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USEFUL HINTS 
 
 ON 
 
 ©RAWING & PAINTING; 
 
 INTENDED TO FACILITATE THE 
 
 $ttt]irobenunt 
 
 OF 
 
 YOUNG PERSONS. 
 
 BY J. C. BURGESS, 
 
 AUTHOR OF “ AN EASY INTRODUCTION TO PERSPECTIVE,” 
 &C. &C. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Printed by Tilling and Hughes , Grosvenor-row , Chelsea ; 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR; 
 
 And Sold by Sherwood and Co. Paternoster Row ; Harris, 
 St. Paul's Churcli-yard; Ackermann, Strand ; Taylor, 
 Holborn; Orme, Brook Street; Dickenson, New Bond 
 Street; Newman, Soho Square; Hatchard, 90, and Smith 
 and Co , 211, Piccadilly; Reeves and Co. Holborn Bridge ; 
 Parkyns, Sloane Street ; Faulkner , 4 Chelsea ; and Smart*, 
 Hammersmith. 
 
 1818 . 
 
TO 
 
 MISS DE VISME, 
 
 WHOSE TASTE AND GENIUS ARE SO WELL KNOWN, 
 
 AND 
 
 WHOSE PICTURES , 
 
 (as the productions of an amateur,) 
 
 HAVE BEEN SO MUCH, AND SO JUSTLY ADMIRED; 
 
 THIS LITTLE VOLUME, 
 
 WHICH TREATS 
 
 OF THE ARTS SHE HAS SO SUCCESSFULLY CULTIVATED, 
 
 IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, 
 
 BY HER 
 
 OBLIGED AND OBEDIENT SERVANT, 
 
 THE AUTHOR . 
 
 Whitehead’s Grove , Chelsea , 
 
 March , 1818. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2015 
 
 https://archive.org/details/usefulhintsondraOOburg 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 It is well known, that young persons, 
 in general, will not peruse elaborate 
 and abstruse Treatises on Drawing and 
 Painting, with that attention which they 
 require; and therefore many valuable 
 works of that kind, as it regards 
 youthful Artists, have been published 
 to little or no purpose. 
 
 This, and other considerations, have 
 induced me to render the present work 
 
VI 
 
 as concise and perspicuous as possible, 
 in order that its size should not pre- 
 judice juvenile readers, and that its 
 contents might be understood, without 
 great application of mind. 
 
 Having for more than ten years been 
 constantly employed in teaching these 
 Arts, I have noticed the causes 
 which have prevented the progress of 
 some of my pupils ; and the means by 
 which many of them have made pro- 
 ficiency ; so that, perhaps, the little 
 experience I have had, will he deemed 
 some qualification for the composition 
 of this Volume. 
 
vu 
 
 I would advise my young friends to 
 read it over occasionally ; that those 
 observations which are peculiarly appli- 
 cable to them, may be repeatedly 
 brought to their recollection; that they 
 may be assisted to overcome every diffi- 
 culty : and thus my design in this 
 
 publication, will be fully accomplished. 
 
 J. C. B. 
 

 
 
USEFUL HINTS, 
 
 4rc. 
 
 Drawing and Painting are certainly 
 among the most pleasing of the Fine Arts ; 
 and in no age have they been so univer- 
 sally cultivated, or encouraged, as in the 
 present. Indeed, the facilities for attain- 
 ing excellence are so numerous, that many 
 persons without much genius, by proper 
 application, become tolerable Artists. 
 There is, however, some danger of 
 placing confidence in the numerous aids 
 
2 
 
 to proficiency, and thus neglecting to make 
 those mental efforts, without which, every 
 auxiliary will he of little service. 
 
 When young persons commence Draw- 
 ing, it too often happens, that, if they 
 discover some genius, they will be so 
 highly extolled by the Master, or Friends, 
 that they are apt to imagine they have 
 superior powers, and can effect what they 
 please, without that application and per- 
 severance, which, they suppose, persons 
 without genius only must exercise. On 
 the other hand, it may sometimes happen, 
 that persons not destitute of genius, but 
 whose powers more slowly expand, are dis- 
 couraged in the efforts they make, by 
 severe and injudicious connoisseurs, who 
 have only the easy task of criticising that 
 which they cannot improve. Again, it 
 
3 
 
 happens not unfrequently, that young 
 persons give the rein to the impetuosity 
 of their genius ; and, instead of pursuing 
 a regular course of study, they are hurried 
 from one subject to another, till, after a 
 time, they regret their want of skill, which 
 they perceive to have arisen from inatten- 
 tion to the progressive Rudiments of the 
 Art they have superficially studied. 
 
 In the acquirement of every Art, some 
 method of Study should be adopted ; 
 some certain Rules should be laid down ; 
 to the want of which, in many instances, 
 may be attributed the disappointments 
 experienced by young Artists, who, from 
 this cause, have turned with disgust from 
 an Art, to which they were once so much 
 attached. But certainly one of the prin- 
 cipal, if not the greatest, obstacle to the 
 
 b 2 
 
4 
 
 improvement of the Student, is, that 
 natural self-confidence, which prevents 
 his receiving, or, at least, attending to, the 
 instructions given by experienced Artists. 
 The dispositions of the young, being san- 
 guine, and their imaginations lively, they 
 feel a dislike to the prudent maxims of 
 those who are experienced, and think, 
 that if they attend chiefly to their own 
 inclinations and efforts, they cannot fail 
 to attain that excellence to which they 
 aspire. 
 
 There are yet some minor distinctions 
 of character among young persons who 
 study Drawing and Painting, which should 
 not be unnoticed. 
 
