, it ought to be sketched freely, with a bold pencil, on the markings or forms of masses, taking care to keep the outlines of objects as tender as possible on the parts in light, for if these are strongly dra\vn they \\dll appear hard when the colours are laid over them, while the others, after the colours are aj^plied, ^vill either be hidden, or serve as guides for retouching. In this instance, the sky may be washed in with Prussian blue, charging the hair pencil moderately full with the colour, which will prevent the tint from exhibiting too hard an edge. The blue should be dashed in with freedom, because, from the forms of the clouds being manifold, no particular part of the sky need be copied, except where the lightness of any particular part is necessary to the production of effect. The best direction that can be given is for the student to look to the sk}^ in nature, and in this way obtain ideas of the white forms which may be left on the paper without being washed in with blue. At the same time, the tender tones of grey or neutral tint may be observed, with which the less brilliant parts are diversified. By imitating in this mamier the natural clouds, the sk}'^ will have a much finer effect than if copied from a print. THE SL EJECT ENLARGED. 41 As inequality of surface contributes much to the interest of a scene, the ground beneath the piincipal may be rendered more broken and picturesque. The tree on the right may have its foliage expanded with advantage ; while the composition would be enriched, and the geneiul effect enlianced, by introducing figures in the scene. Before making any additions, such as just recom- mended, let every tint and touch be previously well considered, and, above all, let the picture be frequently placed at various distances, in order to examine it, and direct the judgment in every alteration, till each shall be rendered an improvement. Investigations of this kind, will give more practical information than the most minute directions of a teacher. In proportion as the size of the picture is increased, pencils of lai-ger size must be employed. A mass, likewise, which in a small subject might be well finished with one tint, would appear bald or insipid m a large picture. Bad effects of this kind may be paitly obviated, by judiciously wavLug or hatching the surface of a large mass v>-ith. the proper according tints, mto which raw sienna enters, but so propor- tioned as not to distui-b nor alter the aerial per- spective. It is not necessaiy to define miimtely the fonns m masses of foliage, or clouds in the sky ; it is frequently preferable to greater finish or appearance of labour, to give merely an idea of characteristic separation. E 2 42 LANDSCAPE. With tliis view, the masses of foliage should be broken and varied, without leaving any evidence of not having adopted the best method at first. The incorporation of raw sienna in this way with portions of tint similar to that on which it is to be laid, might be supposed to communicate a yellow hue to such parts of the mass of foliage ; but raw sienna is of so glutinous a consistence, that it gives a sort of grain to a flat tint which destroys the appearance of bareness, and, if it be skilfully worked, wUl not alter the general tone of the part, or show, at least to the inexperienced eye, by what means it has been effected. The student, however, must not expect that he can acquire the necessary skill to manage this in his first trials, though the process is purely mechanical. He must make repeated experiments in order to discover the proper effect, and the manner of performance can- not well be given in a book ; but as it has been fre- quently found difficult by younger students to enricli masses of foliage, it may not be irrelevant to give a few hints wliich may assist them in rendering it more easy. If the mass be large, and composed of foliage of various colours and charactei-s, the black-lead pencil lines will define the different trees, while a broad neutral tint will cover the breadth of space. This neutral tint may be composed of indigo and Indian red, a colour which has somewhat of a lake tinge, and tlicncc imparts a purple tint to the mixture with indigo, THE SUBJECT ENLARGED. 43 while it possesses body enough to prevent a broad tint from appearing meagre, and is also well adapted for receiving any variety of stains, which may be required to separate the trees on a deep-toned mass. The firm body of the tint is also well fitted for washing up lights, if this should be found necessary ; and, what is no less important, scumbling, or marking with raw sienna to produce the appearance of depth or rotun- dity, may be practised on this neutral tint with the best eff'ect. In some parts of the foliage, the pencil may be flat- tened, and the colour spread or dragged over the space; other parts may be dotted or spotted with a broad-pointed pencil. If the parts, again, be suffi- ciently near to the eye, the character of the foliage may be expressed and enriched with different degrees of power and colour, by incorporating other tints, or re-tinting. When the drawing-paper is coarse-grained, the neutral tmt, which forms the basis of the subject, will cover or fill in all the pores or interstices ; but the subsequent tints, from not being used in so fluid a con- sistence, do not so readily fall into the pores of the paper, and rather tinge only the projecting inequalities of the surface. For this reason, the original neutral tint, or basis colour, appears to sink deeper, and, by shining through the mere surface colours, gives to a mass a sort of transparency which resembles nature. In whatever manner the student proceeds, he must 44 LANDSCAPE. never lay colours over eacli other so that the effect may be what is termed " loaded" and heavy ; nor, on the contrary, should he use so little colour, that the effect may be what is tenned " raw" and meagre ; faults which may be corrected as already cxplamed, — the first by damping and carefully dabbing up, the second by re-tinting and repetition. If the student on any occasion should be in doubt as to any part of a picture bemg out of keejiing, he must examine it by looking at it critically when held at various distances ; and should there be a spot or spots too dark or too light to agree with the masses, or a tint too cold, or too raw and meagre, or a touch too much or too little, let him place the finger on the doubtful part and imagine an alteration, then remove the finger and consider the propriety of such alteration, when, if it be judged to be an improvement, no time should be lost in executing it. This method, so repeatedly recommended in these pages, of examining a picture when in progress, and correctmg it according to the critical judgments there suggested, though it may at first prove disagreeable, from the numerous alterations that will sometimes have to be made, must be of the greatest advantage, were it no more than that the practice compels, as it were, comparisons to be suggested, with similar effects, previously observed in nature. The student, mdeed, may be assured, that no verbal instruction can ever prove of so much value as this exercise of the mind to THE PRINCIPAL IN SHADE. 45 advance his progress in the successful imitation of nature by art. In the course of practice, if any particular tone, touch, harmony, or effect, strike the observation of the student, he ought to examine it minutely, compare it with nature, ascertain in what it corresponds with, and in what it differs from, nature ; and if it be found worthy, let it be fixed in the memory as a point gained — as one of the safest guides to advancement. The greater portion of useful knowledge in arts and sciences has been discovered by accident, and, there- fore, all fortuitous circumstances should be considered, and, if apparently valuable, should be treasured up in the memory. Frequently such chance recollections may aid in suggesting the means of getting over diffi- culties, and may tend to direct the energies of perse- verance more satisfactorily than could be done by any verbal maxims derived from other sources. THE PRINCIPAL IN SHADE. It will be unnecessary to repeat here what has already been laid down with respect to pencilling ; but it may be requisite to state, that the paper should be chosen of a texture to correspond with the power of marking required in proportion to the intended size of the piece. The sky, in Plate V., and similar subjects, may be 40 LANDSCAPE. washed in with a tmt of indigo at the top, blending it off in a diagonal direction to the side from which the light streams. When this has been done, a tint of lake may be passed over the blue,, blending it off in a similar manner towards the horizon. A tint of gamboge may then be passed over the horizon and blended upwards, taking care that no greemiess be thereby produced on the blue of the sky. The student must trust to his ov\ti judgment in regulating the strength of these several tints ; but the gradation of tone must be carefully preserved by adapting the tints to each other in such a maimer as to produce smoothness and union. In consequence of the blue tint, which is first washed in, being blended beneath, it will remain strongest at the top, where, also, it will be least af- fected by the lake, but lower down will communicate to it a warmer tone of purple, wliile below it will glow out still warmer in its own hue. The gamboge will appear strongest on the lower edge of the horizon, to which neither of the two other had been extended ; but when it comes in contact with the lake, farther up, it will impart to it a glow of orange, and, from being blended before the blue was affected, the regular gradations will be preserved, and a similar appearance will be presented to that which is often witnessed in a fine evenuig in autumn. As in this j)iece the sky is intended to be the part in light, the power of the opposing masses will require to THK PRINCIPAL IN SIIADK. 47 be regulated in accordance with this view. If much strength should be given, the student must be reminded, that he ought never to produce blackness, even in his strongest tints, — a fault which, if it occur, may be obviated b}'' mixed tints of indigo and raw sienna, — while all that can be required to give power, while transparency is preserved, may be obtained from burnt sienna, sepia, or madder lake. The student must not expect always to hit on the exact tone or power precisely adapted to a particular part ; but he must carefully observe, that if he have recourse to any compound tint with the view of giving additional power to another, he will infallibly injure the clearness, and make the part appear to be loaded with colour. Faults of this description are best avoided by putting in all the parts with as few colours as possible, giving additional power, where requisite, with the same com- pounded tint as that of the mass which requires to be strengthened. For the purpose of expressing the cliaracter of foliage or of herbage on the foreground, an old worn hair pencil, or one with the point burnt off, will be found well adapted. In proportion as trees are near to the eye, or ap- proach the foreground, their foliage should be more clearly defined and brought out, and care should be taken not to let their extremities or bounding lines appear cut too sharply, nor possess any harshness of 48 LANDSCAPE. tint, particularly where they are seen against the sky. The parts which project towards the front must be represented the brightest or the strongest in colour. If the light should appear beneath a tree, then the remote branches must be coloured with tender tints, as may be observed in nature under such circumstances. On the side in shade, the trunk and branches must not be too harshly marked, for this is forbidden by the reflected light arising from their rotundity. All the touches given to them must of course be adapted to their character; and with respect to the opposition wliich they offer to the light, this may be partly softened by placing smaller trees or shrubs about the larger trunks. One of the most interesting features in landscape is formed by broken ground, or inequality of surface, in consequence of its affording variety in light, shade, and colour, particularly when it is so placed as to receive the cast shadows of objects. With respect to foregrounds, it may be remarked, that there never can be any necessity for rendermg them dark on either side for the purpose of forcing an effect. An effect, indeed, so produced, will be at the sacrifice of a portion of the scene on one of the sides, supposing such forced dark masses to be placed on both sides of a view, for in this way an unintentional vista is made to the injury of an open prospect, and this camiot be compensated by any disposition, how skilful soever, of such dark irregular masses. THE PRINCIPAL IN SHADE. 49 In the scene in the plate, the foregvound is neces- sarily light, in consequence of the mass in the second plan beuig in half-tint. Were it not so, the effect would be gloomy and bad. The water, the winding of a road, and the mtroduction of figures, tend to enliven the scene and give scope to oppositions — always in- teresting features in a landscape. In the foreground here, the yellow ochre on the parts in light, the shades washed in and touched with burnt sienna and sepia, with a few indications of verdure, produced by green composed of raw sienna and Antwerp blue, form together a basis adapted to the subject. Such a study may be completed by a few tints to define more distant trees and hills, tinged with a purplish tinge, so as to display their lights to ad- vantage. Much would thus be offered to the consider- ation of the student, and a desire might be created for copymg a similar effect from some original scene, when placed in circumstances of light and shade of the same kind. It is with the hope of exciting such desires, that many of the remarks in tliis work are given, from the conviction, that if the mmd of the student can be thus interested, he will be encouraged and cheered on to persevere in attaining excellence : where this is wanting all will be vain. All which Thomson so expressively calls the " delightful task," becomes an irksome drudgery to some, and an unintelligible rhapsody to others ; wliile Thomson s idea has been F 50 LANDSCAPE. fully realised in the course of oral instruction, and it is anxiousl}'^ and respectfully anticipated, that the pre* sent attempt ma}^ prove equally successful. ON COl^rPOSITION. Much will depend on the taste and judgment of the student, even in landscapes of the simplest composition, Supposing an outline to be chosen from nature, diver- sity of colour, light, shade, and effect, must all be sug- gested by distinct and clear recollections of the spot, or observations founded on other scenes, which may have left vivid impressions on the memory. In reproducing these recollections of nature by means of colours, how feebly soever they may be expressed, the student will soon discover that tints produced by mjudicious mixtures vnll always mar transparency; that marking out, or finishing, more than the respective distances of objects requii*e, alwa^'s produces confusion ; that touches of improper tone or powder disturb the lights ; that gaudy colouring is a deviation from tmth and nature ; that breadth of light must be produced by subdumg those which are scat- tered or subordinate ; and that chasteness in all the oppositions will produce the nearest imitation of nature. In a good landscape, all the pai-ts are unconstrained ; some being prominent and highly illuminated, others in shade and judiciously retiring ; some are rough, ON COMPOSITION. ol and others are polished ; yet all are so disposed as to be essential tot he effect, harmony, and beauty of the whole. In a word, a landscape which presents to the spectator an idea that the scene is really viewed through a frame as actually existing, while the notion of pictorial representation is lost, may be considered the perfection of the art. The component parts of a picture may be judiciously arranged, so as reciprocally to enhance the beauty of each other. For example, with regard to form, the i-ugged may be opposed to the smooth ; and with respect to colour, the blues may be opposed to orange, the purples to yellows, and the greens to reds ; and with regard to effect, the lights may be opposed to shades. Although these sorts of arrangement may appear to be artificial, they are virtually derived from nature, notwithstanding they may not be exliibited by any individual scene under a particular light. It is an acknowledged prmciple, that the landscajje painter should select from the beautiful in nature, and by the tasteful introduction of parts or bits, as they are termed, in a composition, should enrich his scene to the utmost of his ability. The splendid effects of this mode of study are finely exemplified in the pictures of Claude, Poussin, and Te- niers, but most of all, perhaps, in Wilson. Of the latter it has been said, with justice, that his eye was perfect in the perception of aerial nature, and that his ideas of composition were of a very superior order. No op- 52 LANDSCAPE. portunity should be omitted of studying the pictures of Wilson, because, when the student thus sees what has been accomplished in the successful imitation of nature, he may be thereby stimulated to persevere in making efforts for his own advancement. Many of the beautiful effects in landscape are evanescent, and must be observed and remembered till they can be embodied by the pencil in representative colours. We may give, as illustrative examples of this remark, the agitation of foliage in the wind, the action of water in the breeze, the transition of a cloud, and similar accidental circumstances, which tend to enrich a scene. All these have their appropriate tones of light and shade, their accordant harmony of tints, and their particular influences in producing the general effect of a landscape. Their judicious introduction will depend on the discrimination exercised by the artist, who is accustomed to contemplate the varieties of nature, and, selecting from them the most beautiful and picturesque, can represent, by means of colours, scenes which are characterised by truth, and appearing to be, what in fact they are, a transcript from nature. In a work, the intention of which is to point out the modes of acquiring knowledge of this kind, it would be easy to multiply examples and illustrations ; but the student who is solicitous for improvement will soon perceive, that, after all, he must depend chiefly on his own exertions. Instmction in the employment of the implements and materials comprehends almost all that LANDSCAPE PAINTERS. 53 can be useful; and when this is done honestly and plainly, it can scarcely fail to be reasonable. It may not, however, prove uninteresting to call attention to a few of the leading excellences and peculiarities ob- servable in the pictures of esteemed masters in land- scape painting. PECULIAR EXCELLENCES OF ESTEE3fED LANDSCAPE PAINTERS. In the pictures of Claude, the distances demand the closest attention of the student. It may be observed, that he manages his aerial tints "svith the greatest possible truth and skill, while a sweet simplicity per- vades his compositions. His knowledge of architecture enabled him to give an imposing air of grandeur to some of his subjects ; but liis cliief excellence consists in his management of the gradations of aerial effect. Delightful specimens of neatness and truth of touch may be seen in the landscapes of Berchem, who is also remarkable for breadth and just distribution of light, as well as for transparency and brilliance of colouring. His figures, also, are well dra^^'n ; but he is most eminently successful where trees are intermingled with ruins, and he communicates to such scenes a richness and beauty truly surprising. Admirable imitations of natural effects are exempli- fied in the landscapes of Teniers. It is a frequent practice of this great master to place his principal light on the foreground, while he scatters liis subordi- 54 LANDSCAPE. nate lights, in a most beautiful maimer, over the scene, keeping the whole in strict accordance with a luminous sky. Salvator Rosa displays great judgment in his adap- tation of lines, shades, and colours, and touch, to suit the character of his subject. He represents the wilder scenes of nature, and the result is grandeur of effect ; while the squareness in the rugged markings of his rocks, the rude breakings of his grounds, the vigour of his touch, and the sudden, yet harmonising, oppositions both of form and colour in his objects, are fine illus- trations of the picturesque. It is one of the chief excellences of this master, that his figures are so strictly in character and keeping with his scenery, every part uniting in the production of grandeur in his com- positions*. The name of Wilson stands conspicuous among those, who have distinguished themselves in the liighest walks of landscape painting, and his pictures well deserve the highest encomiums, though they did not |^ttrgc^ the notice they so richly merited during the'^itLiaiU* life. " Wilson," says Fuseli, " observed Nature in all her appearances, and had a characteristic touch for all her forms. In effects of dewy freshness, or silent evening lights, few equalled him, and fewer still excelled him. He is now numbered with the classics of the art It might be out of place here to dilate on the talents possessed by different artists in expressing the trntli of * Pilkingtou's Dictionary of Painters. Note. LANDSCAPE PAINTERS. 55 nature with facility ; but it may be remarked in passing, that if the student sliould meet with a landscape of P^Tiacker's, he ought not to omit observing and study- ing the truth in the drawmg and colourmg of the herbage and plants which enrich the foreground ; and, if he meet with a 'piece by Ruysdael, he ought to observe and study the sparkluig touch and colour which he imparts to water, whether it rolls away as a streamlet, or tumbles in a cascade over a precipice. The student, indeed, should examine every picture of an esteemed master which falls in his way, exercismg his critical judgment by a comparison with similar forms or colonics, which he may have previously observed in nature. If the representations of these in the picture appear to be true, it will demand his careful study, by advancing and receding, and observing the effects it possesses at various distances. Then let the pencilling be inspected nearly and minutely, paying particular attention to the blending of the tints and to the sharp- ness or decision of the touch. It ought to be the student's endeavour to discover, by means of such examinations, the manner by which objects can best be represented ; and, to fix these the better in the memory, let liim endeavour to reduce them to practice on paper. If such a mode of study be pui*sued, and on every possible occasion compared with real objects in nature, what can impede his progTess ? Who shall say to him, hither shalt thou come, and no farther ? A spark of that enthusiasm, which ariistsare 56 LANDSCAPE. usually said to possess, will kindle up iii his bosom to a flame, the obstacles in his early progress will dis- appear, and the path to imitative art will appear bright and allui'ing. UTILITY OF POETRY. Amongst many particulars, to wliich the attention of the student of landscape painting may be usefully directed, we may mention poetry, when embodying \dvid descriptions of the grand or beautiful in nature. No one, for example, who has gazed on the heavens under particular appearances, can withhold liis admi- ration of Shakspcare's painting of sunrise : — " What streaks Do lace the severing clouds in yonder east ; Night's candles are burnt out, and jocund day Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain-top." Or Thomson's, more laboured, but not less tme — " Yonder comes the powerful king of day Rejoicing in the east ! The lessening cloud, The kindling azure and the mountain's brow lllum'd witli fluid gold, his near approach Betoken." The beauties described, of the jocund day standing tiptoe on the misty mountain's top, and the mountain's brow illumined with fluid gold, are such as may be seen exj^ressively represented in the pictures of Wilson ; though the early riser may see them still more enchant- ingly in Nature hei-self. UTILITY OF POETRY. 