Ulrich Middeldorf I Cumberland (G.), Outlines from the Ancients . . folio, 2 ff., xxiv+44 pp., 1 f., 81 engr. plates on India paper, mostly by F. C. Lewis, but the last four by William Blake, cont. calf gilt, g.e., London, S. Prowett, 1829 £12 Keynes 133. L.P. copy with the plates on India paper. Ex-libris John, Duke of Bedford. i*-' (> *■' > Ui tu«,wv s ; c 1 ' , <■> 1 'd-, 1 v", 1 € > > "i j > it- 1 <> & , XU 6c £ "xV t*. & , L 2 Germany , and England , adopt different ideas of the beauty of the human frame, they all a gree ingiving the antique ftatues the preference to their own character of beauty : and fince each gives a little of its national character of beauty to its performances, fo that a good critic, on carefully examin¬ ing the work, will decide as to the nation of the Artift ; we may juftly, I think, conclude, that the general charac¬ ter of the Greek nation was imprejfed on their fculpture\ and thence, by way of corollary, that their nation muft have furpaffed in fymmetry all other nations of the earth; and as it cannot be conceived that there is any innate idea of beauty, we muft confequently believe, that their Minervas , Venufes , and "Jupiters , had been taken from living examples. —Thus, it appears, that there is but one thing that can have more intrinfic value than a very fine piece of fculpture, which is, a beautiful young woman, with an accomplifhed E 34 mind, and generous heart; for fhe combines in all her ac¬ tions the graces and beauties of a pure ftatue, affords her admirer a thoufand exquifite Outlines at every turn of her body, or change of her thought, blending colour, form, and motion; and, finally, the happy being, who poflefles fuch a treafure, abforbs his foul in the enjoyment of fenfe and imagination united; but, alas ! like the bloffoms of the fpring, her charms unfold and fade; memory ftrives, but ftrives in vain, to preferve the fleeting image; and a few fhort years gone by, happily for our tranquillity, it is no more. Not fo with fine Art; for he that has once known how to judge of, or defcribe the fine Outlines of pure forms, though, in procefs of time, he finds little left to delight him but the beft fculptures; yet he has the confolation to perceive the ftudy of beauty more and more agreeable as he advances in years, efpecially if he have experienced the value of her companion virtue, which teaches him to trace its origin among all the works of the creation ; whence the operations of nature aflord him approved delight, as he difcovers the prototype of fine Art in the univerfe. 35 SECTION III. It only remains for me to produce the principle, as far as I flatter myfelf I have been able to difcover it, on which thofe corredt draughtfmen, the Greek Artifts founded their compofltions, and to endeavour to introduce a criterion whereby to judge them; the reverfe pofltion of which may ferve as a guide to detedt produdtions formed by men who have worked without any rule or principle at all. To illuflrate this idea, I have no other means than by re¬ ferring to well known baflo-relievos, and the fineff gems as well as paftes, by diftinguifliing their numbers as they ftand in Mr. Taffies’ catalogue, who will readily furnifh fulphur caffs, at a trifling expence,* to fuch as a rede- * Four-pence each. 36 \ i ) \ firous of examining tlie force of my affertionsfor to have engraved them, even indifferently, on copper, would have been attended with a confiderable expence; and, after all, there is no copy of any gem that we know of, which is fit to be compared with one of thefe fulphur impreflions : and all the attempts of that kind, fince the expenfive work of Marriette to this day, have only ferved to fhew that the generality of thofe who poffefs fuch cabinets, are entirely unacquainted with the powers of Art, or indifferent to the beauties of the treafures that be¬ long to them; for even common Artifts know , that the moil ftudied labour of a Le Brun , or a Bartolozzi , can never convey an idea of a fine antique intaglio, or rival even one of the commoneft impreflions on fulphur or wax: and as to the falfe notion, that by multiplying impreflions, we leffen the value of our original; let us afk what liberal mind has lefs enjoyment of a fine Arabian horfe, becaufe it is expofed to the eyes of the multitude ? or, who that feels generoufly, but confiders it as enhancing the value of his parks and grounds, that they afford pleafure and recre¬ ation to his neighbours ?