 Some are so timid, especially those 
 who practise but little, that they are 
 
5 
 
 almost afraid of touching their Drawing ; 
 and even the studies they make, are 
 marked with that imbecility of touch that 
 characterizes the hand by which they were 
 executed. There are others, who are so 
 impatient, that they will not strive to draw 
 with accuracy, but are satisfied if their 
 incorrect Drawings are improved and 
 finished by the Master of whom they 
 learn ; and, indeed, some are dissatisfied, 
 unless the half of their Drawing is done 
 for them. There are also not a few, who, 
 with all their own endeavours, aided by 
 the instructions of the best Masters, find 
 it impossible to acquire even tolerable skill. 
 There must, therefore, in such, be not 
 only a deficiency, but a total absence of 
 genius. It would be injudicious to de- 
 pend on genius, merely, for success, but 
 without some portion of this natural gift, 
 
 b 3 
 
6 
 
 and considerable application, none can 
 excel. It has certainly been disputed 
 by some, whether excellence in any art or 
 science, be at all attributable to genius ; 
 but I think very few will deny the philo- 
 sophical genius of Newton, the poetical 
 genius of Milton, the musical genius of 
 Handel, or, what is more to our present 
 purpose, the genius for painting possessed 
 by Raphael. Indeed, if it were not genius 
 that made the difference between one 
 Artist and another, how should we account 
 for the want of success in Artists, who, 
 after having painted for twenty, thirty, or 
 forty years, have hardly arrived at medio- 
 crity in their profession. 
 
 It may be asked, then, with propriety, 
 how is it to be ascertained who has genius, 
 and who has not. I think this may be 
 
7 
 
 easily done by observing the following 
 characteristics of genius. 
 
 A person possessing genius, has na- 
 turally a fondness for the Art, and gene- 
 rally that fondness is proportionate to the 
 degree of genius possessed. He has also 
 a fine perception of the beauties and 
 arrangements of those objects embraced 
 by his imitative Art. If he study His- 
 torical Painting, he will have compre- 
 hensive conceptions of the various subjects 
 in History, and will exercise a nice dis- 
 crimination between those subjects that 
 would be proper, and others that would 
 be unsuitable for pictorial representation. 
 A person of genius will generally possess 
 an eye capable of appreciating the beauty 
 and gracefulness, and of quickly per- 
 ceiving the correctness, of form ; while, 
 b 4 
 
8 
 
 on the other hand, he will soon discern 
 any inaccuracy and imperfection. 
 
 If he study Landscape, he will have a 
 lively perception of those objects in nature, 
 of a truly picturesque appearance; how- 
 ever obscure their situation, and how 
 little soever they may be observed by 
 others, they will yet arrest his attention, 
 and quickly excite his admiration. If he 
 travel in a picturesque country, it is with 
 reluctance he passes any fine scene with- 
 out sketching it, and how delighted is he, 
 when he 
 
 — — “ Gains the height from whose fair brow 
 
 The bursting prospect spreads immense around. 
 
 And snatched o’er hill, and dale, and wood, and 
 lawn, 
 
 And verdant field, and darkening heath between. 
 And villages, embosomed soft in trees. 
 
9 
 
 And spiry towns by surging columns marked 
 Of household smoke, his eye excursive roams, 
 
 To where the broken landscape, by degrees 
 Ascending, roughens into rigid hills. 
 
 O’er which the Cambrian mountains, like far clouds 
 That skirt the blue horizon, dusky rise.” 
 
 Thomson. 
 
 It is true, that the genius of Landscape 
 Painters is different in different Artists; 
 for some are partial to Rustic Scenery, 
 while others rise above them, and prefer 
 the more Classic Scenery of Italy and 
 Switzerland, or the Romantic Beauties of 
 the wildest scenery in Scotland, Wales, 
 and Ireland. But still, genius, however 
 it may vary in those who possess it, marks 
 their perceptions of nature, and distin- 
 guishes their imitations of her beauties. 
 If au Artist of genius study the painting 
 of Flowers and Fruit, or other subjects 
 
10 
 
 of Natural History, he will be disgusted 
 at the gaudy and unnatural representations 
 which are so common, and which can 
 only be admired by the ignorant ; and he 
 will display much taste in the selection 
 of the objects of his imitation, and in his 
 arrangement of them. He will perceive 
 such elegance and beauty of forms, such 
 minuteness and delicacy of structure, such 
 freshness, brilliancy, magnificence, and 
 yet harmony of colour, in natural objects, 
 that, although unnoticed by the ordinary 
 observer, they create in him feelings of 
 admiration, and make him eager to imi- 
 tate them. But it may be asked, — are 
 those persons who do not possess all this 
 susceptibility of the Beauties of Nature, 
 to conclude, that they have no genius? 
 By no means ; for they may possess it in 
 different degrees ; and, if they have some- 
 
11 
 
 thing of that perception and mental enjoy- 
 ment of those Beauties, and can, after 
 repeated efforts, imitate them, they may 
 justly conclude that they are not destitute 
 of genius. 
 
 To give some form and arrangement to 
 this little work, and that it may be the 
 better understood, I propose to consider 
 the best methods of studying Drawing 
 and Painting, in the following order : — 
 
 1. Of Figures, including Hints on His- 
 torical Painting, Portraits. &c. 2. Of 
 
 Landscape, in its various Styles ; and, 
 3. Of Flowers, Fruit, and other Subjects 
 of Natural History, &c. 
 
