WEST'S GALLERY, 
 
 NEWMAN STREET, 
 
 OXFORD STREET. 
 
 Catalogue 
 
 OF 
 
 PICTURES AND DRAWINGS 
 
 BY THE LATE 
 
 BENJAMIN WEST, ESQ. 
 
 PRESIDENT OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY : 
 INCLUDING 
 
 A DESCRIPTION OF THE GREAT PICTURES, 
 
 CHRIST REJECTED, AND DEATH ON 
 THE PALE HORSE: 
 
 NOW EXHIBITING AT 
 
 No. 14, NEWMAN STREET. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 PRINTED BY C. H. REYNELL, BROAD STREET, 
 NEAR GOLDEN saCARE. 
 
 1824. 
 
 lAdmittance Is. — Catalogue Is.] 
 
entrance (B^lkxp. 
 
 No. 
 
 1. The Captive, from Sterne. 
 
 2. The Dead Ass, from ditto^ 
 
 3. Angels delivering St, Peter. 
 
 4. Moses viewing the Promised Land. 
 
 5. Simeon. 
 
 6. Child afraid of crossing the Water. 
 
 7. Angels at the Tomb of our Saviour. 
 
 8. Belisarius. 
 
 9. The Combat between Hector & Diomede 
 prevented by the Lightning of Jupiter. 
 
 10. King Lear and Cordelia. 
 
 11. View of Tintern Abbey. 
 13. Angelica and Medora. 
 
 13. Thetis bringing the Armour to Achilles. 
 
 14. The Death of Adonis. 
 
 15. Naming of John. 
 
 16. St. Anthony of Padua. 
 
 17. Reapers, with a View near Windsor. 
 
 18. Samuel when a Child presented to Eli. 
 19- Birth of Jacob and Esau 
 
 20. Resurrection of our Saviour. 
 
 21. Jacob and Laban. 
 
 22. Mothers with their Children dabbling 
 
 in a Brook. 
 
 23. Hector parting with his Wife and Child. 
 
 24. Landscape, Evening. 
 
 25. St. George and the Dragon. 
 
3^oom of Bratotufi^. 
 
 1. An Angel. 
 
 2. A Boy stringing his Bow. 
 
 3. The Return of BeUsarius. 
 
 4. The Death of Cicero. 
 
 5. Pythagoras and the Sages of Greece. 
 
 6. Sheathing the Flaming Sword. 
 
 7. Antiochus and Stratonice. 
 
 8. Two Rustic Lovers killed by lightning. 
 
 9. Pan and Psyche. 
 
 10. Hagar and Ishmael. 
 
 11. Sheep Washing. 
 
 12- An old Woman threading her Needle. 
 