-—but to return. In addition to thefe references, I have thought proper to annex a few engravings (moft of which have been exe¬ cuted by myfelf), of Outlines, from fome of my own compofitions, formed on, what feems to me the plan of the ancients,—to which it is not improbable vanity may have 37 offered her inducements; hut as, in the effay, I really have no other object than the delire to difcover truth, and ferve the Arts; I hope I lhall be pardoned for this, by thofe who differ from me in opinion, and thanked by all thole who approve of my hypothecs. I think, then, their leading maxim was, that each compo- lition, whether gem, baffo-relievo, or ffatu ^Jhould contain an harmonious •whole , as well as parts in harmony with each other , and themfelves: —to produce which harmony, each part was contrived to flow into another, each fold of dra¬ pery into fome other fold, each figure into fome other figure; nay, even the fubordinate parts were made to contri¬ bute to this defign :: hence we fee trees frequently help to connect figures, a vafe, or a chariot-wheel, a rock, a Ihield, or the plume of a helmet; a bit of flying drapery, a wing, or even the tail of fome animal, are all alike ufeful to pro¬ mote the harmony of lines. iii J.i •* '■ ■ ' * 1 uv ‘ Thus in the Phylo&etes , No. 7810, the eye is condu&ed from the point of the bird’s wing, with which he fits and fans his wounded foot, along the right arm, to his inclined head; whence it defcends, by the left arm, to the hip, and then along the lower limbs to the point of the wing, whence it at firft fet out; each line alfo flows in curves from a center. The fame principle is ftill more evident in the fea-nymph, from a pafte, No. 2600, where every part revolves in graceful circles ; and is no lefs remarkably attended to in the Bacchus, No. 4290, though the Art is better con¬ cealed; in No. 7471, the Greek hero, in ambufcade, compleatly armed, the rule is even carried to excefs; and we fee, in that magnificent invention, the Hercules fhooting the Stymphalides, No. 5746, that the birds, the bow, and the lion’s Ikin (rather aukward concomitants), in the hands of this great Artift, all tend to produce harmony. Look again at the fine gem of the Diana in her car, No. 2036, and of the Jupiter, fulminating the giants, No. 986, in both which there is an endlefs flow of line, almoft all of which have a tendency to the centre; for lines as well as light muft be fo difpofed to make them agreeable to our opticks: and the delight we take in circu¬ lar forms, arifes, I believe, from their accommodating themfelves fo well to the conftrudtion of our eyes; which is doubtlefs the reafon why the Patera is univerfally con- fidered as one of the moft pleafing ornaments of architec¬ ture, all which is pointed out by nature, in the conftrudtion of flowers, trees, &c. for, with fcarce any exception, they flow into themfelves. 