 1. In studying the Drawing of Figures, 
 it is of great importance that the young 
 
12 
 
 Student should commence with copying 
 the most simple and easy rudiments from 
 the original Drawings of good Masters. 
 For instance, he should draw (always of 
 a large size) lines of various forms, then 
 the features of the face, separately, the 
 proportions of the head and figure, with 
 which he should get thoroughly ac- 
 quainted ; and afterwards continue, per- 
 severingly, to copy good Drawings of the 
 outlines of whole figures, in charcoal, on 
 common paper. He should not accustom 
 himself to draw his objects of a small size, 
 for that would prevent him acquiring that 
 bold and masterly pencilling, which is 
 always admired by the judicious. After 
 he can copy a good Drawing of Figures, 
 with freedom and accuracy, he should 
 immediately commence Drawing from 
 Statues, and fine plaister Casts. He 
 
13 
 
 should become a Student at the Royal 
 Academy, where there is one of the finest 
 collection of Casts from Antique Statues, 
 in the kingdom. Here he should continue 
 to study, most assiduously, for some years, 
 until he can draw the Figure with the 
 greatest correctness and facility. And 
 let him not, while studying Drawing, im- 
 pede his progress by attending to Painting ; 
 for, too early an attention to this part of 
 the Art, has been frequently injurious, and 
 has been regretted by many Artists, as 
 they have afterwards frequently found it 
 difficult to draw the Figures in their com- 
 positions. Some knowledge of Anatomy 
 will be of essential service to the Student, 
 more especially the action of the muscles. 
 An acquaintance with the Costume and 
 Architecture of the Ancients, will be ab- 
 solutely requisite. Access to a Library 
 
14 
 
 of Works on Art, will also be of great 
 advantage ; and this, among many others, 
 is possessed by the Academic Students. 
 Attendance on the Lectures at the Aca- 
 demy will be improving; and, when the 
 Student is advanced in Painting, the 
 copying of the Pictures of great Masters, 
 for which a room is now appropriated in 
 that noble Institution, will be of no little 
 assistance to him. It may be said, with- 
 out national partiality, that no nation in 
 the world affords such peculiar facilities 
 for promoting the excellence of her 
 Artists, as England. And, indeed, these 
 facilities have been appreciated and im- 
 proved. If proof be required for such 
 assertions, let it be considered, that our 
 illustrious Royal Family, and the Nobility, 
 are the Patrons of the Arts; our National 
 Academy is established and conducted 
 
15 
 
 on principles, at once, the most liberal, 
 impartial, and beneficial. Its Members are 
 men of distinguished talent ; — Painters 
 and Sculptors, Architects and Engravers, 
 that do honour to their country. The 
 Works of the venerable President excite 
 universal admiration ; and, as long as 
 they exist, will be considered Pictures 
 of the first class. Surely the President 
 is an example to the Student, sufficient 
 to excite his emulation, and to elicit his 
 efforts to excel. 
 
 Although Painting is not so important 
 as Drawing, it yet requires considerable 
 study and experience. Oil Painting is 
 the most suitable for Historical and 
 Poetical Compositions, and for Portraits, 
 except those of a small size, for which 
 Water Colours would sometimes be pre- 
 
10 
 
 ferable. The Painter should select those 
 colours that are durable, — for there are 
 many which are more rich and beautiful 
 than others, when first used, yet very soon 
 fade, and thus the labours of the Artist, 
 who might use them, would be quickly 
 lost. For Reds, the Madders, Vermillion, 
 India Red, and Light Red, are to be 
 preferred to Lake and Carmine made from 
 Cochineal, though they may be occasion- 
 ally used. Ultramarine, Prussian Blue, 
 and Antwerp Blue, are the best. Naples 
 Yellow, Yellow Ochre, and Indian Yel- 
 low, are the most durable, though not so 
 bright as King’s Yellow, Yellow Lake, 
 and Dutch Pink, which rapidly lose 
 their beauty. Vandyke Brown, Burnt 
 Umber, and Burnt Sienna, are the best 
 Browns. Ivory and Lamp Black may 
 both be used ; and although some Whites 
 
17 
 
 are occasionally used on account of their 
 superior whiteness, yet none of them 
 possess such opacity as the Flake White, 
 and are consequently not so generally 
 useful. Other colours may be made by 
 the mixing of those already mentioned, 
 so as to render the specification of 
 Grey, Purple, &c. quite unnecessary. 
 The best Oil is Linseed Oil, clarified 
 for the light colours, and boiled for the 
 darker colours, such as Brown and 
 Black, which would not be discoloured 
 by it. White, Ultramarine, and the Pink 
 Madder, should be generally ground 
 with Nut Oil, though it will not dry 
 except in warm weather. In using the 
 darkest Brown, and Black, in damp 
 weather, a little Sugar of Lead, or Gold 
 Size, should be added to them, or they 
 will not dry. 
 
 c 
 
18 
 
 In painting small Pictures, it is proper 
 to paint rather thinly, and with delicacy, 
 but never with much Oil ; the Colours are 
 always better when used rather dryly. 
 In large Pictures, much neatness and 
 delicacy are not requisite ; for, being 
 viewed at a distance, they should be 
 bold, and the effect clear, yet strong 
 and vigorous. 
 
 In Portraits, much of the beauty de- 
 pends on the taste of the Artist, in the 
 Attitude, Disposition of the Dress, Effect 
 of Light and Shadow, and the Compo- 
 sition of the Back Ground. Care should 
 be taken when a Person sits for a Portrait, 
 that he be not placed in an attitude to 
 which he is unaccustomed. He should 
 not be kept silent and motionless, or he 
 will appear in the Picture as if he were 
 
19 
 
 sitting for his Portrait. A good Portrait 
 will possess the expression and the man- 
 ner of the original; it will not be the 
 mere outline of the form of the person, 
 filled up with colours, pleasing to the 
 eye, but there will be a resemblance of 
 life, so far, at least, as life can be imitated 
 on canvas. Drapery is a beautiful object 
 in a Picture, and should therefore be pro- 
 perly attended to. The folds of Drapery 
 should not be too round, but rather square, 
 simple, and bold. Numerous folds in Dra- 
 pery have not a good effect. Hence the 
 Drapery in the Pictures of French Artists 
 is not so good as that in English Pictures, 
 it not possessing equal simplicity. 
 