 13. Design for Barnard's Catalogue. 
 
 14. Christ raising the Widow's Son. 
 
 15. Death of Richard First. 
 
 16. The Destruction of Pharoah. 
 
 17. Sampson. 
 
 18. Peter denying Christ. 
 
 19. Saul and the Witch of Endor. 
 
 20. Shipwreck of St. Paul. 
 
 21. The Death of General Wolfe. 
 
 22. Alcibiades protecting Socrates. 
 
 23. The Departure of Regulus from Rome. 
 
 24. The Landing of Agrippina. 
 
 25. Penn's Treaty with the Indians. 
 
 26. Socrates protecting Alcibiades. 
 
 27. Jacob and Laban. 
 
 28. The Battle at La Hogue. 
 
 29. Christ raising the Widow's Son. 
 
4 
 
 30. View near Bath. 
 
 31. Raising of Lazarus. 
 
 32. Erminia meeting with the Shepherd. 
 
 33. St. Matthew. 
 
 34. A Study from Nature. 
 
 35. St. Luke. 
 
 36. St. Vincent's Rocks. 
 
 37. Bladud discovering the Bath Waters. 
 
 38. Edward the Third embracing his Son. 
 
 39. The Four Ages. 
 
 40. Battle of the Boyne. 
 
 41. St. Mark. 
 
 42. Peasants. 
 
 43. St. John. 
 
 44. View near Bath. 
 
 45. Discovery of Clytemnestra's Body. 
 
 46. King John signing Magna Charta. 
 
 47. The Death of Socrates. 
 
 48. Hagar and Ishmael in the Wilderness. 
 
 49. View in Windsor Great Park. 
 
 50. Death on the Pale Horse. 
 
 51. The Ghost of Caesar. 
 
 52. The Waters subsiding after the Deluge. 
 
 53. The Raising of Lazarus. 
 
 54. The Death of Aaron. 
 
 55. The Angel in the Sun. 
 
 56. Moses striking the Rock. 
 
 57. Alexander and his Physician. 
 
 58; The Expulsion of Adam and Eve. 
 
 59. The Nativity. 
 
 60. Jacob blessing Joseph's two Children. 
 
 61. Hannibal swearing Enmity to the Ro- 
 
 mans. 
 
 62. Esau sent out to hunt. 
 
5 
 
 26. The Nativity of our Saviour 
 
 (Over the door). 
 
 St. Luke, chapter 2. 
 
 Verse 7. And she brought forth her first born son, and 
 wrapped him in swaddling-clothes, and laid him in a manger. 
 
 Sketches of the Prophets Isaiah and Jere- 
 miah, on each side. 
 
 27. View on the Susquehannah. 
 
 28. The Resurrection of our Saviour. 
 
 29- A Landscape, driving of Sheep and 
 Cows to Water. 
 
 30. Cupid sleeping on a Bed of Roses. 
 
 31. A View on the River Thames at Ham- 
 
 mersmith. 
 
 32. Angel at the Tomb of Christ. 
 
 33. The Brazen Serpent. 
 
 Numbers, chap. 21. 
 
 Verse 6. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the peo- 
 ple, and they bit the people ; and much people of Israel died. 
 
 Verse 7. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said. 
 We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and 
 against thee: pray unto the Lord that he take away the ser- 
 pents from us: and Moses prayed for the people. 
 
 Verse 8. And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fier}'' 
 serpent, and set it upon a pole : and it shall come to pass, that 
 every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. 
 
 Verse 9. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it 
 upon a pole; and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten 
 any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. 
 
6 
 
 34. Saul Prophesying. 
 
 I. Samuel, chap. 10. 
 
 Verse 9. And it was so, that when he had turned his back 
 to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those 
 signs came to pass that day. 
 
 Verse 10. And when they came thither to the hill, behold, 
 a company of prophets met him, and the spirit of God came 
 upon him, and he prophesied among them. 
 
 35. Cephalus lamenting the Death of Procris. 
 
 36. King Richard pardoning his Brother 
 
 John. 
 
 37. Thetis bringing the Armour to Achilles. 
 
 38. Landscape, Falling of Trees in Windsor 
 
 Great Park. 
 
 39. Cupid complaining to Venus of being 
 
 stung by a Bee. 
 
 40. Baptism of our Saviour. 
 
 St. Matthew, chap. 3. 
 
 Verse 13. Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto 
 John, to be baptized of him. 
 
 Verse 14. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be 
 baptized of thee, and comest thou to me ? 
 
 Verse 15. And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to 
 be so now : for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. 
 Then he suffered him. 
 
 Verse 16. And Jesus, when he w^as baptized, went up 
 straightway out of the water : and lo, the heavens were opened 
 unto him, and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove, 
 and lighting upon him: and lo, a voice from heaven, saying. 
 This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 
 
 41. A large Landscape, with his late Ma- 
 jesty hunting, and Windsor Castle in 
 the distance. 
 
 42. The Wise Men^s Offerings. 
 
7 
 
 No. 43. 
 CHRIST REJECTED. 
 
 THE SUBJECT. 
 
 The subject of this Picture \s^— Christ rejected 
 hy the Jewish High Priest, the Elders, and the 
 People, when brought to them by Pilate from 
 the Judgment Hall. 
 