57 Sunset is represented by the poets with no less fidelity : — " While in the western sky the downward sun Looks out effulgent from amid the flush Of broken clouds, gay shifting to his beam." Thomson. " With softer radiance beams the western sky, Whilst yet the sun a-distance shoots his ray, Clears from the clouds, and spreads a milder blaze." Spenser. " While all above a thousand liv'ries gay, The skies with pomp ineffable array." Falconer. Such beauties as these — the look eflFulgent from amid the clouds, the soft radiance of the west — and the pomp ineffable of the sky at the setting of the sun — have been attempted by Claude, and more particularly by Cuyp ; but who can paint like nature ? The sun, which ushers in our brightest mom or departs with splendour in our finest evenings, and scatters, throughout his course, mmumbered beauties over the blue waters and the green earth, is frequently looked at as the common-place object in the natural series of every-day events, and excites no admiration. But, to the eye of the enthusiastic and intelligent artist, the glories diffused by the sun are magnificent, astonishing, and delightful ; and he is touched with sentiments of gratitude to the beneficent Being by whom they were called into existence ; and he feels all the rapture of Bcattie, when he exclaims-— 58 LANDSCAPE. " O how canst thou renounce the boundless store Of charms which Nature to lier votaries yields ; The warbling woodlands, the resounding shore, The pomp of groves, the garniture of fields ; O liow canst tliou renounce, and hope to be forgiven ?" EMBELLISHMENTS. Many conflicting opinions have prevailed, with respect to the propriety of introducing groups of human figures in landscapes ; hut the difference of the artists on this point has not led to any decision of the question. It may he alleged, with some show of reason, that too many figures have a tendency to disturb the requi- site repose of a beautiful scene ; but, on the other hand, the want of figures most certainly tends to excite an idea of desertion, if not of desolation. A medium between these two extremes may, perhaps, be the most judicious and conformable to good taste. Fig-ures, for example, are natural and proper on a road ; they are useful as a scale of measurement, to which to refer surrounding objects, as tall trees or lofty build- ings ; they conduce to the interest of particular scenery, and serve to characterise it ; and they may be made to communicate historical interest to a picture otherwise rich, as is well exemplified in some of the admirable and too-much neglected pieces of Wilson. Groups of figures may often be seen in the pictures of Tciiiers, W ouvermans, Claude, and Cuyp, who seldom omitted EMBELLISHMENTS. 59 to embellish their landscapes in this way with con- spicuous assemblages of figures. Claude's magnificent and gorgeous edifices, mdeed, would appear solitary and quite out of character with the whole piece, had he omitted to introduce his holiday groups of people, or a crowd of worshippers going to or retuiTiing fi-om his temples. Supported by such authorities, we may well consider figures as an excellent adjunct for imparting richness and colour to foregrounds, and as useful for detacliing masses or distances, bearing always in mind that what- ever figures are introduced must accord in character with the other parts of the piece. " Landscape," says a judicious author, quoted by Smith m liis Life of Wilson, " however dignified, how- ever picturesque, is, imless animated by human figures, far from complete. The mind is soon satisfied ^^dth the view of rock, of wood, and of water ; but if the peasant, the shepherd, or the fisherman be seen, or if, still more engaging, a group of figures be thrown mto some important action, the heart as well as the imagination is affected, and a new sensation of exquisite delight, and scarcely admittmg of satiety, fills and dilates the bosom of those who, — either with the pen or pencil, combining the energy of human action with the a.vrf\il or romantic scenery of a wild, or with the softened features of a cultivated, country, — secui-e and have a claim to repu- tation. The banditti of Salvator Rosa, the mteresting groups and figures of Poussin, and the rustic sunpli- CO LANDSCAPE. city of Gainsborough, unite with the suiTounding views of nature, in effecting an impression of the utmost power, and not otherwise procurable " Taste is not subject to fixed rules, but natural land- scapes are luminous, although artists of celebrity have reduced the light to one-eighth of the size of their subject ; and a dark picture requires an excellent situ- ation in which to be viewed, or much of its beauty will be lost. There is a cheerfulness associated with a landscape in light, which should lead the student to sustain this character in a piece, unless it be particu- larly desired to introduce subjects of a solemn charac- ter. Rembrandt is the only master who obtained celebrity in landscape by painting artificially, and otherudse than nature dictated. Claude, Poussin, Vemet, Wilson, and Gainsborough, painted in the fields, and their representations are expansive breadths of light, and strikingly beautiful. After all, while artists have pursued their o^\^^ ideas, and produced innumerable picture:j of extra- ordinary talent for our gratification and mstruction, those are most esteemed who sought not to dazzle, but— " Mixed their tints, And called on chaste simplicity." Gl FLOWER PAINTING. Before proceeding to the immediate subject of in- struction, it may be important to impress upon the student the value of health ; not that any one who is in bad health will fail to feel and recognise tliis, but those who are in good health are too seldom aware of it till reminded of their neglect by disorder or disease. Injudicious or excessive application must be avoided no less than entire idleness or loitering. " If," says Dr. Combe, in his admirable work on Physiology, " we repeat any kind of mental effort every day at the same hour, we at last find ourselves entering upon it without premeditation when the time approaches ; and, if we arrange our studies in accordance with this law, a natural aptitude is soon produced, which renders appli- cation more easy, than by taking up a subject as accident may direct. The tendency to periodical and associated activity occasionally becomes so great, that the faculties seem to go through their operations almost without conscious effort, while the facility of action becomes so prodigiously increased, as to give uneiTing certainty where at first great difficulty was expe- rienced. G 62 FLOWER PAINTING. " It should never be forgotten that, in education, it is the brain or organ of the mind which requires culti- vation, and that hence education operates invariably in subjection to the laws of organisation." It may be added, that cheerfuhiess of disposition, and the ability to investigate with patience, are the consequences of a judicious intermixture of exhilarating exercise and mental application. Though every department of imitative art is amusing and instructive, we may say that flower painting is more peculiarly attractive and adapted to female study. The love of flowers appears to be associated with vir- tuous dispositions, while delicacy of mind gives a charm to the contemplation Qf the forms, hues, and combina- tions displayed in flowers : Blooming employments of the mind. That leave no languid thought hehind To dim the passing hours ; Pursuits, that to the heart can bring Tlic pleasures of continual spring, With summer's sweetest flowers. Drawing from nature, to use the words ot an American author, contributes powerfully to instil that serenity which becomes necessary to the full enjoyment of its value. By a secret sympathy, the heart catches the harmony it contemplates, and, in a state of sweet composure, is more susceptible of virtuous impressions. FLOWER PAINTING. 63 The taste for natural beauty is subservient to higher purposes, for the cultivation of it not only refines and harmonises but dignifies the affections ; it elevates them to the admiration of that Being who is the Author of all that is beautiful and sublime. These ideas will be responded to by every one who dips a pencil in the varied hues of colour, and enters into that enthusiasm which lovers of art experience when copying from the works of natui-e. The pencil can scarcely be more pleasingly employed than in representing flowers — the dehghtful part of creation wliich decorates our fields and emiches our gai'dens. All writers agi-ee in passing eulogiums on a pui*suit which brightens at each succeeding view, which presents fresh objects at every turn, fraught with charms that give a cheerfulriess to the heart and an enlarge- ment to the understanding. In order to render the process successful, the draw- ing of a flower requires some preparatory effort and consideration. Freedom of hand is essential to express graceful foims and the elegant characters possessed by many stems, leaves, and blossoms. The requisite facility thus requh-ed in using the black-lead pencil may readily be acquu'ed by practice, with the hand raised fi-om the paper, or resting solely on the little finger, in a similar manner to flourishing in penman- ship. It is in this way that effects, the opposite of stiffness, are produced. Like all other acquirements, indeed, it must be produced by habit, wliich commu- 64 FLOWER PAINTING. nicates to the mind the knowledge of such lines— ecomes conscious of " The breath of Nature, and her endless bloom." I 86 THE HUMAN FIGURE. The study of the human figure will demand more mental application than either landscapes or flo\Yers, but this will be more than compensated, by the accom- panying satisfaction of being thereby enabled to direct the mind and the hand, to the highest department of art — historical painting. Plate X., figure 1, will show the respective measurements and divisions taken in proportions of the head, which it has been found neces- sary to adopt in order to con-ect drawing, and to pre- vent unseemly disproportions. In the height of the body, there are eight pix)portional lengths of the head, according to the measurements taken from the cele- brated statue of the Apollo Belvidere, and universally recognised both by painters and statuaries. It is not, however, indispensable to study the minute divisions of measurement in this mtroductory figure with laborious investigation, at least at the commence- ment, though it will be useful to fix in the memory a general notion of these proportions. This may be most easily accomplished by drawing a perpendicular line of any given height, measuring off" and dotting one-eighth part for the head, — dotting again the exact half of the whole line for the lower part of the belly ; while the re- maining under half, divided into two equal parts and PROPORTIONS. 87 dotted, will mark the lower part of the knee, and the lowest end of the line will mark the foot. The upper half of the figure, requires to be rather differently divided. The length of the face, for ex- ample, must be three fourth parts of the whole length of the head, and at one of these parts, below the chin, let a dot be made to mark the pit of the throat. At one length of the face, that is, three-fourths of the length of the head from the pit of the throat, make another dot to mark the pit of the stomach ; and at the same length of the face or three-fourths the length of the face from the pit of the stomach, make another dot to indicate the navel ; and another similar length of the face, will mark the place for a dot to be made, indicating the rim of the belly. When these dots have been made on the line, a slight indication of an oval may be made at the top to repre- sent the head, occupying, of course, one-eighth part of the whole line. The shoulders may be dotted on either side of the perpendicular line, rather below the pit of the throat. The body of the waist is placed, at a little more than half a head on each side of the perpendicular line. The length of the arm is a little more than three heads, from the shoulder to the tip of the middle finger. The extent of the arms, when spread out, is about the whole height of the figure, measuring from the tips of the extended fingers. The length of the leg is nearly four lengths of the head, measuring from the lower rim of the belly to the tread of the heel. 88 THE HUMAN FIGURE. The pit of the throat, when the figure is viewed in front, is perpendicular to that heel on which the weight of the body is made to rest, fig. 1. The parts of the figure thus indicated hy dots, may be faintly sketched, then examined by placing the sketch at a little distance from the eye, and attentively con-ected. The outline, when this has been done, may be dmwn with firmness, according to the suggestions of taste and judgment, as it is advanced to completion. A few re- petitions of these several processes will prove an excel- lent preparation for the mind, and will accustom the eye to truth of proportion, so that symmetry, or harmo- nious balancing and agreement between the respective members, may be readily given to any figure afterwards dra^^^l. As soon as the student has mastered these details, he may consult with advantage the following minute mea- surements of the two celebrated antique statues — the Apollo and the ^"enus — premising that the figures are duly poised on their legs, and divided into thirty-two parts for the Apollo, and thirt^^-one parts for the Venus ; and that a head consists of four parts, and a part of 12 minufes. PROPORTIONS. 89 PROPORTIONS AND MEASUREMENTS OF THE FIGURES. head and trunk of the body. Apollo. Venus. Hds. Pts.Min. Hds. Pts.Min. From the top of the head to the bottom of the chin . • • • 1 0 0 1 u \f From the bottom of the chiu to the breast bone U 1 7 0 1 1 8 From the top of the breast bone to the pit of the stomach • . • U o o 1 rt A •> .i 0 From the pit of the stomach to the navel • • • . U o lU 0 / From tlie navel to the pubis, or rim of the belly • • • . r\ U Q o /:> O A 3 9 vv noie lengm Q a Q o if 3 3 6 Breadth of the thigh below the middle A U f) H 0 2 7 above the knee • 0 ] g A KJ A U — of tlie leg below the knee • 0 1 6 0 — at the calf of the leg 0 2 4 0 2 3 — below the calf 0 1 7 0 I Hi — above the ankle 0 1 2 0 1 2 — of the ankle 0 1 4 0 1 3 — below the ankle 0 H 0 1 — middle of the foot 0 I 4 0 I 3 — at the roots of the toes 0 1 7 0 1 7 — of the arm over the biceps 0 1 8 0 1 9 — of the arm above the elbow • 0 1 6 0 5 — of the arm below the elbow . 0 1 10 0 1 7 — at the wrist 0 I 1 0 1 0 i2 90 THK HIMAN FIGURE. Apollo. Venus. •Hdf. Pt-sMin. Hds. Pts.Min. Breadth of the hand over tlie first joint of the thumb .019 018 — of the hand over roots of fingers 0 17 0 16 — across the scapulae, or shoulder bones . • -12 0 110 SIDE VIEW. Length from the top of the head to shoulder . .118 116 — from top of the shoulder to the loins above the hip -13 3 117 — from the loins to the lower part of the hip . .10 2 12 1 — from the hip to side of the knee — top of the knee-pan -12 0 10 11 — from the side of the knee to the heel . . . 2 0 5 2 0 11 7 3 6 7 3 0 Height of the Apollo 7 heads, 3 parts, and 6 minutes, being a fraction short of 8 heads. LENGTH OF THE LOWER EXTREMITIES. From the pubis to the small of the thigh 12 6 12 3 From the small of the thigh to the mid- dle of the knee • • -019016 From the knee to the small of the leg 1 1 9 12 0 From the top to the bottom of the ankle 0 10 0 10 Froin the ankle to the heel • .0 0 9 0 0 9 PROPORTIONS. 01 lkngtii of the upper extremities. Apollo. Vents. Hds.Pts.Min, Hds.Pts.Min, From the top ofthe shoulder to the elbow 12 3 12 3 From the elbow to the hand . .112 10 6 From the joint of the hand to root of the middle finger . -018016 From the root to the tip of the middle finger . . . 9 1 10 0 1 7 3 2 11 3 1 10 MEASUREMENTS OF BREADTHS. Breadth between the outwar-d angles of the eyes 0 6 0 1 7 — of the face at the temples 0 2 2 0 2 2 — of the upper part of the neck 0 2 0 0 1 11 — over tbe shoulders • . 2 0 0 3 8 — of the body below the anu-pits 1 2 5 1 8 — between the nipples 1 0 7 0 3 8 — bottom of the chin to the hori- zontal line of the nipples • 1 0 7 1 0 1 — of the body at the small of the wdst 1 1 0 1 0 8 — over the loins 1 3 1 1 6 — across the top of the thigh bones 1 1 5 1 2 3 — of the thigh at lop 0 3 0 0 3 1 92 THE HUMAN FIGURE. Apollo. Venus. Hda, Pt9.Min. Hds Pts.Min. SIDE VIEW. Thickness from the fore part to the back of the skull 0 3 6 0 3 4 — from the wing of the nose to the tip of the ear 0 1 H 0 1 6 — of the upper part of the neck 0 2 0 0 1 11 — from the nipples to the back 1 0 6 1 0 6 from the belly to the small of the back 0 3 6 0 3 7 from above the navel to back of the loins 0 3 9 1 0 2 from the bottom of the belly to the round of the hip 1 0 0 1 0 5 from the fore part of the thigh to the bottom of the hip • 0 3 2 0 3 7 Breadth of the thigh at the middle 0 3 3 0 3 6* of the thigh above the knee • 0 2 1 0 2 3 at the middle of the knee 0 2 1 0 2 2 of the leg below the knee 0 1 9 0 1 11 of the leg at the calf 0 1 8 0 1 9 of the leg at the ankle 0 1 51 0 1 4 of the foot (largest part) 0 1 5 0 1 3 of the arm over the biceps 0 2 0 0 1 9 of the arm over the elbow 0 1 6 0 1 6 of the arm below the elbow • 0 1 5 0 1 7 of the arm at the wrist 0 I 1 0 0 U of the hand at the root of fingers 0 0 0 0 5 of the hand at the root of the nails 0 0 H 0 0 3 The above measurements have been taken as if the figures were perfectly flat, like a picture when in the PROPORTIONS. 93 indicated positions. The breadths would, therefore, of course vary with change of position : as the wrist, for example, will appear larger when seen in a line with the palm of the hand, than when seen in a line with the fore finger. There is not, and perhaps never was, any individual man or woman so precisely symmetrical in proportions as these two figures are, by the general acknowledg- ment of artists, allowed to be ; and are the productions of the extraordinary talent of Grecian artists, exerted to impart to their deities all possible perfection of beauty, grace, and expression. It is alleged, that they accomplished this, by concentrating in an individual figure the many beauties and excellencies they had observed in several. Apollo was confounded with the sun, and considered the most glorious object in nature ; the source of light, heat, and animation ; and was there- fore deemed worth}'- to be represented by the highest class of statues. When W est first saw the celebrated statue of the Apollo Belvidere, he exclaimed " a young Indian warrior !" — the form and character familiar to him in his native country. When the human form, however, is completely covered, as it is by the modern European dress, the symmetry of the body is not easily observed ; yet the females of the Ionian Isles, and of our own country, might, no doubt, have served for models of the Venus de Medicis, could they have been seen by Grecian artists of the brightest era. 94 THE HUMAN FIGURE. ON SKETCHING THE FIGURE. Altliougli denuded figures are not often placed before the amateur, we must not omit to remark, that they constitute the most important study for the artist. Without reference to the proportions above given, all attempts to draw the human figure will lead to disap- pointments, while a little careful attention at the com- mencement, will give a knowledge of the relative measurements, at least sufficiently near to prevent deviation into monstrosity. For the purposes of initiatory practice, let a graceful quiescent figure be selected from a good painting ; or, what is much better, get a person to place himself in an eas}'- position as a model. Observe on which leg the weight of the body is thrown ; and draw a perpendicular line, which shall pass through the centre of the neck, to the heel that sustains the body. Then lightly sketch an oval to represent the head, and to form a scale by which to mark out the proportions of the rest of the figure. For this purpose draw a horizontal line, as at Plate X., fig. 1, and upon it mark off four lengths of the oval sketched for the head ; dividing one of these into four equal parts, and one of these parts into twelve minutes. When this has been done, observe the position of the figure to be drav^Ti from, and lightly sketch the outline m conformity ^^^th the perpendicular line first drawn. Place this rough sketch at a little distance ; SKETCHING. 95 compare the line with the origmal ; and, if it bear a resemblance in general effect to the attitude, it will be sufficient for the present pui-pose of a groundwork to go upon. Upon this outline sketch, proceed to draw the body, in accordance with the proportions in the tables and the scale, marked on the horizontal line; taking the measurements with the compasses, or by ticking the space with a pencil on the edge of a piece of paper from the scale ; and, applying it to the proper place, mark it with a dot, always sketching-in the part immediately, to prevent confusion from a number of dots. In this way, the proportions of the whole figure will be duly regulated, and nothing left to chance observation. This mode — confessedly rough — of acquiring a know- ledge of the human form, will imperceptibly lead to facility in judging of symmetry, which will prevent an}" future deviation into disproportion. As the hands, and stiQ more the face, are complicated and difficult, the student is strongly recommended to obtain first an intimacy with the general outline of the human form ; and he will find that the due consider- ation of each portion, as it is corrected, tends to improve the knowledge of adjacent limbs : the understanding of one is essential to the part which follows, and an endeavour to pass on, without obser-s-ing a progressive principle of study, will prove detrimental to improve- ment. It would be like returnmg on a lab^-rinth, in which the correct path is rarely discovered. The positions of the extremities, particularly the OG THE HUMAN FIGURE. hands, arc so numerous as to furnish an endless subject of observation ; but, from amongst a number of these various positions, a few may be subsequently selected, possessing truth and grace, to be emplo^-ed as occasion requires. Truth and grace, however, being terms which are perhaps too general for an elementary precept, may require to be illustrated by examples, both of what they are not, and what they are. Can a man, it may be asked, appear easy and graceful in position when he stands bolt upright, with his arms hanging do\\Ti, and his toes turned inwards ? Can there be ease and grace when the arms and legs are in corresponding positions, both advanced, or both drawn back ? — Such attitudes and positions are characteristic of stiffness. The decision, that attitudes are ungraceful, is made on a pre-existing knowledge of combinations more graceful, more reconcileable to freedom or ease, with which comparisons are made ; and, consequently, the same judgment that would reject an awkward position must conceive some other not so liable to objection, although it might be difficult to put dovm the expres- sion of this on paper. Any difficulty in this resjDect — any consciousness of failure — is, however one of the most favourable marks of the possession of taste and judg- ment, beyond the facility' which the hand has yet acquired to express the ideas in the mind. The early attempts even of Raphael, and other great masters, were in a similar manner deficient in coiTectness. It may be remarked, that the human fiame is admi- SKETCHING. 