 The principal English Portrait Painters, 
 Sir Thomas Lawrance, Sir William Beechy, 
 Messrs. Phillips, Shee, Dawe, and Owen, 
 
 c 2 
 
20 
 
 have arrived at the acm6 of their Art ; and 
 it may, with truth, be said of them, as 
 Portrait Painters, what is asserted of Mr. 
 West and Mr. Hilton, as Historical Pain- 
 ters, — that they are superior to all other 
 Artists living. There is generally a stiff- 
 ness and formality, a tameness and flat- 
 ness, in the Portraits of modern Foreign 
 Artists, that cause them to sink greatly 
 in comparison with English Pictures, 
 possessing that masterly outline, beauty 
 of colouring, force of effect, and vigour 
 of pencilling, for which some of them 
 are distinguished. 
 
 If Horses, or other animals, be intro- 
 duced with Portraits, or into historical and 
 poetical subjects, they should be w r ell stu- 
 died, and not painted in a negligent man- 
 ner, as if they were of no importance to 
 
21 
 
 the Picture ; or, they had better be painted 
 by an Artist who has generally confined 
 himself to the painting of Animals. Por- 
 trait and Historical Painters should occa- 
 sionally study Landscape, that their back- 
 grounds may not disgrace, but improve 
 the effect of the principal objects of their 
 Pictures. 
 
 The Colouring of Figures should be 
 fresh, clear, and rather bright, though not 
 gaudy ; for it is the property of Oil Colours 
 to become darker by age, and to acquire 
 rather a yellow hue ; so that Painters 
 should be careful of introducing yellow 
 tints into the flesh of their Figures. Trans- 
 parent, or, as they are termed, Glazing- 
 Colours, are not so durable as the opaque 
 ones, except the dark colours, such as 
 Browns and Blacks, and should therefore 
 
 c 3 
 
22 
 
 be used rather sparingly. They are abso- 
 lutely necessary in the Shadows, for opaque 
 colours have not that clear appearance 
 which is essentially requisite. In the 
 lighter parts, the colours should be clear 
 and brilliant, and in the shadows, warm 
 and transparent. Generally, Vandyke 
 Brown is the standard colour for Shadows, 
 even those of Flesh ; and in the cooler 
 Shadows it may be mixed with a little 
 Prussian Blue, and Purple Madder; but 
 the quantity of Green introduced into the 
 Shadows of the Pictures of many modern 
 Painters, is not only inharmonious, but un- 
 natural. Rubens, whose colouring is ad- 
 mirable, introduced much Brown, and a 
 little Red in his Shadows ; and there is 
 a natural and pleasing glow in them, 
 not surpassed, if equalled, by any Painter 
 whatever. 
 
*23 
 
 Secondly, in commencing the study of 
 Landscape Painting, it is essentially requi- 
 site that some knowledge of Perspective 
 be acquired. Young Persons imagine that 
 this Artis so mysterious and abstruse, that 
 it would require intense application of the 
 mind for a considerable time, before they 
 could understand it, and indeed, it must 
 be allowed, that but few of the elementary 
 works on Perspective, have been suffi- 
 ciently simple and perspicuous, to invite 
 the attention of those for whom they were 
 designed* The Student should for a con- 
 
 * I beg leave here to recommend the Easy Intro- 
 duction to Perspective, which I published lately, 
 and which appears to me more suitable for young 
 Persons, than any other I have seen ; and of which 
 I intend publishing a new Edition, with additional 
 Plates and Instructions. 
 
 c 4 
 
24 
 
 siderable time copy the Drawings of sim- 
 ple objects, by good Masters, and by no 
 means attempt to use India Ink, Sepia, 
 or Colours, until he can draw well. He 
 should confine himself for months and 
 years, to the assiduous practice of drawing 
 in Pencil and Chalk, and when he has so 
 far succeeded, as to copy with facility 
 and correctness, he may then commence 
 drawing from Nature. And in this he will 
 find his knowledge of Perspective pecu- 
 liarly advantageous ; in fact, it would be 
 impossible to reduce, with any degree of 
 accuracy of proportion, the objects of his 
 imitation without it. It is natural for young 
 persons frequently to feel impatient in the 
 study of an Art, and by indulging such a 
 disposition, they effectually impede their 
 progress. Sometimes they fondly ima- 
 gine, because they perceive in the most 
 
25 
 
 beautiful Pictures of the first Artists, 
 much boldness and spirit of Pencilling, 
 that they can produce the same effects, 
 by a hasty and slight manner of imita- 
 ting Nature. But this is a great mistake; 
 for the most eminent of those Painters, 
 who are accustomed to paint in a 
 masterly, and apparently careless style, 
 have generally habituated themselves to 
 sketch from Nature, in a manner the 
 most minute and accurate. Few would 
 imagine, that Mr. J. M. W. Turner (who 
 is incomparably the finest Landscape 
 Painter of the age) would attend to 
 minuteness in his Sketches from Na- 
 ture, yet this is the case, notwithstand- 
 ing the apparently slight and careless, 
 but vigorous and masterly touching, 
 with which his most admirable Pictures 
 abound. 
 