 The wonderful events, of which this incident 
 forms so striking a portion, took place w^hen 
 empire had reached its zenith under the Ro- 
 mans, and universal peace prevailed. They had 
 been distinctly foretold by the inspired writers, 
 and no meaner agents than Angels from Heaven 
 had announced the advent of the Messiah, " glo- 
 rifying God in the Highest, and proclaiming on 
 earth peace and good will towards men:'^ — thus 
 av^fully preparing the minds of men for the ap- 
 proach of an epoch, in which a new and mighty 
 influence would overturn all the established 
 moral and religious systems of the civilized 
 world, making darkness and destruction vanish 
 before and give place to light and immortality. 
 
 For such a subject an epic composition was 
 demanded ; for it seemed every way proper, that 
 the principal characters in the history, as well 
 as the Divine Chief himself, should be brought 
 together on the canvas, and represented by the 
 Pencil, as they had been described by the bal.. 
 lowed Prophets and holy Evangelists. 
 
8 
 
 For the purpose of assisting the beholder in a 
 proper understanding of the Picture, the fol- 
 lowing selections have been made from the 
 Sacred Writings : — 
 
 Isaiah, chap. 23. 
 
 He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not 
 his mouth : he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a 
 sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. 
 
 St. Matthew, chap. 27. 
 
 When the morning was come, all the chief Priests and 
 Elders of the People took counsel against Jesus to put him to 
 death: 
 
 And when they had bound him they led him away, and de- 
 livered him to Pontius Pilate the Governor. 
 
 When Pilate was sat down on the judgment seat, his wife 
 sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just 
 man, for I have suffered many things this day in a dream be- 
 cause of him. 
 
 But the chief Priests and Elders persuading the multitude 
 that they should ask Barabbas and destroy Jesus : 
 
 ' Pilate said unto them. What shall I do then with Jesus, which 
 is called Christ? They all said unto him. Let him be crucified. 
 
 When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that 
 rather a tumult was made, he said, 1 am innocent of the blood 
 of this just person : see ye to it. 
 
 Then answered all the people, and said. His blood be on us 
 and on our children. 
 
 St. Luke, chap. 23. 
 
 Then said Pilate to the chief Priests and to the People, I 
 find no fault in this man. 
 
 And they were the more fierce, saying. He stirrelh up the 
 people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee 
 to this place. 
 
 When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether this man 
 were a Galilean ? 
 
 And as soon as he knew that he belonged unto Herod's 
 jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself was also at 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad ; for 
 
he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had 
 heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some 
 miracle done by him. 
 
 And Herod with his men of war set him at nought, and 
 mocked him, and arrayed him in gorgeous robe, and sent him 
 again to Pilate. 
 
 And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends.to- 
 gether; for before they were at enmity between themselves. 
 
 And he released unto them him that for sedition and murder 
 was cast into prison, whom they had desired; but he delivered 
 Jesus unto their will. 
 
 And as they led him away, there followed a company of 
 people and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him. 
 
 And there were also two malefactors led with him to be put 
 to death. 
 
 St. John, chap. 19. 
 
 Then came Jesus forth wearing the crown of thorns and the 
 gorgeous robe, and Pilate saith unto them. Behold the man. 
 
 When the chief Priests therefore and Officers saw him, they 
 cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto 
 them. Take ye him and crucify him, for I find no fault in him. 
 
 The Jews answered him. We have a law, and by our law he 
 ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God, 
 
 The Picture therefore represents the events 
 which took place when Pilate brought forth 
 Jesus, crowned with thorns, and in the gorgeous 
 robe with which he had been arrayed by Herod. 
 Wishing to save Jesus, Pilate said unto the High 
 Priest and Elders, I find no fault in this man 
 wherewith you accuse Him ; shall I release unto 
 you this man or Barabbas?^^ " Not this man, 
 but Barabbas,^^ replied the Priests and Elders ; 
 " for we have a law, and by our law he ought to 
 die, because he made himself the Son of God/^ — 
 Pilate said unto them, Shall I crucify your 
 King?'' Then the Chief Priests, the Elders, 
 
10 
 
 the Scribes, and the People, cried with loud 
 voices, saying, We have no King but Cgesar: 
 we found this fellow perverting the nation, and 
 forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, and saying 
 that he is Christ the King: therefore away with 
 him, away with him, and crucify him 
 
 This is the immediate point of time expressed 
 in the Picture. 
 