97 rably adapted for displaying grace, as well as agility and strength, and, in action, may attain an extraordinary degree of elegance. Let an accomplished person stand with one foot advanced, with the left hand placed on his breast ; and then let him gently raise the right arm, by first elevating the elbow, continuing the movement till he bring up the hand — having the palm upwards a little above the head — which may be slightly inclined to the left side : the whole figure indicating the idea of an appeal to Heaven. In the attitude thus described there will be found a graceful curve, caused by the body being thrown out of the stiff perpendicular — by the extremities, instead of awkwardly correspondmg, being agreeably con- trasted — and by there being a general freedom from constraint. If a clown were set to imitate the attitude just described, and produce a similar eff'ect, he would probably commence by standing as upright as a post — place one hand on his stomach, at an angle with his elbow — raise the other arm, as if it were an iron lever, by one movement from the shoulder — and look " e^'^es front," like a recruit at his first drill. Every one of his movements w^ould be stiff, awkward, void of ease, and ungraceful. There can be little doubt, that those observers who take delight in contemplatmg graceful forms, possess the true principles of taste ; and, where this is accom- panfed by a desire to become acquainted witli the use K 98 THE HUMAN FIGURE. of the pencil, a little study will enable them to acquire a knowledge of drawing. Those, on the other hand, who have not directed their attention to elegance of form or gracefulness of action, or who have considered such unconnected with the study of the fine arts, should, when they wish to begin drawings, have their attention directed to the general principles which regulate taste in judging of graceful or pleasing forms and positions. A waving Ime, for example, is more pleasing to the eye than a straight line ; variety is more charming than monotony ; — axioms universally acknowledged, and of the first importance in judging of the productions of the fine arts. The remarks indeed on a portrait or a composition, that it is beautiful, are elicited more by the flowing lines and judicious contrasts exhibited, than by likeness or truth of character. Nay, even amidst the grandeur in which a scene from history may be represented, those who have no knowledge of the sub- ject of the piece, will appreciate and be delighted with the grace of the execution. Taste, judgment, or, in one word, genius, in the fine arts, seems to be, in many individuals at least, a latent power or quality which requires to be developed by fortuitous circumstances. Be this as it may, the com- parison of objects in nature, with representations of those by art, must certainly prove to be the manner in which the truth and grace of form and action, are dis- covered by the judgment and recorded in the memory, as aids to future comparisons. It is from comparisons SKETCHING. 99 thus made and recorded, that we are enabled to say of a particular fig-ure, that it is lady-like or gentlemanly ; and it is precisely in proportion to the quantity of judicious investigation, that the ability is acquired of distinguishing m art between elegance and rusticity, and between truth and its counterfeit. Among other characteristic marks of the graceful in the human figure, are the easy sway, if it may be so termed, of the body, and the pleasing contrast of the position of the limbs. A figure exhibited standing on the feet, without motion, yvUl have an equipoise of all its membei-s round the centre of its support. If one of the arms be extended, tliis equipoise will be destroyed, unless a corresponding weight be thrown on the other side to counterbalance it, such as the raising one of the legs, and throwing it gracefully and easily back, wliile the body rests on the other. Beauty of motion depends on the due opposition of all the members of the body ; as, for instance, if the face be placed frontmg, the body should be turned a little on one side for oj)position, and the legs fronting to correspond with the face ; or as in Plate X., fig. 2, Avhere the inclinmg poise is contrasted from head to foot — the head inclining a little to the left shoulder, the right shoulder sinking in contrast to the rising of the hip, wliile this is contrasted with the rising of the knee. Again, the left arm is contrasted with the receding of the leg, and the receding of the right arm is contrasted with the advance of the leg. This judicious play of contrasts not only imparts grace to the figure, but gives it action and life. 100 THJE HUMAN FIGURE. OX DRAWING THE HEAD. As soon as the student can perform the sketches al- ready directed with tolerable accuracy, so as to com- prehend the proportions, he may begin to study the face, see Plate XI. The oval forming the head, being directed towards the front, must have a perpendicular line drawn from the top of the head to the chin ; and this must be divided into four equal parts, b}^ means of horizontal lines. The space above the highest of these horizontal lines, will be that from the croMH to the top of the forehead, the second, the space from the top of the forehead to the eyelids, the third, the space from the eyelids to the bottom of the nose, and the fom-th, from the bottom of the nose to the chin. Let a line be then drawn at right angles, across the oval on the division which gives the situation of the eyelids, and divide this new line or diameter into five equal parts, two and a half of these being on either side of the perpendicular line. The centre will mark the space between tlie eyes, the next on either side the space for the eyes, and the outer parts vnU. determine the width of the head. The position and size of the ear, is regulated by the diameter lines, which mark out the proportions of the eyes and the nose. The nostrils must be of similar v/idth to the space between the eyes ; the mouth, little wider than the nose, the centre of both being on the perpendicular line. Profiles are re- gulated according to similar proportions. DRAWING THE HEAD. 101 The student may follow his own judgment as to the size of the head he is about to draw ; though, for the sake of proportion, the features ought not to be studied separately, but as a whole. The upper and larger part of the oval, should have the hair put-in as free and graceful as possible, continuing this as far as the ear. The eyelids may next be sketched on their appro- priate lines ; and the width of the eyes having been de- termined, they may be sketched with their openings about half their width. A greater expansion of the eye- lids is apt to impart a staring vulgarity to the counte- nance, while eyelids not sufficiently open give a cha- racter of stupidity. It will be a good medium to show about three-fourths of the pupils, one-fourth being hidden by the upper lids. The curves which mark the situations of the eye-lashes must be regulated by the position of the pupils, just over the centre of which the greatest expansion of the curve must be drawn. The situation of the nose having been determined, the nostrils may be sketched within the boundary given by the space between the eyes. The marking which determines the point of the nose must be carefully re- gulated ; for, if it be placed too high, it will communi- cate a character of low pertness, and, if too low, a charac- ter of mean vulgarity — more particularly in female faces. On the line which determines the situation of the mouth being given, let the indentation at the centre and the waving line of the upper lip be drawn, the K 2 102 THE HUMAN FIGURE. expansion being, as already noted, made a little wider than the nose. The under lip must not be made quite so wide as the mouth, and the corners must be particularly attended to, as the least depression from the horizontal will im- part a sullenness of character, in the same way as the least elevation will impart cheerfulness to the counte- nance. The chin, which is determined by the curve of the oval, must be drawn so as to descend on either side from the ears. In schools for drawing, Paris plaster models are placed before the pupils for imitation, and a series of hands, feet, busts, and figures, all of which exhibit a vivid glaring light on their prominent parts, while the parts in shade are dimmed by an opposite gloom, pro- ductive of striking, but too violent, effect, and mislead- ing from the true character of the tints exhibited in nature. No sooner, indeed, does the pupil quit the study of plaster casts to imitate the lights, shades, and tones of flesh, than he feels the necessity of forgetting the white staring lights, grey half-tints, black shades, and yellowish reflected lights, on which he had spent so much time and application, and most probably vnll feel dissatisfied, that he had been so long copying second- hand productions instead of originals. In drawing from life, there is an immediate commu- nication with truth, and by the kindness of a friend, who will place even a hand for a model, Nature is set DRAWING THE MUSCLES. 103 before the pupil in all her simplicity. Such a hand may well be denominated friendly, since it familiai-ises tlie eye to the tints which the skin assumes under different effects of light. No student desu'ous of coiTectness would choose, for subjects of study, artificial flowers, however excellently they may have been made, nor even stuffed animals in their most natural attitudes. In the absence of living models, it may be allowed to have recourse to good pictures and plaster casts ; but then the drawing should be rigidly confined to outline, and never for colouring. When the student has practised the preceding direc- tions, he may next proceed to sketching profiles and three-quarter faces, with various inclinations of the head; and with this view a few heads are given in Plate XII., which may be referred to occasionally for illustration of the value of proportional curve lines to correct drawmg. In PI. XII. XIII. & XIV., hands and feet are variously disposed to point out the positions in which the student should take sketches from living models. ON DRAWING THE MUSCLP:S. After practising the sketches which have just been recommended, in order to acquire a general idea of proportion, some knowledge of the more important muscles will be requisite. It is not meant, that the student should acquire a perfect knowledge of anatomy, which can indeed hardly ever be attained, but it is in- dispensable to know somethmg of it, and he is there- 104 THE HUMAN FIGURE. fore advised to sketch the markings Avliich describe those quiescent muscles of the body and limbs, as seen in front, as in Plate XV. fig., 1, wliich are thus named : a, Deltoidis. 6, Pectoralis. c, Biceps. d, Supinator Radii longus. c, Rectus Abdominis. y, Rectus Femoris. Vastus externus. A, Vastus internus. «, Gastrocnemius. A:, Extensores Digitorum. I, Solaeus. ,r. Sartorius. The most prominent muscles seen at the back, as marked on fig. 2, are w, Deltoidis, as at a, fig. 1. V, Trapezius. 0, Infra spinatus scapulae. p, Teres major. q, Latissimus Dorsi. r, GlutJEUs. s. Vastus externus, as at ^, fig- 1. /, Semitendinosus. u, Gastrocnemius, as at i, fig. 1 . w, Solaeus, as at fig. 1. ON ATTITUDE. It is of great consequence to good drawing, that a figure should appear duly balanced on the feet, and not in a position as if ready to fall. The weight of the body regulates this, the centre being perpendicular to tlie foot on which it is sustained. pxaxt: DRAWING THE MUSCLES. 106 The best method of acquiring a knowledge of attitude is to draw the same figure two or three times of difFe- 'rent sizes, referring to the scale of proportions, and using a broader-pointed pencil as the sketch is enlarged. Attention to the proportional measurements will pre- vent deviation into deformity, and, though the process may seem somewhat mechanical, it will prove useful. Plate X., fig. 2, is an outline intended to represent a person in action, displaying those alternate inclinations of the body which are the constituents of graceful motion. This figure is recommended to be sketched three or four times larger in the following manner : — Draw first a line upon which the figure is to be placed, and erect thereon a perpendicular, the height of the proposed sketch ; and beneath draw a horizontal line, on which to mark a proportional scale of measurements. Determine the head one-eighth, and dot eight similar divisions from the head downwards on the perj^endicular. Observe the inclined line of the head to the left, and sketch the oval so as to be an eighth high, and of a pro- portionate width. Next divide the upright of the head into four parts, and mark one more of those divisions for the pit of the throat, on the perpendicular line. Then observe the inclined line of the shoulders, and draw a faint line across, intersecting the dot for the pit of the throat, and on this line mark the width of the shoulders by the scale. Then take the width of the waist, and mark it on the inclmed line of the hips, which will intersect the navel. 106 THE HUMAN FIGL'RE. A gentle swell of the muscles may then be sketched on either side, marking the pit of the stomach, the breasts, and the form of the belly, examining and cor- recting all as the judgment may point out. Next take the measurement of the arm, from the shoulder to the elbow, marking the left arm at its angle of elevation, and the right at its angle of depres- sion. Then take the measurements from the elbows to the fingers, and mark them at their respective angles, sketching out the muscles of the arms sufficiently dis- tinct, but no more, to mark their outlmes. The inclined Hne of the hips must next be observed, and the measurements of the knees taken ; and as the right leg, by the sway of the figure, sustains the weight of the body, it must have the perpendicular line in the centre of the instep. Let the left leg and knee be next marked at their proper angles, sketching the muscles of the thighs and legs in the same way as has been directed for those of the arms. It is not requisite to be very particular in sketching the feet and hands, and they may be done so as merely to end in exliibiting the action of the figure. The same may be said of the face, which, ]f carefully done, must be regulated according to the proportions already indicated. On examination of the sketch it may be inferred, that the deficiency of sway, in a figure regulated by in- clining lines, gives a disagreeable stiffness to the atti- tude ; and on the other hand, when there is any excess of sway, the effect becomes violent and disagreeable. DRAWING HANDS AND FEET. I07 The happy medium between these, is that which com- municates the character of elegance. A sketch, such as the one in question, may furnish subject for several copies, varied according to the taste of the student, w^hich will of course facilitate his future progress in sketchmg. When the student shall, in this manner, have sketched from some select figure an attitude of graceful charac- ter, let him test the respective parts by close examma- tion, and, if necessary, by minute measurements. In a manuscript illustrated by drawings of the human figure, characteristic and beautiful, Rubens states, that the elementary form of the figure in men is square, iu women oval, and in children ix)und. There are also specimens of ancient sculpture in Avliich the various forms of beauty are exquisitely displayed, and are therefore worthy of particular study for cultivating the taste. The contemplation of a fine form suggests the idea of an imaginary line — the constituent of beauty — commencing with the features, thence gently wavmg on one side, and producmga curve in graceful opposition to the line, terminating in the foot on which the body rests. ON DRAWING THE HANDS AND FEET. W e have not previously said much respecting the drawing of the hands and feet, to prevent the em- barrassment of pressing on the student's attention a multiplicity of intricate forms without being able to 108 THE HUMAN FIGURE. apply to thein similar measurements to those employed in other parts of the bod^^ The variety of position in which the hand can be placed is almost without num- ber, many of them susceptible of much expression, grace, and elegance, requiring great care in the drawing of the outline. The occasional recurrence to measurement, howe-s'er, though a mechanical process, impresses upon the mind of the student the value of relative proportion. A hand preposterously large, or a foot ludicrously small, can scarcely be attached to a figure whose other propor- tional measurements have been duly regulated. In his Treatise on Painting, j\l. Lairesse gives dis- tinguishing characteristics to hands engaged in holding a glass or goblet, where the detaching of the third and little finger, so as to throw the weight of the glass on the other fingers and the thumb, is shown to be elegant, when compared with the \T.ilgar grasp of a hand where all the fingers press equally on the glass. Hands are employed vdth. good efi^ect in the expres- sion of various sentiments, and in portraits, as well as historical pieces, are of considerable importance. In common life, it is unifonnly considered as a mark of rusticit}^, to have the hands unmeaningly occupied. From all these considerations, the student must per- ceive the absolute necessity of drawing the hands well, which indeed is next in importance to the face itself, so far as character and expression are concerned. In tlie plate of the hands and feet, the subjects have been HANDS AND FEET. 109 selected from the best masters, and their several pecu- liarities may assist in callmg- attention to those parts m pictures by artists of known talents, and still more to the originals in nature. Many of the positions of hands present the particular effect of fore-shortening — a mode of representation which caused a gentleman, on seeing a picture by Van- dyck, in which the hand pointed to the spectator, to exclaim " See there ! the hand and arm project from the canvass." Such drawing must be considered the perfection of art, which the student should lend all his efforts to emulate, "Those," says Sir Joshua Reynolds, "who have never observed the gradations by which art is acquired — who only see what is the result of labour and appli- cation — conclude, from their inability to do the same at once, that it can only be performed by those who possess a superior gift. Such untaught minds find a vast gulf between their own powers and those displayed in complicated art, which they are utterly unable to fathom, and they suppose that such a void can be passed only by supernatural powers." In this department of art, a student may be assisted by remarks and observations, but, if he do not require instruction how to hold his pencil, most other parti- culars must depend on liis owti exertions. Let the student endeavour to sketch his own left hand, placed in an easy position, holding a small coin, as represented in Plate XIII. The hand may rest with 110 THE HUMAN FIGURE. the knuckle of the third finger on the table, the thumb projecting on the' coin nearly straight, while the fore finger is bent to assist in retaining the coin, and the second finger will be a little bent inclining downwards, the third finger will be a little more bent, and the little finger still more, its point advancing so as to make it appear fore-shortened. The ball of the thumb will cover part of the palm, casting a shade over it, and some of the joints of the fingers. In drawing a hand in this manner, no one can render the student any useful aid. The execution must de- pend entirely on himself. If success is not attained at first, a few trials will probably be more successful, while a greater triumph will be gained in copjdng one hand from nature, than copying any number of draw- ings even by the best masters. COLOURING. Some facility in using hair pencils, and some know- ledge of colours havuig been obtained, in the studies re- commended for Landscapes and Flowers, in the pre- ceding pages, the student may now try to colour the sketch of his own hand. The first thing to be done is to make trials on a delf palette, by rubbmg small detached portions from the cakes of vermilion, yellow ochre, indigo, and lake, while some very clean water and clean pencils must be in readiness. Then, with the light on the left hand, let the student COLOURING. Ill place Ms hand precisely in the same position as when he drew the sketch. He may remark, that the breadth of the light will fall on the hand at the base of the thumb, along the thumb, the fore finger, and the coin. There will, besides this, be light cast on the fingers projecting beneath, but this light will be broken by the cast shadow of the thumb. This shadow agam will be connected with that on the palm, and relieved by a re- flected light along the bottom of the hand and the little finger. A shade will also be cast by the hand on the surface on which it rests. In proceeding to the colouring, mix, on the palette, a little indigo and lake, the purple tint of which must be broken by the addition of a little yellow, till it be- comes a warm grey, in order to give the shadows the requisite degree of strength. If tliis tint appear m the least black it M'iil be too strong, and if too weak it will be meally. When it has been reduced to the proper strength, the shades as they appear on the palm and the finger must be washed m with it, and, as soon as this is dry, retouch such parts as require more strength. Next reduce, with water, a little vermilion to the tone wliich the parts of the hand display, such as near the ends of the fingers, the joints, and parts which form the intennediates between the parts in light and the parts in shade, retouching these when dry, if they re- quire more colour, but taking care to preserve the breadth of light clean. If the drawing be of small size, dotting on the colour 112 THE HUMAN FIGURE. may be practised ; but if of a large size, bold touches will be requisite. In either mode roundness must be preserved, and the grey shades must have a tone in ac- cordance with nature. When perfectly dry, should any parts appear loaded with colour, or uneven in their gradations, they may be softened with a pencil and clean water; then, with a weak tint of yellow ochre, let a tone be given to parts of the fingers, where the whiteness of the paper is too brilliant ; at the same time the reflected lights on the lower portions of the fingers, and on the palm of the hand, must be touched with a stronger tmt of yellow. When this has been done, put in the markings of the joints and palm with a stronger touch of veraiilion and yellow, which must be done with great attention, lest it be rendered vulgar by being too strong, or insipid by being too weak. With this colour, in its various strength of tint, great finish may be given to the subject, and with a few tinges of lake, where those are indicated by nature, much truth and beauty may be produced. Subjects similar to the one just described should be practised upon repeatedly, till the student become familiar with the effects of the different tints, endea- vouring as much as possible to attain correctness. Great labour in finish is not so requisite as an execution giving an air of truth and a perfection that does not admit of carelessness, being the happy medium between sketch and high finish, which the artist appreciates and the world approves. 