26 
 
 When a young person is capable of 
 sketching, and shading correctly from 
 Nature, he may then begin to study 
 colouring. Water Colours are, certainly, 
 very beautiful, and answer all the pur- 
 poses of Landscape Painting, as is evident 
 in the admirable drawings of Messrs. A. 
 Wilson, R. Reinagle, W. Havell, Glover, 
 Varley, the late Mr. Thomas Burgess,* 
 
 * A few of the admirable Drawings of this lamented 
 young Artist, who died about eight or nine years 
 ago, when his works were universally admired, and 
 after he had given himself up entirely to the assi- 
 duous study of his Art, from a child, may be seen 
 every day, Sundays excepted, at the house of his 
 brother, (the Author of this little work,) No. 5, 
 Whitehead’s Grove, Chelsea. He studied Nature 
 most intently. He sketched generally with pencil, 
 and tinted most of his Sketches accurately from 
 
27 
 
 and others, who have arrived at great 
 perfection in the Art. But although 
 Water Colours are very beautiful, and 
 sufficiently brilliant and forcible, to pro- 
 duce the various appearances of Nature, 
 yet Oil Colours possess considerable su- 
 periority, inasmuch as they are clearer, 
 more forcible, and much more durable. 
 
 In the colouring of Skies and Dis- 
 tances, Ultramarine, Indigo, Indian Yel- 
 low, and Red Madder Lake, will be 
 
 Nature; indeed, they cannot be surpassed for 
 beauty and accuracy, by the Sketches of any Artist 
 whatever. He first studied from Nature, when very 
 young, in the neighbourhood of his residence at 
 Chelsea; and afterwards in the Counties of Kent, 
 Sussex, Berkshire, Derbyshire, and Devonshire ; at 
 which last place, he made his most beautiful studies. 
 
28 
 
 found quite sufficient for the various tints, 
 and will be more aerial than any tints 
 made with other Colours. In addition 
 to these, for the other parts of a Picture, 
 Prussian Blue, Burnt Sienna, Vandyke 
 Brown, Sepia, Red Lake, Light Red, 
 and Gamboge, will be all that are requi- 
 site in Water Colours : but in Oil, it will 
 be necessary to use also Flake White, 
 Naples Yellow, and Vermillion. 
 
 In order to produce a good effect in a 
 Landscape, much depends on a proper 
 attention to Aerial Perspective, which is 
 the art of giving a due diminution, or 
 degradation, to the strength of the light, 
 shade, and colours of objects, according 
 to their different distances. Thus, the 
 light, shadow, and colour of the near, 
 or fore ground objects, should be strong, 
 
29 
 
 so as to correspond with their situation, 
 and make them appear prominent. And as 
 the objects recede from the fore ground, 
 their colours and shadows, as well as 
 size, should gradually decrease, and par- 
 take more of the bluish, or aerial tints of 
 the sky, and the most distant objects. 
 A very small proportion only of white 
 should be used in a Landscape. The 
 colouring should generally be warm and 
 glowing, for this style of colouring is 
 most admired. But in representations 
 of the effect of morning, the colouring 
 must be cooler; as this appearance is 
 peculiar to that time of day. 
 
 The introduction of appropriate Fi- 
 gures, adds much to the beauty of a 
 Landscape; but they should be studied 
 as much, and painted as well, as the 
 
30 
 
 other parts of the Picture, or they had 
 better be introduced by a Painter of 
 Figures, who has confined himself chiefly 
 to that peculiar department.* 
 
 In Landscape Painting, the extremes 
 of a slight and unfinished, as well as a very 
 
 * “ One thing highly necessary in the introduction 
 of Figures, is, that they enter into, and make part 
 of, the Scene ; and are not brought in as mere accom- 
 paniments, or as having no connexion with the rest 
 of the Picture. This error is daily practised, and 
 argues a most futile imagination. A man and woman 
 talking, a solitary sailor with a bundle at his back, 
 or, a miserable fisherman, with now and then a cow 
 or two, to keep each other in countenance, form the 
 utmost sketch of some people’s fancy. By a little 
 reflection, we shall avoid such absurdities, and be 
 enabled to introduce our little group with fitness.” 
 
 Dayes. 
 
31 
 
 elaborate and highly finished style, should 
 be avoided. The most perfect Pictures 
 to be studied as Models, by Students in 
 Landscape, are, certainly, those by Claude 
 Lorraine, Gasper Poussin, Both, and 
 Berghem; and occasionally to copy a 
 Picture by one of those Masters, is a 
 means of great improvement. 
 
 It is a fault in the Pictures of our 
 Modern Painters, that, in general, they 
 are nearly all painted with Opaque 
 Colours ; so that they are, in a high 
 degree, deficient in that transparency, 
 warmth, and harmony, which distinguish 
 the works of the old Masters. 
 
 It is not intended, however, by this 
 observation on colouring, to lessen the 
 estimation of the Moderns, in com- 
 
32 
 
 parison with the old Painters ; for every 
 impartial observer, who is capable of 
 judging between them, must allow, that 
 in several instances, the former excel 
 the latter. Some people seem so preju- 
 diced in favour of old Pictures, as to 
 prefer them merely on account of their 
 age ;* but the judgment of such is not 
 a proper criterion by which to form an 
 opinion. 
 
 Care should be taken that the most 
 
 “ It will be our duty to divest ourselves of pre- 
 judice as much as possible, in viewing works of Art ; 
 if we become partial to one Master, we lose the benefit 
 we ought to derive from them all : and let us by no 
 means adopt the conduct of those, who view old 
 Pictures to find out their excellencies, and modern 
 ones, to discover their defects.” — Dayes. 
 
33 
 
 pure and colourless Oils should be used 
 with the light, and bright Colours, or they 
 will soon lose their brilliancy, and assume 
 a yellowish, or brownish hue. And, al- 
 though, in some instances, other colours 
 would not, perhaps, suffer much by such 
 an alteration, yet the Blues, in the dis- 
 tances, and skies, would become Green, 
 and the Purples, Grey ; and thus, one of 
 the beauties at least, would be destroyed.* 
 
 * These observations are somewhat illustrated in 
 the following lines of Pope. 
 