39 The ancients not only underftood this principle, but even carried it into every detail of their works; for it is not lefs difcernible in the compolition of the whole groupe, than in the general pofition of the drapery and its orna¬ ments. And we fee on coins, efpecially fome of the finer ones of Sicily (many of which are ineftimable on account of their workmanfhip), that they knew how to cut off a bull fo as to take away the difagreeable idea of its being a detached part, and could heal the Ichifm, as it were, by means of converging lines*. It was this knowledge that enabled them to form their Chimeras, to invent the Griffin, the Sagitary, and the fu- blime monllers of the deep ; fo as to give literally, in the language of our Britifh Poet- “ - to airy nothings, “ A local habitation and a name.” Of their lkill, in condu&ing the lines of hair, on this prin¬ ciple, there are as many inftances as of the grofs ignorance of fome moderns in that particular; and I could produce a cropt head, picked up at Rome, in a fculptor’s lludy, the adjullment of each particular lock of which manifells more thought, and the execution more mechanic lkill, than is to be found in many a modern bull in all its detail. * No. 1664, of Taffies’ Cat. a Minerva. / 40 For there is as much harmony to be produced by lines, as by colour, or found, or figures: and the art of lineal per- fpedtive, imperfect as it is, has conduced not a little, we all fee, to the refinement of the Painter’s enchanting de¬ ceptions. There is in what we call the Arts of Poetry, Painting and Mufic, a ftricft correfpondence, between founds, lines, and tones; but Sculpture being a real art, embraces in its higher branches not only a tafte of their united excellencies, but adds to the enjoyments of all the other fenfes, which are affedled by the other arts, that of touchy the teft of truth:—-its lines are harmony, its effect when turned is a metaphoric pidture, and its character, if juftly exprefled, affedts the mind like fine Poetry. To illuftrate this idea, I need only refer a young mind en¬ dowed with fenfibility, or an old one improved by reflec¬ tion, to its own feelings, on viewing a fine male or female ftatue of Greek workmanfhip. It is this divine harmony of parts and lines which makes a whole admirable; and it is neither an inelegant enjoyment, nor an unprofitable ftudy, for thofe who wifh to imbue their fouls with the traces of great and noble forms, to purfue the fhadow of fome good performance by lamp-light on a plain furface: a pradtice that would greatly tend to habi- I * 4i tuate young Artifts to form juft ideas, and facilitate the acquirement of a good tafte; for it would be a fure guide to the imbibing of pure and corredt images: and I have no doubt, that he, who had been thus nurtured in art, would early poffefs a good manner, with an elegant under- ftanding. Nothing tends fo much as fhadows, or lines traced in a clear medium, to make us afhamed of ungraceful protu¬ berances.—It is like the effedt the camera-obfcura has on the mind of a young landfcape-painter, in corredting the errors of his inexperienced eye: nor have I any doubt, though it is not eafy to prove it, that the ancients were much benefited by attentively confidering fhadows, and not a little helped by the fymmetry of the well exercifed bodies of their contemporaries : for, in morals, we fee daily, that feledt fociety purifies the minds of young people, in the fame degree that a general exhibition of depravity fullies and corrupts them. An air feelingly executed on a fingle inftrument, is the fine Outline of a fine thought; and, like a line corredted with care, will gain by repeated examination ; but is in¬ ferior to it, as wanting permanency, and depending on frefh efforts of the mufician, which experience teaches us may be unfuccefsful; for no performer, however enthu- fiaftic, can execute the fame air twice, with exatfly the fame F 42 energy; but a fine thought, once expreffed on paper, though only in an Outline, is durably eftablilhed. Mufic is like a reflexion of the images of the mind on the mirror of found; Outlines on paper are thofe images realized. That the ancients knew every thing we know, I am not likely to join with thofe who believe, any more than with others who give to Shaiefpeare * this wonderful all-knowing faculty ; but, in Art, I believe, few things that contribute to effedt were overlooked by them, as the flat reliefs of the beft temples at Athens, and the emboffed furface on which their Artifts engraved