113 ON DRAWING THE HEAD AND FACE. The drawing of the head and face, being more diffi- cult still than the hands, comes most properly to be considered next in order. We do not recommend the usual practice of drawing the different features sepa- rately, and of various sizes; because it is often found, that it requires a new and additional study to arrange an har- monious whole, even after much time has been spent upon detached portions of a space. Proportion and agreement are more readily mastered when the parts are drawn simultaneously ; yet we do not insist upon this with exclusive strictness, it being of less conse- quence how a knowledge of practice is obtained, pro- vided it be efficient. Referring to what has already been directed, re- specting the proportional measurements of the head and face, they need not be here repeated ; but we must farther notice the various inclinations of the head. In Plate XII. representmg various outlines of heads, it may be observed, that the curved lines which re- gulate the di-awing of the features are always in propor- tion to the elevation or depression of the countenance, having reference to the drawing of the head in the per- pendicular position. "When the face is drawn in profile, or so that the ear and only a portion of the cheek remain visible, attention is no less required to the measure- ments and curves, L 2 114 THE HUMAN FIGURE. The outlines in Plate XII. are intended more to excite the investigation of nature than as models to draw from, for nature is the only master that can be impli- citly depended upon. " Beauty, " sa^'S M. Lairesse, " is threefold : common^ or that which depends onfashion, and satisfies common sense ; uncommon, or that which is singled out by our judgments from amongst many others ; and perfect, or that which subsists in the imagination." Beauty has also been described to be a human brightness of a lovely nature, having power to attract the mind through the medium of vision, and highly poetical. The passions and dispositions, and even the occupa- tions, exercise a wonderful influence on the coun- tenance and the complexion, as well as on the general figure. " Beauty," says Craig, " is that fitness of parts to the end proposed, that happy continuation of forms, that intricate and delicate association of tints, which excite in the mind a sympathetic consciousness of its alliance to the great Author of all perfection, and of which beauty in all things is the evident sign. In proportion as its powers become enlarged by reflection, so will be its approximation to perfection, and its per- ception of visible beauty." The same doctrine of the influence of the mind on art has been maintained, and justly, by the most distinguished writers on the subject. In fact, the hand becomes the willmg agent of clear notions, without which the pencil and the colours pro- duce nothing worthy of admiration. EXPRESSION. 115 In giving colour to the face, the lights must be care- fully preserved clean, the parts in shade must be touched with cool tmts, and the intermediate parts must have tone imparted, between the greys and the lights, of ap- propriate tints of red, while the reflected lights occa- sioned by rotundity, must have tender yeUow tones in- termingled, and the strong markings of features must have tender tints of broA\ii, the whole being en- riched with appropriate touches of red, m order to give the natural hue of the skin. The bloom on the cheek, the colour of the lips, and the brightness of the eye, must be imitated as nearly as possible from the objects studied. Facility in the management of the p.encil, and the knowledge of the mixtures necessary to produce the tone and colour, must be the results of practice and experience. ox EXPRESSION. A series of heads from designs by Le Brun, repre- senting various passions of the mind, has been often engraved, and has passed through many editions, with the approbation of some and the censure of others. Several of Le Brun's figures are alleged to be mere masks of countenances having no existence in nature. The truth seems to be, that his more violent passions are in part caricatured, while the gentle emotions are more faithful. Instead of copying Le Brun's plates, which are easily procured, we have here selected from the works of different masters — taking ratter a wide IIG THE HUMAN FIGURE. range — countenances expressive of various affections and passions. Plate XVI. A^o. 1. Adoration.— The head of the Virgin IMary, from a picture of the Annunciation by Domenicliino. The head inclines to the left side : the eyeballs and eyebrows rise directly upwards ; the mouth is half open, with the comers turned slightly upwards ; the other features are in a natural state of tranquillity. JVo. 2. Attention. — The head of an angel looking on at. the maniage of St. Catheruie, from a picture by Murillo. The eyebrows are somewhat smik, approach- ing the sides of the nose, the eyeballs being directed towards the object ; the mouth is a little open, particu- larly the upper part ; the head is declining and fixed. iVo. 3. Astonishment. — The head of an attendant on Diana, when she and her nymphs were intruded on by Actseon, from a picture by Philipo Lauri. The eye- brows are elevated ; the eyes open, fixed, and clear from the eyelids ; and the mouth is open, the whole being ex- pressive of strong emotion. i\^o. 4. Desire. — The head of a female making a bargain, from a picture by Vanessi. The eyebrows are dra-vvn towards the eyes, which are more open than usual ; the mouth is half open ; while the whole features express animation. A^o. 5. Laughter, — The head of an attendant on Silence, from a picture by Vanloo. The eyebrows rise over the middle of the eyes and bend towards the sides of the nose ; the eyes are nearly closed ; the mouth is Pl.ATr. 16 EXPRESSION. 117 open, showing the teeth, and the comers, bemg dra'SNTi back, cause wrmkles in the cheeks ; the nostrils are expanded. N'o. 6. Mirth. — The head of Bacchus, who is lean- uig on an attendant, from an antique group in marble. The forehead is serene ; the eyebrows rather elevated in the middle ; the eyes open rather more than usual ; the corners of the mouth are a little turned up ; and the whole countenance is lively. Plate XVII. JVo. 7. Bodily Pain.~The head of the figure that is undermost, from the antique group of the ^Vrestlers in marble. The eyebrows approach each other ; the eyeballs appear fixed ; the nostrils rise ; the wrinkles in the cheeks are not very perceptible ; and the mouth is open. JVo. 8. Sadness. — The head is from one of Le Brun's Passions. The eyebrows rise towards the middle of the forehead ; the eyeballs appear to be fuU of perturba- tion ; the eyelids are draAAii downwards ; the mouth is half open, and the corners dra'SATi do^^•nwards ; the head inclines to one side. A"o. 9. Scorn. — The head of a figure insultmg a female martyr, from a picture by L. Civoli. The fore- head is wrinkled; the eyebrows knit; the side next the nose sunk, and the other side much raised ; the eye is very open ; the nostrils rise and make wrinkles in the cheeks ; the mouth is closed ; the cornel's are sunk, and the under lip projecting. No. 10. Anger. — The head of Achilles hi the scene 118 THE HUMAN FIGURE, where Briseis is taken from him hy command of Aga- memnon, from a picture by Hamilton. The eyeball is staring ; the eyebrows are curved ; the forehead is wrinkled, as is the sjjace between the eyes ; the nostrils are expanded ; and the lips press against each other, leaving the comers a little open. No. 11. Affright. — The head of a spectator who retreats from the sea monster dragged on shore by Perseus, after rescuing Andromache, from a picture by Amiibal Carracci. The eyebrow is raised in the middle, sinking towards the nose ; the nostrils are expanded ; the eyes are wide open ; the mouth is also open, with the comers very evident ; and the whole countenance is strongly marked. No. 12. Agony. — The head of the Laocoon in the endeavour to rescue his sons from two enormous sea serpents, from the antique group in marble. The eye- In-ows approach each other, being raised in the middle ; the eyeball is nearly hidden by the upward stram ; the nostrils are raised, and wrinkle the cheeks ; the mouth is half open and drawn back ; and all parts of the face appear convulsed with agitation, though expressing strong fortitude — " Torture" as Byron says " dignifying pain." It has been remarked that foi-titude causes the eyes to appear vigorous ; that prudence gives an intent ex- pression to the eyes ; that reverence is displayed in humility, joy in serenity and truth in open simplicity, of countenance. r DRAPERY. 119 Le Brun remarks that the passions which arise from brutal feelings have redness pervading the countenance, wliile, in the expressions which have theu" origin in mental affections, paleness predominates, and in severe cases a portion of livid colour may be observed. Great attention is required from the artist in the management of these several varieties of expression. The advice of Shakspeare's Hamlet to the players, " not to o'erstep the modesty of Nature," is equally applicable to painters in theu' attempts to portray character or ex- pression. As connected with the characteristics of nations, or rather races of men, four outlines are given m Plate XI. A. An European. B. An Asiatic. C. An African. D. An American. Professor Camper, of Leyden, in his remarks on the facial line, states that in the European it makes an angle of 80 or 90 degrees with the horizontal line ; in the Asiatic, an angle of 75" ; in the African, an angle of 70° ; and in the American savage an angle of about 75". The Roman artists prefcn-ed an angle of 95° ; in the Grecian antiques the angle is 100", above which it becomes monstrous. ON DRAPERY. In Plate XVI 1 1, a few outlines are given of figures in various attitudes, with drapery, all selected from the 120 THE HUMAN FIGURE. works of the most approved masters. The occasional copy mg or enlargmg of these objects, according to the scale of proportions, will tend to familiarise the student with some varieties of attitude, and will assist him in un- derstanding that the human figure when covered with habiliments, is not thereby wholly obscured, since the particular action, the joints, and often the indication of the muscles, may notwithstanding be traced. The stu- dent must attend carefully to this as well as to the breadth of fold and the arrangement of the drapery, which shows by its thickness or thinness of what tex- ture it is composed. This will prepare him for subse- quent studies ; for we may say, m the words of Sir Joshua Reynolds, " nothing is denied to well-directed labour." 121 MINIATURE AND PORTRAIT PAINTING. Previous to the time of Queen Elizabeth, miniature painters could scarcely be said to produce human re- semblances. During the reign of Hemy VIII. the works of Mabuse, Holbein, Vander Werf, and More, were admired, but only witliin the precincts of the court. Queen Elizabeth was so unacquainted with the art, or with natural appearances, as to deem shadows unneces- sary in portraiture, and in this spirit Oliver received orders to paint her majesty without the oflfensive intro- duction of shades. Neither portrait nor miniature painting arrived at any degree of perfection till the reign of Charles I., when Vandyck gave a captivating grace and expression to his heads, representing the sentiments and feelings as it were in the countenance. The improvement was appreciated, and the encouragement accorded to it was astonishing. Gandy, Lely, and others, endeavoured to continue the fine style of Vandyck ; but Kneller, Thomhill, and others of inferior taste, submitted to the introduction of a costume which excluded grace from their produc- tions, and their miniatures and portraits appear in the one sex with overwhelming periwigs, and in the other with heavy draperies and nosegays — ^bears and flower- M 122 MINIATURE AND PORTRAIT. girls — in fact without the pretext of masquerade — ^for the transformations outraging every principle of taste. Reynolds was the first painter of emmence who dis- carded periwigs in his portraits, and with him minia- ture-painting recovered the character and elegance to which it is justly allied. The representation of an individual displaying not only the features, but the expression of the characteristic feelings, is not only valuable as a work of art, but valuable and instructive as a family record, and as a monitor to the observer. Who indeed is there, on looking at a miniature portraying the better feelings of the heart, that would not be emulous of establishmg the reality in his own character? Such is the style of portrait and miniature painting in the present day. We are famished through their means with remembrances of infancy in all its spright- liness — with the " gage d' amour " of our impassioned days, — and with the aspect of our serener years, possess- ing all the fidelity to nature that art is capable of im- parting. In order to make any progress in portrait and minia- ture painting, a knowledge of the proportions of the face, and facility of drawing, are indispensable, — master- ing the theory before commencing the practice. With regard to sketching the countenance, and the manner of placing the head, many particulars require consideration. W\\2it is termed "the air of the head" is a natural position in the best point of view ; and as the grace, AIR OF THE HEAD. 123 elegance, and beauty of a miniature depend greatly on this, it will require more attention than even the most delicate colouring or the most elaborate finishing. A series of sketches from the same head, varied in respect of position, will, upon comparison, show that which is best for selection, and such comparison will also prove, that the slightest variation in a line, will sometimes produce a very wonderful effect on the air of the head. The test that the proper air of the head has been at- tained rests with the taste of the artist, and requires considerable knowledge of nature derived from close observation. A sketch cannot possess the proper air if it appear full to the front, and composed of verticals, such as are expressed in the military phrase " Head up ; eyes front." Nor will this air be attained, if the imagi- nary Ime which passes from the chin between the eyes to the forehead, be badly contrasted with the lines of the neck, producing what is called " unaccountably set on the shoulders." Nor will this air be discovered if the head be turned much on either side, producmg what is expressively designated " screwed up, " nor in any position where ease is w^anting. There is an extreme equally objectionable in an af- fectation of grace, a sort of Betty-aping-her-mistress, which may be observed when individuals are endea- vouring to appear what they are not, exhibiting a con- straint which is the opposite of easy carriage and the burlesque of elegant maimers. All of these errors must be guai'ded against, in any sketch which is intended to 124 MINIATURE AND PORTRAIT. be finished as a miniature, otherwise, disappointment will be the certain result. The study of the au- of the head, will from these con- siderations appear to be of great importance. It is the first thing, wliich catches the eye of an artist on looking at a portrait ; and, when duly attained, it imparts to a female likeness delicacy and elegance, and to the like- ness of a man the ease resulting from good breeding. The excellence in question is admirably exemplified in the portraits of Vandyck and Sir Joshua Reynolds, and still more so in those of Sir Thomas LaA\Tence. Mmiature and poi*trait painting may be considered as belonging to the same department of art, both being intended to represent the likenesses of individuals ; and it will aid the student considerably in his progress, if he can meet with likenesses of individuals personally known to him, to study and examine. He should examine whether a piece of this kind presents a digni- fied likeness, or little more than a common-place re- semblance ; whether the au* of the head is good, and the general grace and expression have been attended to ; and particularly whether the characteristics of the fea- tures have been hit, and in what any superiority of the artist's skill consists. Sometimes the latter may be foimd in an elevation of the brow, in a smile, in a touch of the pencil, or in a selection of tints, all which points are worthy of the student's investigation. A good miniature or portrait should cause the indi- vidual intended to be represented to appear tliinking ACCESSARIES. 125 with propriety, and conformable to the general charac- ter. The dress, ornaments, and all other accessaries which may be introduced, must be strictly conformable to the general character of the subject. We find, in the portraits painted by the best masters, the greatest attention paid to the truth of nature in the blending of carnations, yellows, greys, and whites, as well as with respect to lights, half-tints, reflected lights, shades and shadows, transparency, and harmony. All these particulars, artists of talent turn to account in imparting dignity and grace to their portraits. It is no less important, to observe the striking eff^ects of particular contrasts of colour. Flesh}'- tints, for ex- ample, appear more delicate when contrasted with dark or black drapery ; reds in the back ground tend to set off^ the fairness of complexion ; white or yellow, in con- trast, gives a richer tone to the bloom of the complexion : oppositions in accordance with the rules of art, the laws of nature, and hence indicatmg the course to be pursued by the artist of taste and judgment. As it is of much practical importance for the student to obtain a knowledge of the various circumstances calculated to give effect, and as this knowledge will be most profitably attained by the study of the best portraits, we subjoin from Richardson an example of an examination of a half-length portrait, by Vandyck, of the Countess Dowager of Exeter. " The dress," he says, "of the Comitess is black velvet, the lights of which, not being well managed, arc not pro- M 2 126 MINIATURE AND PORTRAIT. perly connected with other parts. The face and linen at the neck, with the hands and broad cuffs at the wrists, form three spots of light m an equilateral triangle, the base being parallel to that of the picture. The compo- sition is defective, from the want of connecting lights on the black velvet dress. " In the head, and great part of the body, there is an admirable harmony with the curtain behind ; and the chair also acts as a medium between the figure and the back ground. The eye is conducted dowTiwards with great ease to the black drapery. The neck is covered with linen, and at the breast the top of the stomacher forms a straight line : this would have been harsh and disagreeable, but that it is artfully broken by the bows of narrow riband which rise above that line in well- contrasted shapes. This knot fastens a jewel on the breast, which also helps to produce the harmony of this part. The wliite gloves held in the left hand emich the composition, inasmuch as they vary the form of that light from the other light on the right hand and cuff. The general effect of the colouring is beautifully solemn, warm, clear, and natural. The flesh, parti- cularly the face, is exquisitely painted ; the black dress, the Imen, the cushion, the chair of crimson velvet, and the gold flowered curtain, mixed with a little crimson, produce an admirable effect, and would be perfect if there were connecting tints on the black dress. " The face is finely drawn. The features are decided, evincmg the knowledge wherein these lines differed from all the others. There appears notliing of the ACCESSARIKS. 127 antique, nor of the Italian schools, but nature well understood. The lights and shades are justly placed. The jewel on the breast is admirably disposed, and the girdle has a good effect; for the waist is thereby strongly marked. The linen, the gauze veil, and the curtain, are naturally drawn and coloured. " The want of light on the dress, is a cause that the figure does not appear to sit firmly. The left hand, by being too hght, is brought too forward ; there is a trifling error in the linear perspective of the chair, and in the aerial perspective of the curtam. " In the invention, Vandyck seems to have thought the Countess should be seated as if receiving a visit of condolence. Never was a calm, becoming sorrow better expressed, particularly in the eyes. No one could have conceived a passion with greater delicacy, nor have given it with greater power. To this the atti- tude contributes ; — her right hand falls easily from the elbow of the chair, on which her wrist lightly rests ; the other hand reclines in her lap with graceful ease. What is lost in the composition is compensated in the expression. There is a grace throughout that charms, and a greatness that commands respect. The portrait, at first sight, appears a woman of quality ; her dress, ornaments, and furniture, contribute to her dignity ; but it is in the face and %air that the merit of the picture lies. The lady is not young, nor remarkably handsome ; but there is a benignity and a resignation, so finely portrayed, that one must be very insensible 128 MINIATURE AND PORTRAIT. not to be the better for considering a representation so beautiful." Such a mode of investigating a miniature or a por- trait is an exercise of the powers of discernment in the best possible way : at the same time it is doing justice to the artist. It may savour of politeness to pay deference to the judgment of others ; but, if the student wish to derive profit from a miniature or a portrait, he must not view it through the spectacles of any other individual, nor should he adopt any opinion that he has not made liis own by due mvestigation. By these means, he may make more real progress in one week than he could in a year, by keepmg in the leading-strings of uninvestigated authority. It is equally impossible, to acquire a practical knowledge of art by deputy, as it is to think and reason by deputy. . In miniature painting the theory should be under- stood, and the reason for each step of the process should be previously comprehended ; by which means he will not be impeded in his progress by doubts as to what he should do, or vague sui-mises as to proprieties and improprieties. ARRANGEMENTS. The painting-room for miniature or portrait painting should have a northern aspect, as being free from the glare of sunsliine. The light should be admitted through the upper half of one window, in order that it may be cast on the upper part of the face which is to be painted. The window should be on the left of the ARRANGEMENTS. 129 artist — the sitter a little on his right in front, or so as to present the best view of the features. In order to obtain the most desimble position, the sitter may be requested to move the head slowly from the full front to the three-quarter face, the artist care- fully observing the point of view which appears best. The sitter must then be desired to fix his eyes on some particular object, when the sketch may be commenced. It is usual for the artist to start some subject of con- versation, not only to relieve the sitter a little from disagreeable monotony, but to give more animation to the countenance, that he may infuse spirit into the portrait. At the commencement, the direction of the eyes is useful, in bringing the features into the same point of view when required. In other respects, the eyes may be at liberty ; for, if put under too much restraint, it injures the expression. As it is important, that neither the mind of the sitter nor of the artist should wander, when expression and character are so indispensable : a sitting should always be terminated before any symptoms of weariness are manifested. The effects, indeed, which cheerfulness in the sitter produces are quite surprising. It tends to exhilarate the artist, and gives spirit to his execution ; he reflects with satisfaction on what is done^ and pur- sues it with feeling and alacrity. Sittings should be repeated till the whole piece be suffi- ciently advanced to require no farther reference to the original ; at which stage of the process the artist must turn his attention to another part of the work, namely^ 130 MINIATURE AND PORTRAIT. the lights, shades, colours, and the variety of materials comiiosing the dress ; so disposing the contrasts and the harmony of the hack ground, as that the whole may accord mth the character of the picture. Care should be taken, in all cases, to give the distm- guishing characteristics of the period of life ; such, for example, as cheerfulness and elegance to young persons, a studious and affectionate au- to the middle-aged, and reflection and benevolence to elder persons, without which, aided by accessaries in characteristic accordance, the likeness cannot be good, how faithfully soever the drawing of the features has been taken. " The artist's painting-room," says Richardson, " should be like Eden before the Fall. The turbulent passions should not enter where the study must be to raise the character, to divest an under-bred person of his msticity, and give liim some appearance of a gen- tleman ; to make one of a moderate share of good sense seem to possess a competent portion of understanding ; to render a pretty woman more engaging ; a beautiful female more lovely, if possible ; and then to add that sweetness or peace of mmd suitable to the several personages. These are absolutely necessary to a face- painter, and it is the most difficult part of his art. He is under some restraint respecting the additional grace or sweetness of disposition he has to infuse ; indeed he must be careful not to be prodigal. " An intelligent young lady accompanied a party of relations to the painting-room of an artist, wlio had just finished a half-length miniature of her father-in- PREPARING IVORY. 