 “ Lo, when the faithful pencil has design’d 
 Some bright idea of the master’s mind, 
 
 Where a new world leaps out at his command, 
 And ready nature waits upon his hand ; 
 
 D 
 
34 
 
 Pictures should be painted bright at first, 
 to allow for the loss of brilliancy by age ; 
 they should also be painted light, for 
 many of the Colours in Oil become darker 
 the longer they are kept. If the Colours 
 of a Picture be light, bright, and clear, 
 at the first, it will improve in harmony as 
 it becomes older, and its beauty will be 
 preserved many years. 
 
 Thirdly, the Painting of Flowers, Fruit, 
 and the various subjects of Natural His- 
 tory, requires a peculiar delicacy of exe- 
 
 When the ripe colours soften and unite, 
 
 And sweetly melt into just shade and light, 
 When mellowing years their full perfection give, 
 And each bold figure just appears to live ; 
 
 The treach’rous colours the fair Art betray, 
 And all the bright creation fades away.” 
 
35 
 
 cution. This is a department of Painting 
 not admired by the generality of common 
 observers. The astonishing beauties of 
 Flowers are lost upon them ; although, 
 
 “ With confessed magnificence they deride 
 Our vile attire, and impotence of pride. — 
 
 The cowslip smiles in brighter yellow blows, 
 
 Than that which on the bridegroom’s vestment flows. 
 Take but the humblest lily of the field, 
 
 And, if our pride will to our reason yield. 
 
 It must by sure comparison be shown, 
 
 That on the regal seat, great David’s son, 
 
 Array’d in all his robes, and types of power, 
 
 Shines with less glory, than that simple flower.” 
 
 Prior’s Solomon. 
 
 and therefore, we are not to be surprised, 
 if they are entirely regardless of the imi- 
 tations of them, although they may be 
 finished in the most exquisite style. 
 
 d 2 
 
30 
 
 There are not a few, however, who 
 possess a true relish for well painted 
 Pictures of Flowers, &c. ; some per- 
 sons indeed, are so partial to them, 
 that a fine collection of Pictures 
 would be deemed defective, if it did 
 not possess some of that description. 
 A person possessing a high taste for 
 Flower Painting, in viewing a gallery 
 of Pictures, would feel more gra- 
 tified with one by Van Huy sum, or 
 some other eminent Painter of Flowers, 
 than by all the others in the col- 
 lection. 
 
 In the study of this department of the 
 Art, it is absolutely requisite to attend, 
 at first, chiefly, if not solely, to the out- 
 line; for if this be neglected by the 
 student at the commencement of his 
 
37 
 
 career, it is not likely he will ever excel.* 
 Good Drawings of Flowers may be 
 copied with advantage, beginning with 
 the outlines, and proceeding gradually 
 to the copying of those, which are more 
 finished. After a well drawn, and 
 elaborately finished Picture of Flowers 
 can be copied correctly by the Stu- 
 
 *“ A lady of fashion, who insisted that Drawing 
 was unnecessary, wished an Artist to put her son to 
 Painting : he, not wishing to offend, and finding 
 several others had taken the young gentleman before, 
 to give him an easy task, set him to copy a Picture 
 of Flowers ; which, when done, was so bad as not to 
 be known what it was intended to represent : on the 
 lady seeing it, she asked what it was : * Why, 
 Madam/ replied the Painter, ‘ that is Painting with- 
 out Drawing / ’—Dates. 
 
 D 3 
 
38 
 
 dent, he should proceed to draw from 
 Nature: 
 
 “ And his judgment frame 
 
 By her just standard, which is still the same : 
 Unerring Nature, still divinely bright, 
 
 One clear, unchang’d, and universal light, 
 
 Life, force, and beauty, must to all impart, 
 
 At once the source, and end, and test of Art. 
 
 Art from that fund each just supply provides. 
 Works without show, and without pomp presides.” 
 
 Pope. 
 
 he should begin Avith Flowers of the 
 most simple forms, and proceed to others 
 which are more complex ; endeavouring 
 to select those which are the most con- 
 spicuous for gracefulness of form, and 
 variety, brilliancy, and beauty of colour ; 
 and although he may be frequently dis- 
 couraged by comparing his Drawings 
 
39 
 
 with the Flowers he has copied, and be 
 ready to exclaim, 
 
 Who can paint 
 
 Like Nature? Can imagination boast, 
 
 Amid its gay creation, hues like her’s ? 
 
 Or can it mix them with that matchless skill, 
 And lose them in each other, as appears 
 In every bud that blows V 9 
 
 Thomson, 
 
 he will yet perceive, that after repeated 
 efforts, his imitations become very similar 
 to the lovely originals. 
 
 Stiffness with respect to form, and 
 gaudiness with regard to colour, should 
 be avoided. In the light parts of 
 Flowers, lustre, brightness, and fresh- 
 ness, should be preserved ; in the Sha- 
 dows, clearness, force, and harmony, 
 d 4 
 
40 
 
 should be maintained. And in the finish- 
 ing of Flowers, it should be the aim of 
 the Artist to produce, by delicacy of 
 touch, and persevering application, the 
 appearance of that exquisite texture, for 
 which Natural Flowers are so admirably 
 distinguished, and admired. 
 
 “ Fair-handed Spring unbosoms ev’ry grace ; 
 
 Throws out the snow-drop, and the crocus first ; 
 The daisy, primrose, violet darkly blue, 
 
 And polyanthus of unnumbered dyes ; 
 
 The yellow wall-flower, stain’d with iron brown, 
 And lavish stock, that scents the garden round : 
 From the soft wing of vernal breezes shed, 
 Anemonies ; auriculas, enriched 
 With shining meal o’er all their velvet leaves ; 
 
 And full ranunculas, of glowing red. 
 