 There are introduced into the Picture inci- 
 dents which the epic demands, such as the sor- 
 row of St. Peter, the attachment of Joseph ot 
 Arimathea, &c. so that the spectator has before 
 him every object necessary to the explanation 
 and unity of the story. — By the following short 
 sketch of all these objects and incidents, the 
 spectator's reading and recollection will be re- 
 freshed, and the entire subject, it is hoped, 
 brought more correctly under his view. 
 
 THE PICTURE DESCRIBED. 
 
 On the right side of the Picture are the Ro- 
 man Soldiers attendant on Pilate, who have 
 Jesus in their custody; and by their bearing the 
 standard of the Emperor Tiberius, the period is 
 marked when the occurrence took place. Their 
 commander, the Centurion, stands with a mar- 
 tial appearance, sedately considering the awful 
 event, surrounded by his family. Next to these, 
 and to a man disrobing Christ, is the main group 
 in the solemn incident, consisting of, — 1. The 
 Saviour, whom the Pencil has wished to.repre- 
 
11 
 
 sent as standing with a divine composure, while 
 w^ith a dignified and mute pensiveness and re- 
 signation, he is absorbed in the grandeur of the 
 end for which he " came into the wwld,^^ — 
 evincing this tranquillity amidst the thoughtless 
 and savage tumult of men w^ho were condemning 
 him to the most cruel and lingering death: — 
 
 2. Pilate, w^ho, presenting the Divine Captive 
 to the people for their decision, solicits the High 
 Priest and the furious assembly in his behalf: 
 he is designated as the Roman Emperor's repre- 
 
 sentative by the wreath of laurel on his head: — 
 
 3. The High Priest; he is arrayed in all the 
 
 pomp of his high station, and with a bitterness 
 of feeling long since impelling to the Saviour's 
 destruction, cries out to the multitude, " Away 
 with him, aw^ay with him, crucify him.'^ 
 
 Behind the High Priest is a throng of persons 
 — some deliberating on this extraordinary event, 
 while the many outrageously denounce their 
 hated object, and insult him with opprobrious 
 looks, gesture, and language. In the front of 
 these, having pressed forward with veneration 
 and love for the Accused, is Joseph of Arima- 
 thea, ruminating on the solemn occurrence; — 
 James the Less, feeling anxious to see the result 
 of the proceedings against his Lord; and St« 
 Peter, who, filled with remorse at his former 
 conduct, having denied his Saviour, " went out 
 and wept bitterly/^ This central line of figures 
 is terminated on the left by the murderer Ba- 
 
12 
 
 rabbas, and the two Thieves, who have been just 
 brought from their confinement, and are attended 
 by officers who are delivering them into the cus- 
 tody of others. 
 
 The fore-ground group, on the right, consists 
 of the Executioner sitting on the Cross, and 
 
 two Soldiers in their state of military subordi- 
 nation, waiting for further commands; with two 
 Youths, who are affected in a manner natural to 
 their early sensibilities, at hearing the Execu- 
 tioner explain the purpose of the different im- 
 plements of crucifixion: they are enquiring of 
 him the meaning of these preparations — he re- 
 plies in explanation, by pointing to his feet 
 with a nail, which is to pierce the feet of Jesus. 
 
 In the middle of the fore-ground is the con- 
 verted Magdalen, who, forgetful even of her sex, 
 falls on the fatal instrument of her Saviour's 
 death, and gazes at him in the full burst of de- 
 spair. 
 