131 law. Some stood in silent admiration ; others pointed out different features, and glanced looks at the young lady, expecting her encomiums. ' Pray,' inquired she, ' is it intended to represent the mind ? This is a good- natured gentleman ; my mamma would be very happy if the original were like the copy T '* ON PREPARING THE IVORY. Ivory may sometimes be purchased tolerably clear from the marks of the saw, by which the leaves are cut from the elephant's tusk, though it is better for the student to prepare the surface, for a touch of the finger will prevent the colours from being used with freedom. When leaves of ivory, to be used for painting upon, are yellow, they ought to be whitened by exposing them to a moderate heat, changing the sides as they warp till the yellow tinge disappear, at the same time taking care that they be not rendered too dry. The leaves must next be polished by gummmg them at the corners to stout paper, scraping the sur- face with an old razor, having a very smooth, but not a keen edge. The scraping should be performed from top to bottom, from side to side, and diagonally, till the surface appear perfectly free from scratches. The requisite smoothness of the surface is then produced by rubbing with fine pounce and a piece of paper, in a circular direction, takmg care that the fingers do not touch any part of it intended to receive colours. The dust may be brushed off from time to time with a 132 MINIATURE AND PORTRAIT. camel-hair pencil, in order to examine whether the surface is perfect. When it is, let the leaf or leaves be secured to the desk by means of pins, washing it with a weak solution of gum-water, to destroy the greasiness of the surface. It must, on no account, be touched with the fingers at any stage of the preparation. PROCESS. The best sable pencils, of various sizes, should be selected, observing never to use one which has had a blue tint in it for any of the reds or yellows of the skin. A vessel of clean water should be at hand for cleansing the pencils when required ; and a phial of gum- water, having dissolved in it a little white sugar-candy, to use with the colour, for the purpose of imparting strength and transparency. The colours do not, for ivory, require to be diluted, as for landscape-painting; but ought to be used from the palette, and with as little water as the nature of the different parts will permit. Previous to the student attaining a knowledge of the place where to commence on the ivory, he may begin by sketching the head, to be painted on paper, sliding this under the ivory, through which it will be seen, and mark out at once the true position. With a weak tint of lake, in a fine-pointed sable pencil, trace the whole of the features, putting in other parts with a tender bro^^^l. On removing the paj^r sketch beneath the ivory, if any of the lake or of the brown tints be too strong or too thick, let them be cor- FEMALE MINIATURES. 138 rected with a pencil and clear water. As so much depends on delicacy and transparency in miniature- painting, it is better to give increase of strength by repetition of touch, than to wash out a touch put in too heavy at the commencement. ON FEMALE MINIATURES. Incorporate a tint of ultra-marine with a little yellow ochre, and with this cover lightly all the parts which should be in shadow. When this is perfectly dry, dot or hatch the pai-ts till they appear of the required degree of strength, taking care to preserve the roundness of the face. In the process of hatching, endeavour to place the marks as much as possible at equal distances, and in the natural form of muscle, never retouching any part till it be thoroughly hard. Tints of bistre may be used to give freedom to the hair, while the parts first done are drying. Next make a tender violet tint with carmine and ultra-marine, for putting-in the half-tmts contiguous to the shades previously done, blending them with care where they come in contact. The student should guard against impatience or thinking that he gets on slowly, for much time will at first be required. The parts must all be hatched into such union, that no edges may appear, while the roundness of form is produced with delicacy. The mouth must then be done with a tint of lake ; and, with a tender tint of the same, commence the mid- N 134 MINIATURE AND PORTRAIT. tile of the cheeks. When this is dry, repeat b}^ hatching till the stronger parts appear in their proper situations, without destroying the light, or disturbing the roundness of form. Strengthen the shades where they require more power with lake and burnt sienna, taking care not to approach the half-tints, and to pre- serve the local tint of the skin. The upper lip may be retouched with lake and burnt sienna, the corners of the mouth may be heightened by touches a little stronger, and the under lip may be touched with a little vermilion. Let the eyelids be drawn as correctly as possible, and shaded with a violet tint. In the case of dark eyes, the white must be shaded with ultra-marine, making the corners more clear with a slight tone of yellow. The iris, or coloured circle in the centre of the eye, should be transparent, whatever may be its colour; and ought to be done at once, with a tint having more water in it than usual, placed full on the space, and left to dry. The light side of the iris must receive the darkest portion of colour, taking care to preserve a reflection on the strong side, between the iris and the pupil. When all this is perfectly dry, the pupil may be put- in with opaque black. The thickness of the eyelids should be tenderly put-in with red ochre on the lower, and this, with the addition of a purplish tone, on the upper, more particularly if the eye lashes be long. The caruncles, as they are termed in anatomy, or red fleshy substances within the inner corners of the eyes, may be touched with red ochre, with a little sepia, on Pl^ce, 19. FEMALE MINIATURES. 135 the shadow side, the centre bemg left light. The wliite spot on the pupil may then be touched, paying great attention to the natural effect. The more prominent parts of the nose vrHl require very little colour, and should have the half-tints, shades, and repetitions, done precisely similar to the rounding of the cheeks. The nostrils must be touched ^vith Venetian red, strengthened with lake and burnt sienna in the darker parts. Attention must be given to the drawing of the neck and of the hands, finishing them with similar tints to those directed for the face. The ringlets and masses of hair must be painted in colours after the original. For auburn hair, the curves in shade may be touched with burnt sienna and sepia, with the addition of a little black, if found to be neces- sary, in the stronger parts. In Plate XIX. is represented the sketch of a minia- ture, in which something more than a formal transcript of features is attempted : a mother "in a joyous moment playing with her infant. In an affectionate and domes- tic point of view, few situations offer more satisfactory subjects for miniature. Such pictures are represen- tations, not only gratifying at the moment, but remem- brancers of a happy period of existence, while, " By degrees, The human Mossom grmvs ; and, every day. Soft as it rolls along, shows some new charm, The father's lustre, and the mother's bloom." Even when the infant becomes a parent in after 13G MINIATURE AND PORTRAIT. years, the eye will be delighted with the picture, and the heart will thrill with the tenderest sympathies of gratitude to one to whom so much was justly due. The subject of the plate is slightly represented, in feeble colouring ; but, even in tliis state, it may serve as a preparatory study to more powerful effects and higher finish. No one can suppose, that the art of miniature-painting can be acquired without a great deal of preparatory study; and this subject must therefore only be considered as introductory to attention to nature. In Plate XX., is represented the head of an old man, introduced to show the different management which this requires. Here the chief shades are com- posed of burnt sienna and sepia, and, in the deeper parts, of lake and bkck. The middle tints are com- posed of yellow ochi-e, indigo, and sepia. The skin tints are composed of Venetian red ; and the greenish tones are composed of yellow ochre, ultra-marine, and a little lake. The hair is done with sepia and indi- go, and the darker parts with sepia. When better subjects are not at hand, these may be copied, for the pui-pose of acquiring the method of adapting the process of hatching or dotting-up an effect with power and transparency ; but, as soon as this has been attained, copying should be abandoned, and the student should request some friend to grant him a few sittings, in order that he may imitate nature in his tmts. This will no doubt prove at first arduous, and some may therefore consider tlie advice to be bad ; but, when FEMALE MINIATURE. 137 a young artist possesses the requisite enthusiasm and perseverance, he ma}^, in this way, do wonders. With respect to hatching, good hints may often be derived from engravings in the line manner, as to direction and general effect. It may be remarked, that hatching lines must not be placed too closely to each other, so as to obliterate the ivory or the colour that may have been previously hatched ; for transparency must be preserved by permitting the tones beneath to be seen so much as may be proper to give natural expression. The process does not admit of rapid exe- cution, inasmuch as every touch must become perfectly dry and hard before it will bear the friction of hatching upon it. An undue quantity of water, will also cause the under hatchings to rise in the repetitions. It is important to caution the student, in his earlier attempts, against a desire to use too great a variety of colours ; for a few are sufficient to express delicacy, power, harmony, and truth, till more experience be acquired. The mixing of colours with gum and white sugar- candy, render them suitable to express softness and transparency, as well as richness and considerable depth of effect, either on paper or ivory. All these advan- tages, however, may be attained by a judicious use of colours, with the addition of a due portion of opaque pigments, as shall be presently explained. In giving the colour of the skin, no tints can produce so great brilliancy and beauty as the natural whiteness n2 138 MINIATURE AND PORTRAIT. of ivory, aided by the transparent washing or hatching of well-selected tints. In no other way, perhaps, can the truth of nature be so well represented ; yet, in executing a picture of this description, many of the accessaries of dress and back ground can not only be better given by means of body colours, but these will also communicate an increased clearness to the skin, painted with transparent colours. ON THE INCORPORATION OF OPAQUE COLOURS. Great attention will at first be required to preserve hamiony while incorporating materials which seem to be rather discordant ; but all difficulty may be over- come by perseverance. When the skin and the hair have been painted as already directed, the tints for the back ground may be prepared. On a delf palette, mix a portion of white with any given colour, rubbed from the cake, and incorporate these well with an ivory palette-knife. Add moisture while mixuig, by dipping the tip of the palette-knife into a vessel of water, proceeding to make the different tints required for the back ground ; but it is necessary to remark, that all these tints will appear darker on the palette, than after they are spread on the ivory or on the pajDer by the pencil. The tints, thus prepared, must be laid on with a pencil having a bold or flat spreading point, that the markings may be introduced reciprocally, side by side, till the surface of the back ground is completed in its OPAQUE COLOURS. 139 various tones. In all cases, the darkest tints must be placed so as to oppose the light of the skin, while the lighter tints must be made to oppose the dark tints of the hair, taking care not to touch close upon any of the transparent paintmg. It will be preferable to add a little gum-water, and, with a small pencil, carefully dot or hatch-in the parts, till the back ground appear in just relief to the principal. The due quantity of gum, required for these colours, will depend much on experienced judgment. If there be too much gum, the colours will crack or chip from the ivory. If there be too little gum, the colours will not bear the necessary repetitions, for producing the gradual and hannonious relief of the face. Whatever be the texture or materials of the dress, it ought to be treated on similar principles. Supposing linen to be part of the subject, the folds, as they appear in nature, must be given with a mixture of black and white ; the half-tint, with a pale tint of greenish grey, over the parts wliich recede from the light ; the highest lights must be touched, in agreement with the folds, with pure wliite and a bluish violet tint, on the edges of the folds nearest the light ; the reflected lights must be done with a yellowish tint; and the deep shades with burnt sienna, lake, and indigo. All these several tmts will be found necessary in representing the folds of linen, which, on its flat surface, placed in light, is a pure white. The various tinges of colour, used for the parts not in the light, must of course be very tender. Linen, silk, satin, cloth, and similar stuffs, vary 140 MliNIATL'RE AND PORTRAIT. from each other in their folds, in the arrangement of their lights, half-tints, and shades. Each has its respec- tive character, Avhose peculiarities are unfolded to the eye of the student; in proportion to his careful and correct observation. The bold forms of cloth, for ex- ample, are distinctly different from those of linen, though the objects which they cover must be as correctly indi- cated ; for the thuiner and finer material has folds pro- portionally smaller than one that is thicker and coarser. The breakmg of the lights, again, on the angular folds of silk, are widely different from the spread of light on the circular folds of woollen cloth. All these peculiari- ties must be observed by the student, m the actual stuffs, rather than in the pictures even of the best masters. CAKE COLOURS. The various coloui-s prepared in cakes, may be used as the judgment of the student becomes improved by experience. The history of the fine arts informs us, that very eminent masters have found the primitive colours, yellow, red, and blue, with the addition of black and white, sufficient for all their purposes. It has been said, that the primary colours, more or less modi- fied by black and white in their various combinations, produce upwards of eight hundred tmts. This is suffi- cient to prove, that it is not by great variety of tints on the palette that fine colouring is produced, so much as by judicious combination, and the manner in which these are employed. Some miniatui'c-paintcrs never use body colours, even CAKE COLOURS. ' 141 in their obscure backgrounds or darkest draperies ; and they may no doubt preserve harmony in this way, but cannot succeed, perhaps, in relieving the head so strongly. The student must always carefully investigate a tint, in order to ascertain of what it may be composed, be- fore he charges his pencil vdth. it. In mixtures of greys, purples, or greens, the leading colours are sufficiently evident ; but the nice gradations often required, are to be obtained by correcting the strength and increasing the warmth or the coldness of the tint. Frequently the least alteration, by the addition of one or other of the qualifying colours in a small quantity, will pro- duce the required tone. In the carnations, or skin tints, an eye for colour, as it is termed, is valuable to the artist. These tints must correspond with nature, and they serve to regu- late all the other tints employed on the same face, in- asmuch as the half-tints, shades, and reflected lights, on fair and on brunette complexions, are very different. The keepmg of tints clear will be obvious from the fact, that clear tints can easily be toned down, while defi- ciency in purity and clearness can never be remedied. Although many tints have been employed in painting a face, these are by no means obvious to inspection, the softenings, intermixture, and harmonious combinations, presenting a well-painted face as a piece of illuminated nature. For the purpose of illustrating this, we have taken the liberty of abridging some directions con- tained in " Letters on the Art of Miniature- Painting." 142 MINIATURE AND PORTRAIT. " In order," says the author, addressing his pupil, " to facilitate your first attempts, I shall give some rules on the properties and the employment of colours, advising that no application be made of them unless you feel convinced they are indicated by nature. Sketch boldly ; place the hatchings at equal distances from each other, sho^ving the movement of the muscles, and the form of the features. In the shades, use bistre and burnt sienna, mixed with a little lake. For the grey tints, take ultra-marine, lake, and black ; for the green tints, take yellow ochre and ultra-marine, more or less mixed with lake, to correct or render them mellow. The local tints of the flesh must be those of the original before you. In painting the eyes, observe that the ball being transparent, and the light passing through, it ought to be rather less dark on the side opposite to the white speck. The colour of the eyeballs is much stronger than any of the shades of the head. The white of the eye is made with ultra-marine, pure near the ball. The settmg of the eyes towards the extremities of the lids, and the lid also, are of a violet colour, wliich must be toned with a little yeUow ochre, and touched with bistre and lake. The lower part of the face partakes of a tender greenish shade, mixed with lake. The shadow cast by the head upon the neck is of the same tint, stronger and warmer in pai-ts. The clihi in females is nearl}^ of the same tint with the cheeks. In men it is the same with the addition of blue, to indicate the beard. CAKE COLOURS. 143 The mouth is tlic greatest difficulty with all beginners, not in the colouring, but in form and expression. It is often placed too far from the nose, and, in the endeavour to remedy this evil, the comers are raised to produce a smile, which is not natural, unless the other features and all the muscles of the face partake of the ex- pression. The upper lip is stronger and of a less brilliant colour than the under lip. The lips are firmly determined in young persons, and of a clear tint ; in age, the relaxation of their forms and loss of tints leave them hardly to be distinguished from the local colour of the face. The reflected light of the chin is of a brighter and warmer tint than that of the top of the cheek. The shade of the hair on the flesh has a warmer tint, with a greyish edge ; and there is also a greyish tint at the rise of the hair on the forehead, otherwise the flesh and hair will appear too abruptly separated. At the extremity of the temple the eyebrows appear to be more of a pmk colour, and blended with the flesh at the opposite extremity by a greyish tint. Very little red or lake should appear at the point of the nose, as it is apt to produce a disagreeable effect. In female miniatures, the middle tints on the light side of the bosom and arms are made with, a slight mixture of ochre, ultra-marine, and lake. On the shaded side, with the addition of yellow ochre, lake, and bistre. The local tint of the hands is that of flesh like the face ; the nails rather more violet ; the ends of the 144 MINIATURE AND PORTRAIT. fingers a little more pink. The shadow cast by a hand ujoon flesh is bistre, burnt sienna, and ultra-marine. Cast shadows are always stronger than the shade of the hand or fingers that cause them, and they must always be separated by reflected light. Accessories should be subordinate to colour, light, and efl'ect, with respect to the head. The manner of adjusting drapery contributes to the character and expression of the figure. Drape- ries are intended to coyer, but not to hide, the forms. The large folds should be placed on the largest part of the figure ; if small folds be there required, let them, be faintly relieved, that the breadth may be preserved. Two folds of similar size or form should not be near each other. Strong contrasts produced by opposing colours, or bright lights brought abruptly against strong shades, are contrary to the laws of harmony. If a portrait require colour and relief, adopt a bright back ground of a greyish tint, mingled with blue, which will also assist in giving animation. If the head be of a high colour, a warm and deep coloured back-ground will restore the balance. However simple the relief may be, it should be composed of the primary tints, particularly around the head, as this gives space, de- taches the head, and relieves it harmoniously. It is in this way, that theory not only assists but becomes in- dispensable to successful practice. The next study required will be that of character and expression, without which no likeness can be per- CAKE COLOL'Rf?. 145 feet. Even' head indeed possesses the characteri=:tic fomis, and with some little variety, the proportions laid down in the preceding pages, but these are all modified by indmdual difference of feature. Every living coun- tenance expresses a disposition, passion, or character, and a portrait which does not faitlifully represent these will always appear deficient in life and spirit. The ex- pression of countenance, which vdU make the individual appear in the most favourable light, should be chosen, and with a judicious selection of accessories and dispo- sition of colours, light, and shade, an agreeable portrait may be made from a very indifferent countenance. If both transparent and body colours be used in the same piece, great attention will be required to render them harmonious. The clearness of the skin is ob- tained, by the transparency of the colours accommodated to the natural wliitcness of the ivory, which every where assists in producing those tender and delicate tints observable in nature, under favourable lights. In employing a body colour, the surface is covered, and the reliefs must be produced by the use of coloui-s more or less luminous, and the shades by retouching or hatching tUl the requisite strength is given. The finish, which unites the opaque and the trans- parent colours, is given by causing the approximating tints to glide into each other, by softening, dotting, or hatcliing on the edges ; which appear harsh or -s-iolenth' opposed. All of these circumstances must be carefully aiteuded to, in order to impart the harmonious effect o 140 MINIATURE AND PORTRAIT. SO indispensable in miniature painting, attainable, how- ever, only by experience and persevering trials in pro- ducing precision of tint and due strength of touch. W^hen subjects of half length, or larger than three or four inches liigh, are proposed to be painted, it will be necessary to select the ivory as free from flaws and as perfect as possible. The thinner it has been sawn, the purer will it be in clearness of tint, and the freer it will be from vein streaks. It should be fastened on a piece of stout Bristol-board, with colourless paste, and put under a weight or some heavy books to dry. It must be ascertained to be perfectly dry before it can be used, otherwise the ^vvarping of the board will render the ivory unfit to be painted on. As soon as a miniature is so far advanced as to have the ivory covered with suitable tints and colours, let it be put away carefully before the artist is wearied ; and when he resumes it agam with what is expressively termed " a fresh e^^e," many improvements and alterations will probably be suggested, that might never have occurred by fagging on \^'ithout a pause in his labours. It wiU be useful in the giving of high finish, to use a magnifying glass, such as is termed a reading glass, for examining whether all the parts are sufficiently trans- parent. The repeated dotting or hatching of colours on each other in various directions, should produce a ten- der gradation of tints into those adjoining, as well as of lights into shades. Ariiere these are not perfect, the dots may be removed or reduced by the point of a sable CAKE COLOURS. 