 Then comes the tulip race, where beauty plays 
 Her idle freaks ; from family diffused 
 To family, as flies the father dust, 
 
41 
 
 The varied colours run ; and while they break 
 On the charm’d eye, the exulting Florist marks, 
 With secret pride, the wonders of his hand. 
 
 No gradual bloom is wanting ; from the bud, 
 First-born of Spring, to Summer’s musky tribes : 
 Nor hyacinths of purest virgin white, 
 
 Low bent, and blushing inward ; nor jonquils, 
 
 Of potent fragrance ; nor narcissus fair, 
 
 As o’er the fabled fountain hanging still ; 
 
 Nor broad carnations, nor gay spotted pinks. 
 
 Nor shower’d from every bush, the damask rose. 
 Infinite numbers, delicacies, smells, 
 
 With hues on hues, expression cannot paint. 
 
 The breath of Nature, and her endless bloom.” 
 
 Thomson. 
 
 A person desirous of painting Flowers 
 in a superior manner, should possess no 
 small share of patience ; for, perhaps, no 
 department of the Art requires it so 
 much as this. Flowers painted in Water 
 
42 
 
 Colours, have a more delicate and bril- 
 liant effect at first, than those painted in 
 Oil ; but they are not so durable. Many 
 of the most beautiful Water Colours 
 very soon fade ; so that Oil Colours are 
 preferable, although it is certainly difficult 
 to produce with them, that thin and 
 transparent appearance, and that won- 
 derful finishing, peculiar to the Natural 
 Flowers. 
 
 The Painting of Fruit is very similiar 
 to that of Flowers, although rather easier. 
 Ripe Fruit that has grown to a full size, 
 should be preferred to paint from. It 
 requires much taste to group Fruit well 
 for a Picture, for there should be no uni- 
 formity in it ; it should be placed in such 
 a manner as to look carelessly thrown 
 together. In making single studies of 
 
43 
 
 Fruit, it is better to copy it as it hangs on 
 the trees in the green-house, or the 
 garden ; 
 
 “ There as I steal along the sunny wall, 
 
 Where Autumn basks, with fruit empurpled deep, 
 My pleasing theme continual prompts my thought ; 
 Presents the downy peach, the shining plum, 
 
 The ruddy fragrant nectrine, and, dark 
 Beneath his ample leaf, the luscious fig. 
 
 The vine, too, here her curling tendrils shoots ; 
 Hangs out her clusters glowing to the south, 
 
 And scarcely wishes for a warmer sky.” 
 
 Thomson. 
 
 I think no Master has painted Fruit 
 more beautifully than Mignon, and Van 
 Huysum ; and therefore their Pictures 
 should be observed as the most perfect 
 Models next to Nature, from which the 
 Artist should study. 
 
44 
 
 It is not sufficient that the Colours 
 should be well imitated, but the trans- 
 parency, the down, the roughness, and 
 smoothness, of the various kinds of Fruit, 
 should be accurately shown. If Fruit 
 be painted in a slight and unfinished style, 
 it creates but little pleasure in the ob- 
 server; but if it be elaborately executed, 
 it cannot fail to excite universal admi- 
 ration. 
 
 In the Painting of Animals, Birds, 
 Fishes, Insects, and the various subjects 
 of Natural History, it will be only neces- 
 sary to attend to the instructions given 
 for the Painting of Flowers and Fruit ; 
 except that the Anatomy of all Ani- 
 mals should be studied ; for, without 
 a knowledge of this, it is impossible 
 for any Artist to draw them with 
 
45 
 
 that accuracy which is absolutely re- 
 quisite. 
 
 The Pictures of Snyders, Hondikoeter, 
 Weenix, and Mignon, should be atten- 
 tively studied; because they excelled in 
 the Painting of Quadrupeds, Birds, In- 
 sects, &c. &c. 
 
 Having suggested the best means for 
 the methodical study of the three Depart- 
 ments of Drawing and Painting, I proceed 
 to make some additional observations, 
 which are no less important. 
 
 To be occasionally present at conver- 
 sations on the Arts, conducted by per- 
 sons of knowledge and experience, is 
 very improving, not only on account of 
 the valuable remarks that may be made 
 
40 
 
 in such conversations, but also, because 
 the associating with persons of talent, 
 tends to excite a laudable emulation to 
 equal or excel them.* 
 
 Many persons of genius, without the 
 aid of a Master, have acquired great pro- 
 ficiency ; while others, nearly, if not quite, 
 destitute of any natural taste, have made 
 but little progress, even with the advan- 
 
 * “ The company and conversation of men, well- 
 informed in the Arts, will contribute to improve our 
 taste, because Artists form opinions on the works 
 of different Masters, according to their peculiar 
 manner of thinking, which will naturally furnish 
 us with hints that we did not attend to, and enable 
 us to enjoy other men’s reflections, as well as our 
 own.” — Dayes. 
 
47 
 
 tage of the best instructions from the 
 most able Masters. But notwithstanding, 
 it must be allowed, that a good Master 
 is, certainly, the most effectual help to 
 the Student, next to his own application. 
 Indeed, a person may labour for years, 
 with little advantage, for want of some 
 judicious Teacher to direct him in his 
 studies; and it is evident, that a Master 
 of talent, could impart that instruction 
 to the Student, in a very short time, that 
 would have cost him years to have ac- 
 quired, merely by his own study and 
 application. Some care should be taken 
 in the selection of a Master ; but when 
 one is selected, (an Artist of known ability 
 in his profession,) he should not be capri- 
 ciously changed for another ; for this 
 would be, in some instances, prejudicial 
 to the pupil, as the style of the second 
 
48 
 
 Master, and his manner of teaching, 
 might be so totally different from that 
 of the first, that the progress of the 
 Pupil would be impeded ; and he would, 
 consequently, be discouraged from making 
 those efforts, which are absolutely re- 
 quisite. 
 