their intaglios evince ; for the firft was calculated to prevent broken maffes of lhadow, which might hurt the objedts, and, in a clear atmofphere, render them dazzling; the other tended to give them, when im- prefled on wax, a panoramic effect, both advantageous to the engraver, and agreeable to the principles of optics. In this form are found mod of the fineft Greek intaglios, and ancient paftes: and it is remarkable, that we feldom * Yet, perhaps, I (hall be fufpefted to go a great way towards this fond imagination, when X declare, that, although a fceptic, as to the moderns, being as yet full-grown enough to produce a painted commentary on his immortal thoughts; yet, I (irmly believe, the prototype of mod of his ideal charafters exids at this day among the body of the works of Art; and that, if men of tafte and learning would be as diligent in the purfuit of difcoveries of this fort, as many are in pro¬ curing topographical illuftrations, we (hould foon be in poffeffion of at lead the mod elegant ac¬ companiments to his works that art can devife, and embellilhments calculated rather to raife than debafe the fweet pages we all fo much wi(h to adorn. 43 meet with any feals of the fhield-like form that have not merit; for the form in itfelf contributing to the harmony of the whole, helps to banifh the idea of a folid back ground to which, by modern engravers, their figures are generally ftuck, with ftudious care, that the furface fhall be flat and well polifhed: an error that a very little ac¬ quaintance with the ancient baflo-relievo might have taught them to obviate; for there it is always made fub- fervient to the compofition, according to the light in which it was to be placed. This harmony of lines conftitutes what we call grace; as might be amply proved from the works of Raffael> but is more ftrikingly exemplified in the defigns of Parmigiano , and the exquifite and rare prints of Andrea Meldojfa , com¬ monly called Schiavone, whofe defective drawing it covers, like a precious veil, embellifhing the deformity it conceals: but a ftill flronger proof of the value of this fyftem of the Greeks, is daily felt, in the admiration we cannot help beftowing on even indifferent copies of their baflo-relievos, by their inferior Artifts; who, although they were not able to rival the original, always preferved the grace and fpirit of the acffion of the figures, which we denomi¬ nate character ; a feeling of Art in them, that announces the high fource of their general education therein, and {hews that its grand theory pervaded even the meaneft bofoms. V * 44 Thus far I have endeavoured to trace the principles of the Greeks in compofition, in the harmony of lines and pre- cilion of contour; and thus far they might be conducted by rules. To procure expreflion, they could only be guided, as we are, by tafte and obfervation, as well as anatomical {kill; of which it is not here my province to fpeak, except, that they always feem to have remembered, that extreme leannefs is to be abhorred ; well knowing that fimplicity promotes beauty, and that we ought to preferve a medium in all things. But one more obfervation I cannot omit on the decency that reigns among the naked figures of their great Artifls, a decency which caufes our delicacy to be fufpeCted, when we affeCt to fig-leaf the fexual diftinCtions of their inno¬ cent nudities ; of which it may truly be faid, that “ they are naked and not ajhamedd ’ An affectation, which fhews a corrupted age like this in double deformity, while the obfcene inventions of that great genius, Hogarth , are in all hands, and the loofe de- fcriptions of Fielding , in every body’s library. Let us away with this affectation ; and let our travelled ladies, who have walked without harm with gentlemen through every Mufeum in Europe, and beheld all that Grecian Art, even when it was playful, could fhew, teach 45 their countrywomen, that true modefty difdains not to examine, with a