147 pencil, just wetted and no more with gum water; or the parts may be strengthened to produce the required gra- dations, taking the most scrupulous care to avoid the introduction of rouglmess or fouhiess of tint. The point of a knife may be used to pick out obtrusive spots, after which the parts must be touched with the a2)pro- priate tints. Depth of shade may be increased, and the rotmidity of the head improved, by judiciously dotting in or rather upon the dots not sufficiently powerful. The gi-ey tmts and the reflected lights may be heightened in accord- ance, so as to produce considerable brilliancy. Tlie hair may be deepened and then touched on the projecting lights of the ringlets, or of the mass with body colours. The features may be rendered sharper with touches suited to the tones of the respective parts, and the back- ground mellowed by liatchmg on the edges of obtrusive forms, or blended mto such predommating tones as shall be most harmonious, and liest adapted to relieve the head. Examinations and retouchings may be repeated at intervals, so long as there shall seem room for improve- ment, in colour, power, likeness, or expression, m the endeavour to obtain. Judgment supreme o'er all the powers of thought ! B_v penetration from experience caught, Clear prism of the mind, where sage reflection views Truth's purest colours. Persons who live m good society are quick ui de- 148 MINIATURE AND PORTRAIT. tecting those defects and irregularities in motion, dress, or expresssion, which would pass unnoticed by a peasant. It is this discrimination of what is elegant from what is vulgar, of what i^ beautiful from what is commonplace, which constitutes what is called taste ; and it is this discernment which essentially contributes to the success of the student in miniature painting, by intuitively teaching what should be selected, and what should be rejected, by exciting a love of those combinations, which are productive of grace and harmony. The study of the works of superior masters, may often lead the student into an instinctive path of observation from nature, by remarking the points in which they excel. In the degrees of jJower, diffusion of light, or of shade, may be discovered theu- adaptations, always so regulated as to accord with the character of their re- spective subjects. The investigation of a portrait by Titian, and a portrait by Rembrandt, may be illustrative of parti- culars which could not otherwise be so adequately'- con- veyed. The great dissimilarity in the styles of these distinguished masters, renders it almost impossible to consider them equally influenced by the truth of natural representation. Such, however, is their peculiar excel- lence, that on weigliing their merits in the scale of ap - probation, they appear to be pretty nearly balanced. In the portraits of females by Titian, they seem actually to breathe, while they possess aU the ease, de- licacy, and dignity which art is capable of representuig. PLaXe 21. MINIATURE AND PORTRAIT. 149 Titian was heard to declare, that the greatest satisfac- tion which he could experience, arose from his succeed- ing in faithful representations of nature. The portraits of men by Rembrandt, commanded such admiration during his life time, as to raise him to the highest rank of art. In his portraits, we may re- mark most powerful depths of tone and an almost magical relief. The lights generally occupy a small portion, being nearly confined to the skin and to a turban, to the introduction of wliich he was unaccountably partial, without much attention to its propriety. He painted with a body of colour unusually thick ; but he knew the capabilities of colours so con'ectly, that he placed every tint in its proper place, and thereby preserved to each its freshness and beauty, making his portraits ap- pear as if ready to walk out of the canvass. Rembrandt did not select the most beautiful or graceful, while in many instances he has given tokens of being a stranger to elegant associations. Plate XXI., represents an old man meditating, from Rembrandt. It is equally remarkable for energy, and truth of expression. The general tone is brown, anima- ted by harmonious half tints. The skin is clear, and the beard is light, forming with the face a bold mass. Tlie whole deserves to be reckoned a portrait of the highest excellence, no artist having equalled Rembrandt in obviating all aj^pearance of hardness, where such powerful oppositions were adopted. Titian seems o 2 150 MINIATURE AND PORTRAIT. solicitous to delight; Rembrandt, to astonish : both have succeeded in eliciting the highest encomiums. A purer knowledge, however, of the art may be ob- tained from miniature portraits of the present day, than from the united productions of the Italian and the Flemish masters, in which many of the tints may have faded, and some which have not may be imagined to have changed, circumstances which embarrass by the uncertamty they create. The progress of chemistry has done much, in ascer- tainmg mediums, by the use of which colours preserve their purity in their lights, and transparency in their shades. The differences thus produced are as decided, as that between a female on whose skin clearness of tints and delicacy of youth appears, and a matron who has passed the grand climacteric. The universal delight experienced in contemplating female beauty, is one of the chief causes w^hich renders portrait and miniature painting so highly esteemed, though there are no doubt other considerations, as already noticed, which are of no less interest, particu- larly when character and expression are observed, and made objects of study. 151 HISTORICAL PA INT TNG. Historical painting embraces tlie widest range of knowledge ; and it is the noblest reach of art to portray action, character, expression, and all the accessories which a scene requires, wdth adherence to tmth and nature. To represent all these, by means of a few pig- ments spread out on paper or canvass, with such skill as to exhibit to the view a transaction of past times, is justly deemed surprismg, and worthy of the highest admiration. The ability to judge of pictures in this high depart- ment of art, demands aU the knowledge that can be ac- quired by education and by intercourse with the world ; and this, indeed, furnishes a good test of mental accom- plishments in taste and judgment. If we know nothing of the history of a subject, the composition becomes to us a mere hieroglyphic, whose forms we may idly speculate upon, and vaguely inspect the arrangement of colours, the design, the character, and the expression ; but all must remain destitute of meaning. In histo- rical pieces, whether cheerful or melancholy, there should be one predominant action, and if subordinate interests be introduced, these should all be in accord- ance with the chief action, and such as might proceed 152 HISTORICAL PAINTING. simultaneously at the same moment of time. The chief individual or the principal group should be conspicuous, and all the subordinates should contribute to the illus- tration of the subject, so as to render the design easily comprehended. The personages in the scene should be represented, with strict attention to character and peculiarity of ex- pression, while the costume, the architecture, the most trifling objects which become accessories, should be chronologically correct, and all be made to contribute to the elucidation of the scene. Above all, there should be a grace and a grandeur arising from chaste design, harmony of colours, and natural effect ; and when these are united in a picture, we acknowledge with satisfaction, that the piece has been produced by great talent, and is worthy of approbation. " That composition," says Webb, in his inquiry into the beauties of painting, " must be sadly defective which cannot, to a careful observer, point out its own tendency ; and those impressions must be either weak or false which do not in some degree mark the interest of each actor in the drama. In nature, wc readily conceive the variety and force of characters, why should we not do so in pictures ? What difficulty can there be in distinguishing whether the airs of the heads be mean or noble, the style of the design vulgar or elegant ? " The following is a description of the celebrated cartoon of Raphael, Paul prcachhig at Athens, as given HISTORICAL PAINTING. 153 by Richardson, iu his remarks on pauitmg. ""'In that admirable scene," he says, "the expressions are just and delicate throughout. Even the back-ground is not >^ithout its meaning. It is expressive of the supei-sti- tion St. Paul was preaching against. But neither his- torian nor orator can give me so great an idea of that zealous and eloquent apostle as tliis figure of Raphael's ; for I see a person, face, air, and action, which no words can easily describe, but which assure me, he is speaking good sense and to the purpose. The different sentiments of Ms auditors are finely expressed ; some appear* to be angry and malicious, others to be attentive and reasoning on the discourse within themselves, or with each other, and one is apparentl}- com^inced. None of the figures are idle, two are walking in the distance among the buildings, and these serve to indicate there were some who cared not for the discourse. Saint Paul is the chief figure. Amongst his auditors, one is eminently distin- guished as the principal of that gi-oup and is evidently a believer. These principal and subordinate groups are so evident, that the eye will naturall}' fix on one, then on another, and consider each in theu' order with delight and satisfaction. " There is an admirable instance of contrast in this cartoon. Saint Paul stands alone as he ought, and con- sequently is the most conspicuous. The attitude is as fine as could be conceived, but the beauty of this noble figure, and indeed the whole picture, depends on ai-tful contrast. Of such consequence is that little part of the 154 HISTORICAL PAINTING. di'apeiy tlirowTi over the Apostle's shoulders hanging down almost to his waist, that it poises the figure. Had it fallen lower, so as to have divided the outline of the hinder part of the figure in equal portions, it had been offensive ; had it not fallen so low, it had been less pleasing. This important piece of drapery preserves the mass of light upon the figure, varies the lines, and gives them an agreeable form. Without it, the whole fiigure would have been heavy and disagreeable. " Saint Paul's drapery is red and green, which colours are scattered about the picture to great advantage ; for subordinate lights and colours serve to soften and sup- port the principals, which otherwise would appear as spots and consequently offensive." Many persons would be apt to overlook these parti- culars so well illustrated by Richardson. Some would discover other beauties worthy of notice, as every person is conscious of beauty and expression in proportion to his intelligence and his taste ; while some might per- haps dispute the soundness of several of the remarks. The difference between an uninformed and an accom- plished judgment, is w^ell illustrated by the anecdote of a clown, who, upon being shown the admirable picture by Correggio, of Cleopatra, applying the asp, and re- quested to give his opinion, said, " I think the woman seems sorry that little thing bites her, and yet she holds it to her bosom." This judgment of course proceeded from entire ignorance of the history. The action was perfectly understood from the expressiveness of the HISTORICAL PAINTING. 155 painting, but all the rest was unappreciated. A person who knew the history of Cleopatra's unhappiness would at once have entered into the design, the grace, the dignity, and the mental agony so well portrayed, and, if an artist, would judge of the lines, light, shade, colour, and effect mtroduced into the piece. On examining the component parts of an historical picture, the drawing must first be considered. It may be tame, almost approaching to insipidity ; it may be ■vulgar, almpst to caricature ; it may be deficient in action ; or it may be extravagant, striding a step be- yond the sublmie. On the other hand, the subject may be chaste and graceful, at the same time possessing all the characteristics of grandeur. Each of those varieties of outline may be dl•a^^'n with attention to anatomical correctness, and in emulation of the antique, — though there will be little difficulty m deternuning their real characteristics. The next points to be examined are the light and shade. These may be so arranged as to render it difficult to discover the principal ; or so that the eye of the spectator is dazzled by conflicting lights ; or the lights and shades may be violently opposed ; or they may be feebly contrasted and void of efi'ect; or all could be disposed so as to present the principal in a breadth of light, to which the eye would be instantly directed, whUe the subordinate lights and masses of shade, contributed to the character of the subject. Now, though each of these modes of disposmg light and shade, loG HISTORICAL PAINTING. were pencilled in the best manner of wliich art is capa- ble, there could be no difficulty in deciding which it would be the most judicious to adopt. Colour comes next in the order of examination ; and its varieties not only contribute to beauty of represent- ation, but are powerful auxiliaries to the character and richness of the subject. Colours may be vapid, and even monotonous ; tlie}'^ may be deficient in clear- ness; they may be so injudiciously arranged as to injure each other in effect ; or they may Jje so gaudy as to distract the attention of the spectator. But colours can be so managed, as to be clear in their tints, beautiful by harmonious contrast, tasteful by their chasteness, presenting a faithful transcript of nature. There can be no doubt, which of these two modes ought to be preferred. The union indeed of bold out- line, breadth of light, transparent shades, and harmo- nious colours, cannot fail to produce a powerful effect. Colour has been considered by Poets as one of the chief beauties of nature ; and by Painters, it has been made a chief object of stud}^ though each has adopted different combinations according to his individual taste. In the praises bestowed on Grecian painters, who are said to have been excellent colourists, every eulogium will be found to depend upon that beauty of hue which faith- fully represents nature. A Grecian painter, in his endeavour to give superiority to a figure of Helen, had covered her with all the splendour a jeweller could supply. On showing it to Apelles, the great painter HISTORICAL PAINTING. 157 tauntingly rebuked him : "So, young man," said he, " failing to make her beautiful, you have made her fine." Titian is one of the great masters, who is most esteemed for the truth and beauty of his colouring, and his harmony is less indebted to power of light and shade, than to that gradation of tone which so closely resembles nature. His tints are remarkably clear and beautiful, and yet there is no parade of art, no violence of contrast ; but all is produced without any indication of unusual effort, whOe to the purest taste in execution, he adds the most delicate refinement of hue and bril- liancy of eff^ect. Rubens is distinguished for the splendour of his colouring, particularly in his larger pictures. He has subdued the gaudy appearance, which would otherwise have arisen from an assemblage of the richest tints, by contrasting and balancing the strength of one against the brilliancy of another, in mass as well as in detail, with the utmost attention to general harmony and effect. Sir Joshua Reynolds has admirably pointed out the effects of an assemblage of colours in a picture. " Co- louring," he says, " is true when it is naturally adaj)ted to the eye, from brightness, from softness, from har- mony, from resemblance ; because these agree with their objects in nature. But with all this variety, a picture should possess repose ; the eye should not be perplexed and disturbed by aconfusionofequal parts or equal lights, nor offended b}^ an unharmonious mixture of colours." 158 HISTORICAL PAINTING. Sir Martin A. Shee, in the notes to his Elements of Art, says he knows no standard by which works of art may be judged, but the standard of nature ; and he conceives that there is no rational principle wliich can authorise us to consider as inappropriate, the perfection of any quality which she has essentially connected with the character and beauty of her productions. Every scene natural or imitated is made up of form, colour, and light, however these may be expressed under the various modifications of action and passion, of hue, and reflection, of light and shade. These are the ele- ments of every picture presented to our e^^e by the hand of nature or of art, and accordmg to theii* purity and perfection, we are pleased. Burnet, in his Hints on Colouring^ after having ex- tracted various opinions on different situations of colours, as best calculated to produce the most pleasing effect, combats them all by stating that such maxims could only produce a school of monotony. Pleasure can only be conveyed to the mind, by imitating the variety ever existing in nature. He further observes, that the most agreeable colours are those to which the eye has been accustomed, consequently such appearances must be selected for imitation by admitting due portions of such colours into a picture ; if they be more vivid, the charm will be destroyed. "Harmony," he adds, "consists in the true equilibrium of the different colours em- ployed, regulated by the general tone of the l%ht by which they are illuminated." HISTORICAL PAINTING. loi) As an example of the selection of colours in wliich the figui-es of an historical composition may be arrayed, a subject is here selected from M. Lairesse's Treatise on Painting^ explaining his mode of adapting colours to produce an hannonious effect. Plate XX 11. " I place," he says, " on the fore-ground to the right a female seated and frontmg the light with the hand resting on a dark greenish blue vase. The lower part of her dress is white and the upper part over her body red. A little farther off stands a grey stone column, on which an old man leans, dressed in dark blue. The ground is sandy, here and there mterspersed with russet. Near the front lies a basket of russet colour, in which is fi-uit. Beneath the basket and stretching to the left, is a dark blue vest, and near it stands a girl in a rose coloured dress. Be- hind her is a large ichite terme, near which stands a female in a light violet di-ess." The whole represents a philosopher giving instruction. The student, on examining this aiTangement of colours, will find them conducive to the general effect of the subject, the lighter colours being so disposed as to preserve a sweep of brightness, commencing with the f jot of the seated female, and spreading in a bold mass which includes the other females and the terme. The breadth of light is relieved by a tender distance and a light sky. The principle of relief by dark against light, and light against dark, ^^ith the co-operation of coloui-s to produce effect, acccording to the doctrine of harmony, is in this way well illustrated. IGO HISTORICAL PAINTING. It will be good practice, however, for the young stu- dent to make three or four sketches of this piece, vary- ing the colours in each, for the purpose of proving their several effects. Another subject ought also to be sketched, to which a similar arrangement of colours will apply, taking care always to test the best disposi- tion of the colours by actual trials. The results of such trials carefully recorded, will be of great use in the stu- dent's future progress. He will find in general, that merely by lightening or deepening a tint on one or more of the objects, or on the back-ground by wliich they may be relieved, the subject may be very materially improved. One mode of studying this subject expeditiousl}'^, is to make the sketch eight times larger, running over the outline with a reed pen and sepia, and determining the light and shade with three tints of sepia, mixed with a little burnt sienna. Then wash in the colours, strength- ening each part in shade by the repetition of its appro- priate tint. As the subject advances, let it be examined by holding it at different distances, as recommended above in landscape paintmg, and where strength ap- pears deficient, retouch with the tint required. How slight soever such a sketch may be, it will give the student clearer ideas than he could otherwise obtain of the picture, which he may finish at some future oppor- tunity, if he feel so inclined. " It is not enough," says Richardson, "that colours are beautiful, abstractly considered. In painting, they PT.ATt: 23 HISTORICAL PAINTING. 161 must assist in giving beauty to each other. There is a lightness, thinness, transparency, a warmth and delicacy pervading the combinations of colours, acted on by the atmospheric hues, from morning grey, through all the intermediates, to glowing eve. These effects cast their influence over all, breaking and harmonizing colours into corresponding sweetness, with which the eye is de- lighted and the mind satisfied. Plate XXIII. The subject of this plate is the Origin of Design, by R. Cosway. It represents a youth seated by the object of his affections, and being lighted by the torch of Hymen, he presses her to his heart, while he traces the cast shadow of her features. The flowing sweetness of line communicates a grace to the expression, which explains the operations of a mind, solicitous to obtain a resemblance of her to whom life and honour are engaged. Many painters have en- deavoured to embody a similar idea, but it has never perhaps, been given with so much delicacy, with so just a mixture of gentleness and emotion, or so sweet an association of feeling. It may be remarked, that as the circumstance is supposed to have occurred in the age of INIythology, the introduction of the God of Marriage may on that account be justified ; but the simplicity of modern composition does not sanction any absurdity however sanctified it may be by antiquarian lore ; for though the allusion to virtuous alliance may be satisfactory and pleasing, and could not be communicated by substituting an ordinary p 2 1G2 HISTORICAL PAINTING. lamp, still the ehasteness of design does not admit of any deviation from natural appearances to the super- natural. To those who have contemplated an immense histo- rical subject, crowded with, figures presenting a vast assemblage of forms and combinations of colours with powerful effect, the idea of attempting to sketch the outline of a piece of such magnitude, may appear start- ling and impracticable, till the steps are investigated, which lead to such magnificent results. If all the means indeed wliich have been resorted to by the most dis- tinguished LQ art, could be enumerated to the student, many a commencement would appear mere scratches, feeble indications of something which being worked upon and improved, conducted the artist through many an arduous day to perfection. The greatest power is not always the result of size, nor connected therewith. " Designs that are vast," says Burke, " only by their dimensions, are evidences of a common and low imagination." It may often be found indeed, even within the space of a few inches on paper, more truth and beauty have been expressed than on many yards of an adjoining canvass. Several artists of eminence, among 'whom may be mentioned Murillo and Gainsborough, have by means of a figure or two produced surprismg and delightful effects, solely by adherence to the simplicity of nature, and the student is particularly recommended to study and select from subjects of this desciiption. By propei ly HISTORICAL PAINTING. 