 It is true, however, that many who 
 draw well, have had instructions from 
 various Masters ; but it is probable, that 
 they would have made greater pro- 
 ficiency, had they continued under the 
 direction of one. It not unfrequently 
 happens, that when persons see the Pic- 
 tures of any good Master, they imagine, 
 that, had they his instructions, they 
 should also paint well, not considering, 
 that their success does not depend al- 
 together on the Master who instructs 
 
49 
 
 them. Some of the best Painters would 
 not, perhaps, be the best instructors ; 
 principally, because their fondness for 
 the Art, and their own application, 
 would allow them little time, and 
 patience, to instruct others ; and it is 
 more than probable, that many of the 
 best Masters that teach, have done so, 
 more from necessity, than inclination : 
 for if an Artist have a family, which he 
 has to support solely by his own exertions, 
 and his Pictures in general, are not sold, 
 he commences Teaching, to gain a 
 comfortable income ; although he would 
 rather occupy all his time in studying 
 the Art himself. 
 
 From the same cause, there are 
 so many Portrait Painters ; many of 
 whom, it is likely, had they met 
 
 E 
 
50 
 
 with encouragement, would have em- 
 ployed their superior talents in the 
 Painting of Historical or Poetical Sub- 
 jects. It may thus be accounted for, 
 that we have so few Painters of 
 History, in comparison with Portrait 
 Painters. 
 
 The last, though not the least, means 
 of improvement, it will be proper to 
 mention, is, the frequent observance of 
 the works of the best Masters, Ancient 
 and Modern. 
 
 As there is, generally, access to most 
 of the principal collections of Pictures, 
 and Statues, in the Kingdom, this ob- 
 servation can be easily made. It is not 
 advisable often to copy Pictures, when 
 a person has made considerable ad- 
 
51 
 
 vances in the Art ; because, by so doing, 
 he would lose his original style, and 
 imperceptibly acquire the manner of 
 other Artists ; but he| would learn much 
 by an attentive consideration of their 
 works.* 
 
 * “ It is not a slight or superficial view of an 
 esteemed Picture, that can benefit us; we must fix 
 our mind steadily on it, till we have, as it were, 
 analysed it, or discovered the cause of each particular 
 effect, as the only means to enable us, in our future 
 operations, to work on simililar principles. But 
 we shall view fine works of Art to very little pur- 
 pose* if we feel no higher wish than mere imita- 
 tion.” 
 
 Dates. 
 
 To these just remarks, I would add, that 
 unless we are emulous to surpass their excellencies, 
 E 2 
 
52 
 
 When it is not practicable to possess 
 fine Pictures, and Drawings, the Student 
 should have a choice collection of the 
 etchings , and capital prints,* from the 
 Pictures of the best Masters ; for, by 
 often looking at these, he will distin- 
 
 it is probable, our exertions will be so languid, that 
 we shall not even attain their degree of perfec- 
 tion. 
 
 * “ Prints and Drawings are useful to please the 
 eye, or enrich our thoughts ; or, by having them 
 before us, to keep up the fervour of the mind, while 
 employed on similar works of our own : then it is, 
 we may catch a grace from a Figure, a grand or 
 beautiful cast of drapery, or a thought that may give 
 energy or brilliancy to our own ; and that without 
 copying.”— Da yes. 
 
53 
 
 guish the beauties, and perceive the 
 defects, of the most eminent Painters ; 
 and thus, learn to imitate the former, 
 while he would endeavour to avoid 
 the latter. The drawing, effect, and 
 execution, in some Prints, are so fine, 
 that they might be copied with advan- 
 tage ; although, generally, it is much 
 more proper to copy from original 
 Drawings. 
 
 It is to be hoped, that these Hints on 
 Drawing, and Painting, will prove useful 
 to young persons, and serve to introduce 
 them to the perusal of more elaborate 
 works. I am persuaded, that, generally, 
 the observations which have been made, 
 are congenial with the opinions of the 
 first Masters; and that, therefore, they 
 may be received, not as the speculations 
 
of a theorist, but as principles estab- 
 lished by the experience and practice 
 of Artists, distinguished for skill in 
 their profession. 
 
 THE END. 
 
Books published by the same Author . 
 
 1. A Practical Essay on Flower Painting ; in One 
 Volume, Octavo, Price 8 s. 
 
 u This is a superior work of its kind ; and will, undoubtedly, 
 prove a useful assistant to those persons who have a taste for 
 Flower Painting. The remarks on the 6 Choice of Subjects/ 
 and the * Hints on Colouring/ are well worthy of attention.” 
 
 Gentleman’s Magazine . 
 
 — u The general observations and instructions are 
 
 pertinent and judicious.” 
 
 British Critic. 
 
 2. A New Introduction to Flower Painting, with 
 Coloured Etchings in the Manner of Drawings.— 
 Imperial Quarto, Price 1/. Is. 
 
 3. An Easy Introduction to Perspective, for the 
 Use of Young Persons. Demy, Octavo, with Plates, 
 Price 5s. 
 
 Sold by Sherwood and Co. Paternoster-row; Orme, and 
 
 Dickenson, New Bond Street; Reeves and Co. Holborn 
 
 Bridge ; Newman, Soho Square ; Smith and Co. Piccadilly; 
 
 Ackermann, Strand ; Colnaghi and Co. Cockspur Street ; 
 
 and by Mr. Burgess, 5, Whitehead's Grove, Chelsea. 
 
 Tilling and Hughes, Printers, Chelsea,