 Near to the Mary Magdalen, and with her 
 hands compressed in sudden emotion, is the 
 Third Mary. All the others are the pious wo- 
 men from Galilee, who came to administer to 
 Christ, and whom he saw weeping as he passed 
 to be crucified, when he made that memorable 
 speech — Weep not for me, ye daughters of 
 Israel.^' 
 
 In the midst of these stands the beloved dis- 
 ciple John, supporting the Mother of Jesus,— 
 a representation in unison with our Saviour's 
 
13 
 
 words to his Mother when he was on the cross — 
 " Woman, behold thy son;^^ and to the beloved 
 disciple — Behold thy mother/^ The grief of 
 the Mother of Jesus it has been the design of 
 the Pencil to exhibit as being more tender, in- 
 ward, dignified, and submissive, in consequence 
 of her previous knowledge of the indispensible 
 fulfilment of the Scriptures respecting her Son 
 and Saviour, all things being made known to 
 her.'' 
 
 In the Gallery, are seen a number of persons 
 brought there by curiosity, dislike, or admira- 
 tion of the sacred Sufferer. In the center Gal- 
 lery is Herod, with his men of war'^ and Court. 
 The wife of Pilate, accompanying him, marks 
 the reconciliation of the two chiefs. She is 
 earnestly looking at the " just Person for whom 
 she had that day suffered many things in a 
 dream/^ 
 
 The preparations for the scourging and cruci- 
 fying Christ are denoted by the brutal characters 
 who are removing the gorgeous robe from his 
 shoulders, and by the indecent and malignant 
 zeal of the man who appears eager to inflict tlie 
 destined scourge. 
 
 The architectural back-ground denotes the 
 Roman magnificence wherever they had esta- 
 blished imperial sway. 
 
 OBJECT OF THE ARTIST. 
 
 It was Mr. West's object, in the delineation 
 of this subject, to excite feelings in the Spec- 
 
14 
 
 tator similar to those produced by a perusal of 
 the Sacred Texts, which so pathetically describe 
 these awful events. As part of the means for 
 accomplishing this end, several incidents, which 
 were in connection with the main circumstance, 
 were introduced, to contrast with the meekness 
 and sufferings of the " Man of Sorrows,^^ and to 
 shew the simplicity and purity of the Gospel 
 Dispensation, in opposition to the gaudy and 
 earthly objects of the Heathen and Jewish sys- 
 tems. The delineation of nearly the whole 
 scale of human passions, from the basest to 
 those which partake most of the divine nature, 
 has thus been necessarily attempted. 
 
 44. St. Paul shaking the Viper from his 
 
 Finger. 
 
 45. Christ healing the Infirm in the Temple 
 
 St. Matthew, chap. 4. 
 
 Verse 23. And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in 
 their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, 
 and healing all manner of sickness, and all manner of disease 
 among the people. 
 
 Verse 24. And his fame went throughout all Syria: and 
 they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with 
 divers diseases, and torments, and those which were possessed 
 with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those which 
 had the palsy ; and he healed them. 
 
 46. Phaeton soliciting Apollo for the Cha- 
 
 riot of the Sun. 
 
 47. Aaron staymg the Plague. 
 
15 
 
 48. The Maries at the Sepulchre. 
 
 49. The Overthrow of the Old Beast and 
 
 False Prophet. 
 
 Revelations, chap. 19. 
 
 Verse 1 1. And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white 
 horse : and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, 
 and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 
 
 Verse 12. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head 
 were many crowns : and he had a name written that no man 
 knew but he himself. 
 
 Verse 13. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in 
 blood: and his name is called the word of God. 
 
 Verse 14. And the armies which were in heaven followed 
 him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 
 
 50. Paul and Barnabas. 
 
 Acts, chap. 13. 
 
 Verse 45. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were 
 filled with envy, and spake against those things which were 
 spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. 
 
 Verse 46. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, 
 it was necessary that the word of God should first have been 
 spoken to you ; but seeing ye put it from you, and judge your- 
 selves miworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. 
 
 51. The Nativity of Our Saviour. 
 
 52. Return of the Prodigal Son. 
 
 53. Ariadne on the Sea-shore. 
 
 54. Telemachus and Mentor on the Island 
 
 of Calypso. 
 
 55. Tobit's Return. 
 
 56. Venus weeping over the Body of Adonis. 
 
 57. Portrait of the late B. West, Esq. 
 
 President of the Royal Academy, 
 
 Painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence^ P. R. A. 
 