163 considering these remarks, the student will find ample field for reflection on the modes best adapted for com- mencing an original simple composition. When a sub- ject presents itself to the imagination, it will in most cases be associated with situation, attitude, and perhaps expression, while the more simple the subject the more easily will the idea be matured, and some good picture or some good print, may give rise to suggestions for im- proving the original conception. As authors study the works of those who have preceded them in their own line, so should the students of painting stud}^ the works of painters, who have painted subjects similar to those they select. Tn this soi-t of study, however, all direct copying must be avoided, and even imitations, if origi- nality be aimed at ; though this is not meant to preclude deriving knowledge from their peculiar manner of management. All artists have done this, from the time of the celebrated Angeloes, down to the present time ; and it cannot in any sense of the word be deemed plagi- arism to observe how any artist ma}^ have dra\^^l or given eff'ect to his pictures, for all are entitled to profit by this if they can discriminate it ; but as Sir Joshua Reynolds said, whatever is appropriated in this way should be managed with Spartan circumspection, so that no one shall be able to discover where the booty was obtained. For the purpose of placing this more clearly before the student, take the following imaginary subject. Suppose an Italian lad who had been induced to quit 164 HISTORICAL PAINTING. his home from the hope of bettering his fortune in England, in the employment of those wretches who supply such lads with dogs and the like, for the purposes of exhibition and obtaining money. Suppose this lad disgusted at the treatment he has received, and dreading to return, had wandered far away, weary, hungry, and forlorn, the recollection of his distant home and his kind parents thrilling in his thoughts, and wretchedness throbbing in his heart. Suppose him under such dis- tressing circumstances, to fall on his knees, asking of Heaven the relief of which he stands so much in need, his dog seated by and gazing wistfully in his young master's face, as if sympathising with his unhappiness. Common as such a subject may appear to be, it might be treated historically ; for with some little variation of accessories it would not a little resemble the case of the Prodigal Son in the parable. The attitude, the ex- pression, the dog, a few swine, a barren or a hill}^ dis- tance, with a broken ground in front, would make the whole appear a purloined arrangement from some painter who had painted the Biblical subject. But ought it to be so considered ? Suppose the story of the Italian lad to have really occurred, no very unlikely thing, and even to have fallen under the student's o'v\ti observation, his desire to make a picture of the subject would of course have no reference to the parable, and in that point of view would be original, and he ought to proceed with it forthwith, while the idea is fresh in his memory. Let the size of the picture and the space the figure is "1 HISTORICAL PAINTING. 1G5 intended to occupy, be first determined ; then let the outh'ne be famtly sketched^ so as to mark where the respective parts are to be placed. The forlorn youth is on his knees, with his hands clasped, and his head raised upwards. The dog may be placed on his right hand, his hat lying on liis left hand, in such a manner as to impart a sort of pyramidal form to the little group. Next determine on which side the light is to fall, and sketch indications of trees and hills as a back gi-ound. Let this sketch be then held at various distances to try to judge of the probable effect, and add or alter as new ideas may be suggested. At this stage of the process, it will be important to have a young lad placed in the attitude required, and in the particular light determined upon, observing that the position of the body, head, and limbs are perfectly easy, and it is the more necessary'' to attend to this, that the explanation of what is wished may cause him to assume a constramed attitude. Let the outHne be com- pleted from this lad as a model, taking time and care to express the clasped hands and the air of the head. The dress, and other accessories, may be regulated according to the ideas intended to be conveyed ; and if the garments are to be tattered, it will be better to draw them as well as the hat and the stick from actual models, than from imagination. A living dog should also be placed as a model, and if possible made to sit in the required attitude. The student ought next to apply the several princi- 1G6 HISTORICAL PAINTING. pies which have been laid dovm in the preceding pages as tests of the various parts of the outline, reflecting on the oppositions of lines, and regulating the back-ground accordingly. "VYhen the sketch has been advanced so far that no more outlines seem necessary to be intro- duced, the student may next examine various pictures and prints to obtain materials for giving the proper ex- pression to the countenance. He may make his own. face a model for this by means of a looking glass, ad- justing his features as nearly as he can to the woebe- gone expression of the poor boy. Artists are in the practice of procuring a figure called a layman^ capable of being placed in any position and of being dressed in an}" costume a subject may require, and m this way a very complete model for dress can be obtained. Nudity must always be taken from the life ; and the expression (rf the passions from observations of nature, and from the pictures of great masters. As soon as the outlme has been arranged in this man- ner with the gTeatest possible coiTectness, and with at- tention to perspective, the light and shade may be put- in. A mixture of burnt sienna and sepia may be used for the shades of the coloured parts ; but a grey neutral tint is most proper for the shades of white. The sky, the distances, and the fore-ground may be managed on the principles above directed for landscape, and must all be made subservient to give relief to the figures, while the tints adapted to the respective parts should be judi- ciously arranged in opposing masses in order to produce general harmony. HISTORICAL PAINTING. 167 As the composition in question consists of a group placed on the foreground, it is susceptible of local colouring of considerable power, while no little interest may be given to the principal by the intro- duction of various indications of wretchedness ; and it will be in accordance with this to make the dog lean and rough-haired, and the foreground broken with a rude heap of stones or stunted bushes. The clearer the colours are kept upon the lights, the more brilliant will be the effect. The purest tones should be given to the skin, and the expression of the countenance should be truly marked, as this will be the chief point that will attract observation, and is most readily appreciated by all beholders. Next to expres- sion, the action will be scmtinized ; and it is universally known that emotions which produce bodily action, cause the limbs and other parts of the body to be thrown into positions in accordance with the feelings of the mind. The poor lad on his knees with clasped hands, and with a countenance expressive of imploring aid mingled with sadness, will demand the utmost attention of the student ; as well as the air of the head, the upward cast of the features, the curved brow, the eye-balls half hidden beneath the upper eye-lids, the open mouth, with the corners somewhat depressed, the ear, the under parts of the nose and chin shown by the position of the head, and the drawing of tlie hair. In the same manner, attention might be called to 1G8 HISTORICAL PAINTING. every individual part of the picture ; but to avoid the tediousness wliich might thence arise, a sketch of the subject, which raa}^ be enlarged or varied at plea- sure, has been introduced in the Plate. In his celebrated treatise on painting, Leonardo da Vinci says, "Avoid hard outluies; the boundaries which separate one body from another are of the natui-e of mathematical Imes, but not of real lines. The end or edge of an}^ colour is only the beguming of another, and ought not to be called a line, for nothing interposes between them. Let the colours of which the draperies of figures are composed be such as to form a pleasing variety, to distinguish one from the other. Figures acquire a beautiful relief by a proper gradation and strength of shadows. The masses which surround the figures will help the more to detach them, the more they difi'er from the objects. Whoever flatters him- self, that he can retain all the effects of nature m his memory is deceived : our memory is not so capacious, therefore consult nature for every thing." When a desire has been excited to portray any event m which the higher studies are requisite, the student must look to anatomy as bemg of indispensable importance. Those who are unacquainted with the particular form of the bones, and in what manner the muscles which move them are attached and act, will necessarily fall into errors in drawing, in the represen- tation of actions. Out of four hundred muscles in the liuman body, there are not one hundred which are HISTORICAL PAINTING. 109 obvious or exterior, the chief that an artist requires to study. The knowledge of these besides is by no means so difficult to acquire as it may at first sight appear : perseverance w^ill do wonders. Plaster casts may answer as well or better than living models, for obtaining a knowledge of the muscles in a state of rest ; but there are movements produced by sudden impulses, which, by changing the form of the muscles, materially affect the outline, and these cannot be studied in casts or in prints. Living models are excellent for attitudes of exertion, inasmuch as every action demands its par- ticular contour, affected by the different degrees of energy or passion ; and such positions may be assumed according to directions given. Impulses however can- not be in this way made obedient, and consequently there are excellences, which must be snatched as it were from nature by fortunate observation of accidents, and imparted to pictures from memory. In the highest departments, this can only apply to nudity; but so far as expression and general attitude are concerned in clothed figures, the student may depend on common observation, — Nature always accords with the mechani- cal principles of anatomy and the geometrical laws of perspective, the imitation of which leads to perfection. Such is the system that has been pursued by artists, who have obtained the applause of the judicious. No one can represent a subject which he has never seen, even from the most minute description. It is reported that a German artist, who had never seen a Q 170 HISTORICAL PAINTING. lion, attempted to paiiit Daniel in the lion's den, and succeeded well in representing the cavern with all its irregularities of surface and terrific effect. The human figure, with an expression of reliance on divine pro- tection, was also truly depicted, for the artist had care- fully studied all these in naturc. But when he came to the lions, he must have felt all the anxieties of one travelling in the dark ; and he ended by representing something half-bear, half- wolf, conformable to the imaginary idea which he had conceived. In consequence of his thus having overstepped the bounds of his knowledge, no one recognised his imaginary animals for lions ; and the picture being universall}^ censured, was laid aside till he had seen how the error might be corrected. Gainsborough, who was generally admired for his adherence to nature, w^as reproved by Peter Pindar for a deviation from her standard in the following lyies : — ** O Gainsborough ! nature 'plaineth sore That thou hast kicked her out of door, Who in her bounteous gifts has been so free To cull such genius out for thee : Lo ! all thy efforts void of her are vain ! Go find her, kiss her, and be friends again." Just criticism is friendly to ai*t, and is so appreciated by artists of talent ; for where there is no perception of error, there can be little prospect of improvement. The student Avill do well therefore to listen to every HISTORICAL PAINTING. l7l just remark, and seize on every circumstance from which a useful hint may be obtained, taking care to remember, that it is a greater triumph to captivate the understanding, than to charm the senses — to please the eye of taste, than to attract the gaze of the vulgar. Incongruities and inaccuracies as to time, or anachro- nisms, have been committed by many artists, and remain sad evidences of ignorance and want of consideration. Paul Veronese, in a magnificent scene of the mamage of Cana, has represented Benedictine monks in modern costume. Tintoret, in his picture of the Hebrews gathering manna, has armed some of them with fire- locks ! Chella delle Puera, in a picture of the Annun- ciation, in a church at Capua, has seated the Virgin in a carved arm-chair of crimson velvet with gold flowers, andonatablehehasplacedasilvercofFeecupandpot : acat and a parrot are also introduced. Breughel, in a pic- ture of the eastern Magi, has given an Indian king a white surplice, with boots and spurs ; and he bears in his hand, as an offering to the child, a model of a Dutch twent^^-four gun-ship. A living artist of note, Hay don, in his picture of Jesus entering Jerusalem, has intro- duced modern portraits, such as those of Voltaire and Wilberforce. There are numerous similar errors associated with names of even greater eminence, at which common sense revolts ; but however true it may be that nothing is more easy than to find fault, it is equally true that nothing can excuse the painting of absurdities. 172 HISTORICAL PAINTING. Historical representations should be as true to the cir- cumstances as the expression should be true to nature ; for falsehood is a deformity as offensive, as beauty and truth are attractive. Light and shade may bear some reference to the locality of a scene ; but they are generally adapted to the most advantageous display of the outline. The same may be said of colours. To Rubens the whole range of nature seemed equally familiar, from the lower pastimes of the Flemish peasantry to the elegant ideas embodied in his allegory of Mary de Medicis, or the more lofty combuiations of grandeur displayed in his Descent from the Cross. The free, the florid, and the superb styles of which he was master, are often however deteriorated by the introduction of inelegant foims, particularly those of his females, w^io are often vulgar in the extreme : a circumstance said to have been occasioned by an inju- dicious selection from Flemish women ; and amongst others the portrait of his own wife, with light hair, and chubby features, contrasted with his own dark coun- tenance, is not unfrequent in his pictures. Rubens is thought to have advanced the art of colouring to the greatest degree of perfection; and from his know- ledge of chiaro-'scuro he was enabled to impart the highest harmony to his compositions. He produced also the greatest transparency with extraordinary depth of tone, and in splendour of colouring he is supposed to be imrivalled. HISTORICAL PAINTING. 173 Rembrandt has deviated more from the simplicity of nature than any other artist in his historical compo- sitions. His splendid mannerism cannot he recom- mended to the emulous student, though from his extra- ordinary richness, united with powerful effect, criticism is partly disarmed and the judgment taken captive, even while violations of grace, perspective, and anatomy are glaringly obvious. His style mdeed is a marvellous extravagance in art. Raphael appears not to have been actuated by any desire to astonish or excite wonder. He produces the beautiful and the sublime without any apparent effort. Alluding to Raphael, it is well said by Sir Martin A. Shee, " that great painter's merits are among the most elevated and essential ; his defects among the most pardonable and unimportant. In his works we find the strongest indications of sound judgment, united to the purest examples of good taste. He never suffers himself to be seduced from simplicity to ostentation — never strides beyond the pace of propriety, nor swells beyond the measure of proportion. His inventions, -with- out being obvious or familiar, are natural and probable — ^neither straining after the eccentric, nor rejecting the uncommon. In his composition, he displays skill and arrangement, without the appearance of artifice, and produces the grace of variety without the affectation of contrast. He resorts to no scholastic pedantries of taste, makes use of no mechanical substitutes for skOl, introduces no supplementary figures in theatrical atti- 174 HISTORICAL PAINTING. tudes to fill up space. All is plain and unpretending ; his simplicity is without insipidity, his grandeur with- out inflation. His groups are not constructed according to any mechanical system, nor to academical receipt. No painter ever like liim knew how to cover, with the semblance of happy incident, the most studied arrange- ments of science." Grandeur in composition, by its elevation of charac- ter, startles the mhid and enforces respect ; yet, after having contemplated the vigorous style of ISlichael Angelo, the graceful style of Con-eggio, or the elegant style of Parmeggiano, as soon as our astonishment has subsided, we feel a desire for that tranquillity experienced from contemplating a style characterized by simplicity. There is a charm in this style of irre- sistible power, which soothes w^hile it takes possession of the feelings, and solicits investigation. WTiatever is beautiful will communicate pleasure, though a state of tranquillity^ is best suited for the mind to receive those impressions of delight most favourable to improvement. When the judgment is not thus regulated, it surrenders itself to some ideal perfection, some grace beyond the reach of art or of nature, and we place ourselves in a delirium in which beauties may be conceived not evident to correct taste — an enthusiasm inaccessible to common sense. All this is very remote from simplicity and truth. Like conversation, painting must be justly expressed to be understood. No sentiment should be so mean HISTORICAL PAINTING. 175 as to be unimpressive, nor so refined as to become ob- scure. A truth simply imparted is very effective ; an honest declaration makes its way to the heart, while a pompous appeal risks much in the liability to be mis- construed. It is injured by an ill chosen word, and ruined by an incongruous thought. The student ought, from all these considerations, to give his attention to the simple style of historical com- position. The term simple, though by no means precise as an epithet applied to style, has been adopted in con- tradistinction to the Florid, the Affected, or the Extra- vagant, to all of which styles the simple is greatly su- perior. It embraces a correct outline, harmonious colouring,, and chaste effect, impressive and beautiful from the observance of nature and adherence to truth, communicating altogether a satisfaction that makes a lasting impression on the memory. Artists of high reputation have exercised great assi- duity in ascertaining the effects of light, shade, reflected light, and shadow, lest, in their pictures, they might introduce any thing contradictory to truth and experi- ence. With the view of aiding their knowledge of these, some construct little figures as a sort of model of the subject intended to be painted, and by placing these in groups, so as to receive the light from a lamp at differ- ent degrees of elevation, they determine on the chiaro- 'scuro, best suited to the composition. By these means, they also discover many accidental lights and reflections that being properly appropriated, give additional beauty 176 HISTORICAL PAINTING. of effect. This mode however of ascei*tainmg the chiaro-'scuro must be adopted with great discretion, lest a number of lights should destroy their union in breadth, and destroy the repose indispensable to effect. Respecting Correggio, it has been said, "that the delicacy of his taste would not permit him to use strong oppositions, and he was . ever studious to follow a bold and prevailing colour with a demi-tint, and to conduct the eye of the spectator by an invisible gradation from excitation to tranquilhty." The beauty indeed of an unaffected breadth of light, is greatly enhanced by a judicious repose. " I consider general copying," says Sir Joshua Rey- nolds, " as a delusive sort of mdustry. The student satisfies himself with the appearance of domg some- thing ; he falls into the habit of imitating without se- lecting, and of labourmg without any determinate ob- ject ; as if it requu'ed no effort of mmd, he sleeps over his work, and those powers of invention, and composi- tion, which ought to be called forth, lie torpid and lose their energy for want of exercise." As Sir Joshua, however, does not entirely prohibit copying, he says, " in some measure the mechanical practice may be learned b}^ it. Let the choice parts only be selected ; for much of a picture is mere common- place. Instead of copying the touches of a great master, avail yourself of his conceptions ; study to invent on his general principles and way of thinking. Possess yourself of his spirit." All such precepts may be in- corporated in one word — study. HISTORICAL PAINTING. 177 M. Lairesse, in his well known work, has given an emblematic adaptation of colours — such as blue for the Deity ; i4d for power or love ; yellow for lustre and glory ; purple for authority ; violet for subjection ; green for servitude ; white to be considered as bright- ness, and black as darkness. This, though fanciful, may be admissible when the subject is adapted to such an arrangement ; but it would savour of affectation to in- troduce them on all occasions. When speaking of colour considered as a source of the sublime, Burke says, " among colours such as are soft and bright, are unfit to produce grand images. An immense mountain, covered with a shining green turf, is nothing in this respect to one dark and gloomy ; the cloudy sky is more grand than the clear blue ; and the niffht is more sublime and solemn than the day. There- fore, in historical painting, gay or gaudy draperies can never have a happy effect ; and in buildings, when the highest degree of the sublime is intended, the tones em- ployed should be sad, as black, or brown, or deep purple." The cheerfulness of colours is associated with gaiety ; solemn tones are best adapted to the awful connected with the sublime, of which obscurity is a powerful ac- cessory. The evidences of these essentials to the produc- tion of a picture in the higher departments of art, become obvious from study ; for judgment improves in proportion as knowledge is extended by persevering observation and steady attention. Pictures of extraordinary merit by the Italian and 178 HISTORICAL PAINTING. Flemish masters, may occasionally be seen in the col- lections and galleries of the nobility and patrons of the fine arts ; and although time may often have impaired the freshness of their colours or the transparency of their shades, the drawing and the effect are well worth at- tention. In subjects taken from sacred history, these masters are eminently successful, a circumstance well accounted for by the encouragement given for so many years by the Church of Rome, to the grand style in painting. It was no doubt in a great measure in conse- quence of the stimulus thus received, that Michael Angelo, Raphael, Correggio, Murillo, and others, attained higher excellence than might otherwise have been expected. It was the celebrity of their pro- ductions which attracted the Flemish and the Dutch students to Italy, where the knowledge obtained, along with the excitement of emulation, produced the best effects. Hence may be traced taste in design, sublime conception of character, and all the lofty effects of art which were diffused over Christendom. Ceilings and altar-pieces displayed the increased and accumulating efforts of genius ; and the vigour of the schools of Italy, caught by the painters of Flanders, extended the desire of the affluent to possess collections of pictures, and this led to the efforts of artists to produce cabinet, easel, and gallery pieces. In this way, painting not only became a gratifying pursuit ; but it was deemed derogatory for the rich not to unite with education a taste for the fine arts. Every artist of talent accordingly soon found purchasers for his easel pictures, till private dwellings HISTORICAL PAINTING. 