fteady eye, the mafculine parts of the antique ftatues, confcious that they are as chaftely repre- fented as thofe of children by the hand of nature, which innocence may, and does daily, behold unblufhing ; which nothing but lewd hypocrify affedts to fear ; and which, when mutilated, or deftroyed, or clumfily concealed, fhews only a difpolition to affect a refinement that affuredly betrays, to a clofe obferver, the index of a narrow mind; and has a cruel tendency to deprefs the hand of Art, which is never more elevated than when defcribing the human form divine as it came from the hands of the myflerious great firft Caufe. But enough ; though much more might be faid on this in- terefting fubjedt, were not this effay already too long, parti¬ cularly on the nature of appropriate ornaments , on which an entire treatife is much wanted, and, if this flight effay meet with approbation, may, in future, be detailed; but for THOSE WHO THINK, I AM SURE I HAVE SAID ENOUGH ; FOR THOSE WHO TASTE THE BEAUTIES, I AM EARNESTLY DESIROUS OF UNVEILING, PERHAPS, TOO MUCH • AND TO THE PROFANE, WHO DESPISE WHAT THEY WILL NOT EXERT THEIR ORGANS TO UNDERSTAND OR ENJOY, IT IS USELESS TO WRITE AT ALL. 4 . ; 47 APPENDIX. Having compleated my thoughts on thefe fubjects, and ventured to illuftrate them, by a few inventions, com- pofed, as well as I was able, on the principles laid down in the work; I have only to hope that this free-will- offering may not be unpleafing to the public ; and that where any lines are found that violate the fyftem, as in part of one of the furies No. 18, it may be attributed to his real motive, an illuftration of the errors of the oppolite principle; for they were all defigned as experiments.— Neither do I prefume to fay, that all the lines were the re- fult of ftudy, as, indeed, they ought to have been;—but one thing may be aflerted of this work, which can be faid of few others that have paffed the hands of an engraver, which is, that Mr. Blah has condefcended to take upon him the laborious office of making them, I may fay, fac-ffiniles of my originals: a compliment, from a man of his extraordi¬ nary genius and abilities, the higheft, I believe, I ffiall 4 8 ever receive :—and I am indebted to bis generous par¬ tiality for the inftru&ion which encouraged me to exe¬ cute a great part of the plates myfelf; enabling me there¬ by to reduce confiderably the price of the book. My intention was, to have added a few modern fubjedts, treated exactly in the fame way, for which defigns have been made, but finding the expellee too great for an ex¬ periment, I declined it; on which account I have not gone beyond an Outline on any of the plates, although many are from finilhed drawings. It now only remains for me to obferve, that of all thefe inventions there is one alone which cannot properly be called intirely my own. I purpofely introduced it, not only to illuftrate an idea that {hall be advanced in a future Effay ; but as a cruft for the Critics, who muft now take care how they pronounce rafh- ly, left, in attempting to point it out, they inadvertently pay me an undeferved compliment. What follows will be confidered, I am fure, as a ufeful part of the work, by all thofe who wifh to examine the fentiments I have exprefied. It cannot but be ferviceable to the young Artift, whofe time is precious, as it contains a catalogue of the numbers of the beft of the fubje&s which, with a view to ftudy, I have been many years feledfing, both at home and abroad. 49 A NUMERICAL CATALOGUE OF ABOVE srx HUNDRED SUBJECTS FROM ENGRAVED STONES, ALMOST ALL OF WHICH ARE FROM THE FINEST ANTIQUES; SELECTED WITH CARE, FOR THE USE OF ARTISTS, FROM MR. T ASS IE S ’ CABINET, CONSISTING OF ABOVE SIXTEEN THOUSAND IMPRESSIONS; ALL, OR ANY PART OF WHICH, ARE SOLD AT HIS HOUSE IN LEICESTER-FIELDS, IN SULPHER CASTS, MOUNTED AND NUMBERED, ACCORDING TO HIS DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE, AT FOURPENCE EACH. 4 1 HEADS. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. 1527 I 39 S 498+ 11723 5 * 3 8 403+ 9723 3 6 93 4518 8901 15812 6156 51+8 56+8 7°33 97 +o 15 + 9 + 3+73 15262 10141 5 OH 3 + 7 + 1+07 155+8 2825 6078 10094 4251 1661 15158 16+7 5010 15864 10181 68l 9629 9699 8950 +997 3763 10020 4911 7672 11928 9024 +983 3777 10028 8759 10802 10001 2018 > 53 6 3789 8984 9928 9686 10148 SS 7 + 6069 > 3 6 5 >5937 1171 6050 10163 1393 2523 1422 89+1 263 9518 8650 12472 10226 83+3 8764 I 024 I 12295 2800 . i 5 6 3 + 4996 1101 98+4 10321 9718 8045 11038 11213 11861 10220 10414 4702 2809 1664 9115 7 ° 3 S 10064 10502 9112 55 12 15659 65 S 3 8237 9583 5273 4203 47®5 4782 5282 6210 475 i 4862 2159 5732 4709 5374 5294 5 2 43 7607 7568 82 8448 or 12724 8596 7695 5727 5943 6319 6744 6818 1745 1800 7620 6817 7766 5041 943 2911 >35 393 8731 6808 1753 7611 6281 ' 8619 or . 6198 6938 6790 7*52 7 I 53 2749 7967 8581 4788 3048 6101 2157 4598 119 10127 12843 7479 7559 4602 2601 35*4 3321 8250 8275 8386 8639 8440 3557 13220 7995 12935 6781 2160 6668 6229 5378 *7°3 6867 6662 4 6 39 943 6 9230 7523 943 1 2581 9227 1493 94 1 404 2552 2586 6890 93 1 ? 653 1 5076 922 4410 6029 2514 5940 5263 8+32 2639 4577 5093 5051 5855 I 539° 4744 4733 4732 7759 7754 12732 5**4 6545 873* 15881 5925 5943 5112 5°4° 2217 6969 *>937 6645 7139 13092 13+99 9146 4588 2593 7026 93 6 3 7539 4353 2591 9*44 6607 7505 8428 5853 i 73 i 1312 15144 5123 15492 15203 2645 759 2641 2660 15120 709 8520 7510 130 8838 7554 4821 6460 6295 2322 7523 8846 8 357 5121 I 5 I 95 1512 8077 9383 8848 8850 59*7 9099 5684 7426 5922 7421 9100 8584 9 O 98 8653 2397 9365 93+7 7446 734i 4259 9°99 4807 6477 5280 4373 7340 4784 3480 8560 8623 6259 6266 10491 3605 575* 17 4397 15444 7619 42 5800 9490 4592 6001 2633 >57 2651 5736 3 OI 5 4581 2585 5864 5792 8660 2436 59°9 3482 3588 4455 57°4 4643 2382 4699 7181 No. No. No. No. No. No. No. 573 8 6601 3+66 6149 r 3°74 7475 6603 4298 2885 6544 2227 13072 Os OO 00 1/75 6897 3006 962 9294 7450 9361 6151 9187 8859 4290 67: 9333 9395 2588 15299 2895 2933 9 1 74 348 7 4150 13623 723 1 8822 9433 4592 8815 5989 > 57*0 7374 8819 9534 I S I 3 8830 3552 1720 4616 86n 4 8 53 9208 73'2 8016 2640 4355 2973 6147 6750 1738 2626 2592 8608 9346 4841 4265 6888 13242 8872 6625 6310 15277 5299 6881 i 3 2 4 i 8803 5746 9549 8866 5221 8427 18 7471 4779 4738 5852 N. B. The numbers are as they ftand in a cabinet of paftes, arranged partly according to ftyles: feveral more might have been added of the numbers of fine fubje&s, if the appendix to Mr. Taffies* Catalogue of Gems, in two volumes, quarto, had been prepared. FINIS. LATELT PUBLISHED BT THE SAME AUTHOR. I- THE MAID OF SNOWDON, A TALE. IN BOARDS. PRICE TWO SHILLINGS AND SIXPENCE n. A POEM ON THE LANDSCAPES OF GREAT BRITAIN. AND SIXPENCE IN BOARDS. PRICE TWO SHILLINGS .... SOME ANECDOTES OK THE LIFE OF IULIO BONASONI, A BOLOGNESE ARTIST, WHO FOLLOWED THE STYLES OF THE BEST SCHOOLS IN THE SIX TEENTH CENTURY; ACCOMPANIED BY A CATALOGUE OF THE ENGRAVINGS WITH THEIR MEASURES, OF THE WORKS OF THAT TASTEFUL COMPOSER- and remarks on the general character of his rare and ex“e’ PERFORMANCES. TO WHICH IS PREFIXED A PLAN FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE ARTS IN ENCLAND- PRICE THREE SHILLINGS IN BOARDS. IV. AN ATTEMPT TO DESCRIBE HAFOD, ABOUT THE BRIDGE OVER THE FUNACK, BRIDGE, IN THE COUNTY OF CARDIGAN; THOMAS JOHNES, ESQUIRE, MEMBER FOR TWO SHILLINGS. AND THE NEIGHBOURING SCENES COMMONLY CALLED THE DEVIL’S AN ANTIENT SEAT BELONGING TO THE COUNTY OF RADNOR, PRICE sUrr/ifiwmi ** Oi/lcL . aerial clouds thro' heaveivs' resplendent plains WHO YVAMDE-R, PARENTS of PRbLiriC RAINS ;”' r s Rnpf<’"i by- 0 C Puk^srthL fan* 1 ’ pS .1 M P£ LLD BY E V RY STORMY ^OU WDllVff Cf A L E WITH RAPID COURSE A LON Cr THE S 1C IES VE S'AIJ, CLouAjr 0 / Orpheus ^des/^n'd, 6c EnprOMci Jjy Cm: C Publish^ /*«■. J: OOS s6M t „.***/ d p e Su s * mj»»w ’"■ tm jno/aj mtlJ jo < tjM, j W f itr *0 «„;s ? «p w y *>>0‘net yu’%Q ■H