16 
 
 58. St. Peter's First Sermon. 
 
 Acts, chap. 2. 
 
 Verse 1. And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, 
 they were all with one accord in one place. 
 
 Verse 2. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as 
 of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they 
 were sitting. 
 
 Verse 3. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues 
 like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 
 
 Verse 4. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and 
 began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them 
 utterance. 
 
 Verse 14. But Peter standing up with the eleven, lifted up 
 his voice and said unto them. Ye men of Judea, and all ye that 
 dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to 
 my words. 
 
 59. The Ascension of Our Saviour. 
 
 60. Children eating Cherries. 
 
 61. Cicero discovering the Tomb of Archi- 
 
 medes, 
 
 62. Christ among the Doctors in the Temple. 
 
 63. General Kosciusko. 
 
 64. Presentation of the Crown to William 
 
 the Conqueror. 
 
 65. Christ shewing a Little Child as the 
 
 Emblem of Heaven. 
 
 66. The Wise Men s Offering. 
 
 67. ^gisthus viewing the Body of Clj- 
 
 temnestra. 
 
 68. Moses and Aaron Sacrificing. 
 
 Exodus, chap. 29. 
 Verse 4. And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the 
 
17 
 
 door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them 
 with water. 
 
 Verse 5. And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon 
 Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and 
 the breast-plate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the 
 ephod. 
 
 Verse 6, And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and 
 put the holy crown upon the mitre. 
 
 Verse 7. Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour 
 it upon his head, and anoint him. 
 
 Verse 8. And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon 
 them. 
 
 Verse 9. And thou shalt gird them with girdles, (Aaron 
 and his sons), and put the bonnets on them : and the priest's 
 office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute : and thou shall 
 consecrate Aaron and his sons. 
 
 Verse 10. And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought 
 before the tabernacle of the congregation : and Aaron and his 
 sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock. 
 
 69- Battle of La Hogue. 
 
 70. Beggar Woman and Child. 
 
 71. Venus and Cupid. 
 
 No. 72. 
 
 DEATH ON THE PALE HORSE; 
 
 OR THE 
 
 OPENING OF THE FIRST FIVE SEALS. 
 
 Revelations, chap. 6. • 
 
 Verse 1. And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the Seals, 
 and I heard as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four 
 Beasts saying, Corne and see. 
 
 2. And I saw, and behold, a White Horse : and he that sat 
 on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him; and 
 he went forth conquering, and to conquer. 
 
 B 
 
\ 
 
 1$ 
 
 3. And when he had opened the second Seal, I heard tlie 
 second Beast say. Come, and see. 
 
 4. And there went out another Horse that was Red ; and 
 power was given to him that sat thereon to- take peace from 
 the earth, and that they should kill one another : and there was 
 given unto him a great sword. 
 
 5. And when he had opened the third Seal, I heard the 
 third Beast say. Come, and see. And I beheld, and lo, a Black 
 Horse: and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his 
 hand. 
 
 ^7. And when he had opened the fourth Seal, I heard the 
 voice of the fourth Beast say. Come and see. 
 
 8. And I Jooked, and behold, a Pale Horse, and his name 
 that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And 
 power was given unto him over the fourth part of the earth, 
 to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with 
 the beasts of the earth. 
 
 9. And when he had opened the fifth Seal, I saw under the 
 altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, 
 and for the testimony which they held. 
 
 10. And they cried with a bud voice, sayhig. How long, 
 O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our 
 blood, on them that dwell on the earth? 
 
 And 11. And white robes were given unto every one of 
 them, that they should rest for yet a little season, until their 
 fellow-servants also and their brethren, that should be killed 
 as they were, should be fulfilled. 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PICTURE. 
 