179 became enriched with the works of various esteemed masters, and the widely spread love of the fine arts con- tinues to afford one of the highest gratifications to re- fined taste. Feeling that we have now aiTived at a point where we are compelled to pause, from conscious inahility to offer as instruction the results of positive experience, in the highest department of art, we cannot refrain from impressing upon the student strong reliance on steady perseverance and careful observation ; for there are no methods by which to impart instruction, even in the more subordinate processes, unless the stu- dent exert his own powers to the utmost. It is not a little doubtful, whether there be any mode of conveying mstruction such as might aid invention in the completion of an historical picture. Be the instruc- tion given what it may, nothing can be done without persevering study joined with refinement of taste, or, as it is usually termed, genius. Tlie highly esteemed Michael Angelo da Caravaggio was, at the outset of life, only a day labourer; but by chance seeing some paintei-s at work on a wall which he had helped to build, he became chaimed with their art, and applied himself to learn it with so much assiduity, that in a few years he appeared in Venice, and in Rome, as an accomplished painter, about the year 1600. His admiration of nature was excessive, and he was wont to say that "those pictures which were not dra-\Mi after nature were rags, 180 HISTORICAL PAINTING. and the figures of which they were composed merely pamted cards." He acquired the highest reputation, and his pictures contmue to excite astonishment and delight, giving a striking illustration of the maxim of Sir Joshua Reynolds, "that nothing is denied to well directed labour." It may be well to remark, that the continuation of study directed to one point, however essential to future excellence, is apt at times to become irksome from its monotony, were it not for the desire to advance and to experience the pleasure afforded by novclt3\ Should this irksomeness occur to any youthful student, he may be advised to intermit his exertions, that the mind may regain its elasticity. The idea of waiting for the hand to execute, a conception with which the mind has become fatigued, is absurd ; for no sooner does exertion become a burden, than it will be in vain to endeavour after ex- cellence in the fine arts. It is to the fruitless efforts to overcome this supposed difficulty that the fine arts have been so often abandoned as impracticable, whereas by means of alternate labour and rest, this supposed in- surmountable barrier might in most cases be passed. "At every period of life," says Zimmerman, " whether during the strength of our youth, or the feebleness of age, the power of employing the mind in some useful or agreeable occupation, banishes the dread of solitude, which is as indispensably necessary to give a just, firm, and forcible tone to our thoughts, as a knowledge of the world is to give them richness and application." " If there were in reality, " says Malone in his life of Rey- HISTORICAL PAINTING. 181 nolds, " no more in the pursuit of the fine arts than an innocent amusement ; if it were only one of those sweets that the Divine power has hestowed upon us, to render the good of our present being superior to the evil of it ; or to render Hfe somewhat more eligible, it ought to be considered as a bounty from Heaven, and to hold a place in our esteem accordingly." Of one who is conversant with the fine arts, Addison says, " He is led into a great many pleasures which the uninitiated are incapable of receiving. He can converse with a picture, and find an agreeable companion in a statue ; he meets with a secret refreshment in a de- scription, and often feels a gi'eater satisfaction in the prospect of fields and meadows, than another does in the possession of them. It gives him a kind of property in every thing he sees, and makes the most mde and uncultivated parts of nature administer to his pleasures, so that he looks on the world as it were in another light, and discovers in it a multitude of charms that conceal themselves from the majority of mankind." In a word, the love of imitative art is " Friendly to the best pursuits of man, Friendly to thought, to virtue, and to peace." R 182 TRANSPARENT PAINTING. It is not improbable, that some of the more beau- tiful paintings on glass, to be seen in cathedral win- dows, may have led to the introduction of transparent painting on paper and on canvass ; a mode of exhibit- ing some subjects of a more striking character than can be effected by any of the usual means. The nature of the effects produced, and the means of exe- cution, will appear as we proceed. In treating any scene as a transparency, the same attention to the principles of aerial and linear perspec- tive, as directed under the previous head of Landscape, will be indispensable, with this peculiarity, that, in general, greater breadth of light and more powerful effect must be studied. Truth is the safest guide in this, as in all other departments of imitative art ; but truth may be rigidly kept to while the strongest oppo- sitions of light, shade, colour, and effect, which nature presents to the eye, may be selected. I'he same colours as already directed for Landscape painting are used for transparencies, and the processes are also the same ; only it is requisite to be very atten- tive in washing in the tints with the utmost possible correctness, both with respect to form and to the power of colour. It becomes the more necessary to insist TRANSPARENT PAINTING. 183 upon this, when it is taken into consideration, that the surface of the paper must be presented clear in every part, and that this clearness is always more or less injured hy wasliing out or sponging. The subject may be finished according as the taste and talent of the student may suggest, in order to range with others in a portfolio, — in all respects like a paint- ing in water colours. In selecting paper, it may be remarked, that, for small subjects, the sort called bank-post is the best adapted, from its thin and equal texture. On the other hand, for larger subjects, we recommend the thinnest hard-wove drawing paper that can be pro- cured, carefully selected free fi-om unevenness or inequality of texture, by holding it up between the eye and the light and examining every part of it, because much of the eflfect depends on the goodness of the paper. When the paper has been selected accordmg to the size of the proposed subject, it should be laid on a drawing-board and fastened there, with a piece of thick paper beneath, in order that the tints may be distinctly seen dui'ing the process, which must be conducted according to the method before laid do^vn for landscape painting. After having completed the subject so far as relates to the front, it may be cut off, leaving a margin of a quarter of an inch in breadth, for the purpose of gluing it down in the following manner. Take a sheet of Bristol-board, or, if the subject is R 2 184 TRANSPARENT PAINTING. larger, a thicker material, for the purpose of preserving the surface of the whole even and flat. From the centre of this hoard let a piece be cut out, corresponding with the size of the paintJhg, which must be placed on a drawing-board, with its face downwards. Let it then be covered for a few minutes with a damp cloth, to cause it to expand a little ; and in the meanwhile cover, with thick gum or glue, the edges of the aperture in the board, to correspond with the width of the margin cut off with the paintingi The damp cloth may now be removed, and the painting may be turned with its face upwards, placing the board upon it accurately, in such a maimer that the margin may adhere securely to the gum or glue in every part. The whole may then be laid on a flat surface to dry. In this way the Bristol-boai-d will form a frame of such width as may be adapted to the painting, and this frame may be afterwards ornamented according to the taste or fancy of the student. It may be ol^served that the brilliancy of a transpa- rent painting will be increased by the opacity of the border by which it is suiTounded, and its width should be regulated by the size of the painting. As soon as the whole is thoroughly dry, the painting must receive such additions at the back as may be requisite to bring it up to the full luminous effect in- tended. For this purpose, the most convenient position will be one inclined in a sloping direction, similar to an artist's easel, and immediately in front of a steady light. TllANSPARENT PAINTING. 185 When the painting has been placed in this position, it will be immediately perceived, that how powerfully soever it may have been previously tmted or touched in the front, a strong light will cause it to appear com- paratively feeble. But as the original intention of the • student will still be impressed on his mind, this weak- ness in the effect, which only becomes apparent by transmitted light, Avill suggest the addition of tints to produce the intended power. Wliere more is required, it must be cautiously applied at the back of the paint- ing, taking all possible care to preserve the colours clear, and not to injure nor ruffle the texture of the paper, repeating the tints till the due power be obtained. When considerable power is required, such colours as Indian red, Cologne earth, or vermilion, must be selected, as having a semi-opaque body ; but care must be taken not to lay them on so thickly as to produce blackness. When richness is required, lake, Prussian blue, and gamboge, which are perfectly transparent, are well adapted to communicate not only ricliness but delicacy and power in finish. When, by carefully employing the means just pointed out, all possible harmony and effect have been imparted to the painting, it may be rendered partially or wholly luminous, by judiciously applying mastic spirit varnish. With a camel-hair pencil moderately charged with this varnish, let such parts as are in the highest lights be carefully touched, as well as the major part of the sky, and the principal objects of the 186 TRANSPARENT PAINTING. piece, together with whatever part may require it in accordance with the character of the scene. If the whole of the subject be covered, it will be requisite to spread the varnish with a flat camel-hair brush, passing it quickly from side to side, and from top to bottom, so that the varnish may be equally spread with all possible expedition. The picture must then be left to dry. ^ After the varnish has become dry, by mixing a little oxgall in the water used for the colours, additional beauty of tint, as well as harmony, may be imparted to such parts as appear crude or harsh, and consider- able tenderness or spirit may be produced by paying attention to the miles laid dovm in a preceding page with respect to contrast and harmony. In the instructions already given for landscape paint- ing, it is presumed that enough has been said with re- spect to the mechanism and manipulations of the art to enable the student who has practised with perseverance, to have acquired a mastery of the pencil and a know- ledge of colours, as well as the power of judging with some degree of accuracy, of the means proper to be adopted for producing any effect desired. Then, for the purposes of study, let the following subjects be selected : — 1 . A scene composed of the trunk of a fallen tree, with broad-leaved wild plants around it in the fore- ground ; a heath in the mid -distance ; and a range of hills for the remote distance : the whole treated as a transparency, though the composition be extremely TRANSPARENT PAINTING. 187 simple, offers great scope for the particular effect of sunset opposed by breadth of shade. A strong effect is at once imparted by the deep tones of the landscape, and the gradual diminution of grey towards the horizon, while the streaky clouds of evening put in as they appear in nature, and the bright tones along the horizon touched with varnish, give a rich variety of harmony and contrast, the more pleasing from the associations with the beauties of evening which it awakens. 2. A water-fall or cataract is another subject well adapted for representation in a transparency ; the great breadth of light being on the smoother water of the cascade, and on the foam caused by its rushing amidst broken rocks, surrounded by gloomy precipices, over- hung by weather-beaten branches of trees, and the pendant foliage of rock shrubs. The variety of tints in the foliage, caused by the fading of the leaves in Autumn, ought to be studied with care, in order to give a rich diversity of colour to their several portions. The higher lights on the agitated water preserved during the process of colouring, will show more bril- liantly under the operation of varnishmg than the greater mass of water ; but the sparkling touches re- quired, where the rocks oppose the rushing of the torrents, may be done over with varnish on the other side of the painting in order to produce a vivid effect. It will be necessary, with respect to these touches, to attend to their characteristic forms — such as here and there dottings, in other parts irregular splashings 188 TRANSPARENT PAINTING. and ripplings of the water, gi-adually diminishing as the parts recede from the principal mass of light. As soon as the whole shall have become dry, it may be requisite to introduce tints of greenish grey where the tones require to be heightened, or where such parts as appear too bright require to be subdued, as well as to correct such forms as may seem to need alteration. 3. Any scene which may have been selected for a transparency, may be painted as a moonlight view. The solemn stillness of the subject, however, appears to accord best with a ruin and a sheet of water for displaying the reflections. In painting a moonlight view of tliis description, the fine gradations of the atmospheric grey should be carefully blended from the extremities towards the spot where the moon is to be placed. In the case of the paper being very thin, the perfect form of the moon must from the first be preserved clean ; while the forms of the floating clouds must be carefully attended to so as to render their appearance natural. On the other hand, when the paper is sufficiently strong to allow of it, the forms of both the moon and the clouds may be taken out in proper gradations after the sky has been painted. The same diff'srence of management may be adopted with respect to fluttering streaks of reflection, and the play of broken light on the surface of the water — where it may ripple round a stoue, curl up in small waves, or exhibit the changing surface of a current, or the tricklmgs of a rivulet. TRANSPARENT PAINTING. 189 It is most important to remark that, how deep soever the tones of moonlight are, there is no real black ; for in all cases where there is no light, dii-ect or reflected, there is always present an aerial medium sufficiently luminous to preclude a genuine black tmt, absolutely opaque, and which, in a transparent painting, cannot, on any account, be admitted. In the case of the spray or foliage of trees, good opportunity is afibrded, in such pieces, for projecting them with characteristic touches on the sky ; either to increase a particular effect, or to cover any deficiency or mistake which may have occurred in the manage- ment of the sky. The student should not omit to pay particular atten- tion to impart to the clouds, and to the reflection of the moon upon the water, as natural an appearance as pos- sible. The touches on the water ought to be made bolder and brighter on approaching the front of the picture, in order to preserve the keeping. If the near- est part require its brightness increased, a few delicate touches may be introduced on the other side of the paper, taking care to keep the light subordinate to that given to the moon. A few touches may be given to the margins of the clouds nearest to the moon, to exhibit the reflected light ; in which case it is necessary that there be little varnish m the pencil in order to make the touches less powerful in the parts receding to a greater distance from the moon. When a moonlight view comes to be varnished, the 190 TRANSPARENT PAINTING. moon may be touched on both sides of the paper, in order to obtain a greater degree of brilliancy. 4. The rainbow is a subject well adapted for trans- parent painting, and may be introduced into any land- scape, though some views are better adapted than others to set off its effect. In painting the rainbow itself, it will be requisite to attend to the following directions : The Sim must be understood to be at the back of the spectator, and it is necessary to recollect that a rainbow is never seen in its highest lustre, except upon a grey cloud. In a painting, consequently, where a rainbow is introduced, each particular ought to be rendered subservient to the principal. The arch formed by a rainbow is a semicircle, or some other smaller segment of a circle, corresponding to the circumference of the sun, and dependent on the falling particles of rain, which reflect the tints uni- formly in the order of red, the outermost colour, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet, the innermost colour. As the effect must depend on the rainbow's being well represented in the scene, it may be advisable to commence by sweeping the arc with a pair of com- passes, whujh will give it much tmer than it is possible to effect by the hand alone. The centre of the arch may be placed a little below the horizontal line of the picture ; and when the width of the bow has been determined, so as to coiTcspond with the other subjects of the picture, two lines may be swept, within whicli six varieties of tint have to be introduced. TRANSPARENT PAINTING. 191 Tints of carmine, gamboge, and Prussian blue, may now be prepared, and trials made with them for the purpose of ascertaining that each is in accordance with the other in respect of power. The red tint must be washed in smoothly, so as to occupy one-third of the arc from its upper edge, soft- ening the tint at the sides as the process goes on. The blue tint should next be washed in on the lower third of the arc, taking care to soften off the edges as in the preceding instance. The yellow must be laid on the remaining, or middle third, and must have the edges softened off in a similar manner. If these several softenings off have been managed in a delicate manner, it will be seen, that the yellow tint having been passed over a portion of the red tint above and over an equal part of the blue below it, that a tint of orange in the first, and a tint of green in the second instance, will have been produced. The purity and clearness of these two tints of orange and of green, will depend in a great measure on the correct softening off in the edges of the previous tints. A tender tint of the red may then be passed along the lower edge of the blue, in order to communicate to it the tint of violet, which completes the colours of the rainbow. If any difficulty should arise in producing these several tints by a simple application, they may be reduced in power so as not to require being blended on the edges. These reduced tints must, of course, be 192 TRANSPARENT PAINTING. repeated respectively till the requisite blending iiito each other be effected. It must be remembered, that the whole of the ex- panded rainbow must not be painted with equal bril- liancy, as this is an effect never observed in nature, but one part must be much less distinct than another. When the rainbow itself has been thus painted, the cloudy atmosphere may be washed in, according as the nature of the composition may indicate. The land- scape must likewise be painted so as to harmonize with and give characteristic effect to the scene. In applying the varnish, it may be confined to the more brilliant portion of the rainbow. It will be advisable in this case to take but a small portion of varnish in the pencil, in order that it may be gradually exhausted before approaching the less brilliant portion of the rainbow. 5. The effect of fire-light is peculiarly adapted for transparencies, and is frequently made choice of for this purpose. ^ If the subject selected be a distant view of Moimt Vesuvius, let it be painted expressly to represent the volcano under two different appearances. For the first, let the mountain be represented as viewed from the sea, or across the bay of Naples under a broad and luminous sky, strongly reflecting on the water in front. A number of vessels may be intro- duced in the sea view, for the purpose of enriching the scene. The mountain may be represented as retiring in accordance with aerial perspective, while it will be TRANSPARENT PAINTING. 193 a characteristic feature to have a streak of smoke issuing from the crater, and gradually mingling with the atmosphere. For the second, in exact agreement with the forms of the fii-st, let another be painted on a separate piece of paper, exhibiting an eruption with jflashes of fire exploding from the crater, and bold masses of sulphury clouds rolling away, or partially hiding a brilliant yellow and fiery red centre. The other parts must be subdued with purple or dun-coloured tints, so as to give the most striking effect by contrast to the princi- pal subject. This second painting should be done on a slight frame, so that it may be attached to the back of the first. The varnishing may be confined to the fiery portion of the eruption, to its reflection in the water of the bay, and to such touches of brightness on objects illu- minated by the fire-lightj according as the effects may be naturally indicated. In the first or tranquil scene, it will be seen, that the great breadth of light around the mountain and on the water, will admit the colours of the second, or erup- tive scene, to appear through with an effect of consi- derable power. Any additions to the effect of the eruptive fire must be introduced into the second painting, so that the first may be viewed as a day-light scene, while the second, on being applied, will cause the whole to appear as a night scene. s 194 TRANSPARENT PAINTING. These five subjects, selected from those most com- mouly painted in transparency, may furnish the student with hints that he can improve upon or vary as cir- cumstances may require or taste suggest. Transparencies may be shown to advantage byjamp or candle-light, and may be elegantly adapted to fire- screens, or hand-screens ; and in numerous other ways may be rendered interesting and instructive. lOMMIN ; BRADBURY AND KVANS, PKlNTliKS, WUlTfiFHlAllS I ERRATA. Page .^6, seventh line from top, /or effect, read affect. — 54, eighth line irora bottom,. /bi- author's, read arlist'b. — 80, sixth line from bottom, for patched, read hatched. — 81, second line from bottom, for patched and pricked, rend hatched and picked. — 82, eleventh line from bottom, for Senna, read Sienna. — 87, twelfth line from top, for face, read head. — 127, fourth line from bottom, /or hair read air. 1 1