 The general effect proposed to be excited by 
 this Picture is the terrible sublime and its va- 
 rious modifications, until lost in the opposite 
 extremes of pity and horror, a sentiment which 
 painting has so seldom attempted to awaken, 
 that a particular description of the subject will 
 probably be acceptable to the Pubhc, 
 
 In poetry the same effect is produced by a 
 few abrupt and rapid gleams of description, 
 touching, as it were with fire, the features and 
 
19 
 
 edges of a general mass of awful obscurity; but 
 in painting such indistinctness would be a de- 
 fect, and imply that the Artist wanted the power 
 to pourtray the conception of his fancy. Mr. 
 West was of opinion, that, to delineate a phy- 
 sical form, which in its moral impression would 
 approximate to that of the visionary Death of 
 Milton, it was necessary to endow it if possible 
 with the appearance of superhuman strength 
 and energy: he has therefore exerted the ut- 
 most force and perspicuity of his pencil on the 
 central figure. He has depicted the King of 
 Terrors with the physiognomy of the dead in a 
 charnel-house, but animated almost to ignition 
 with inextinguishable rage — placed on his head 
 the kingly crown, and clothed the length of his 
 limbs with a spacious robe of funereal sable. 
 His uplifted right hand holds no sceptre, but is 
 entwined with the serpent which first brought 
 Death into the world, and he launches his darts 
 from both hands in all directions with a merciless 
 impartiality. His horse rushes forward with the 
 universal wildness of a tempestuous element, 
 breathing livid pestilence, and rearing and tram- 
 pling with the vehemence of unbridled fury. 
 Behind him is seen an insidious daemon bearing 
 the torch of Discord, with a monstrous progeny 
 of the reptile world — 
 
 ''All prodigious things. 
 Abominable, unutterable, and worse 
 Thau fables yet have feiguM or tear conceiv'd, 
 (jlorgous and hydras and chimeras dire.*' 
 
20 
 
 —the Ministers of Hell, who had power given 
 to thetn over the fourth part of the Earth, to kill 
 with sword, and with hunger, and with disease, 
 and with the beasts of the Earth. 
 
 The next character on the canvas in point of 
 consequence, is the Rider on the White Horse. 
 As he is supposed to represent the Gospel, it 
 was requisite that he should be invested with 
 those exterior indications of purity, excellence, 
 and dignity, which are associated in our niinds 
 with the name and offices of the Messiah. But 
 it was not the Saviour healing and confiforting 
 the afflicted, or the meek and lowly Jesus,^^ 
 bearing with resignation the scorn and hatred 
 of the scoffing multitude, that was to be repre- 
 sented — it was the King of Kings going forth 
 " conquering and to conquer,^' to bruise the 
 head of the serpent, and finally to put all things 
 under his feet. He is therefore painted with 
 a solemn countenance, expressive of a mind 
 filled with the thoughts of a great enterprise; 
 and he advances onward in his sublime career 
 with that serene majesty in which Divine Provi- 
 dence continues through the storms and com- 
 motions of the temporal world, to execute its 
 eternal purposes. He is armed with a bow and 
 arrows, the force and arguments of Truth, and 
 leaves behind him as passing vapour all those 
 terrible tumults and phantoms which make up 
 the auxiliaries and retinue of Death. At the 
 first view he seems to be only a secondary 
 
21 
 
 character, but on considering the business of 
 the scene, it will be obvious that he is the great 
 lieader, and that all the others but follow in his 
 train, and carry into effect the inferior objects 
 of his heavenly mission, as he goes towards that 
 glorious region, in which appear the souls of 
 them that were slain ibr the word of God, and 
 for the testimony which they held/^ ; * . ' 
 
 The third of the apocalyptical characters is 
 the Rider on the Red Horse. Mr. West has 
 represented him simply as a warrior armed with 
 
 the great sword/^ He is advancing in the 
 same direction as the Messiah, thereby intimat- 
 ing that those wars which have accompanied 
 the progress of the Christian religion, and of 
 which he is the type and emblem, are a part of 
 the divine scheme for effectually diffusing it 
 throughout the whole earth. It will be ob- 
 served, that the horse in this instance is capari- 
 soned as a war horse; but those of Death and 
 the Messiah are without reins, being guided 
 only by the will of their riders. The prophetic 
 vista beyond this character shews in one divi- 
 sion the Romans under Titus returning with the 
 spoils of Jerusalem, and in the other Crusaders 
 contending with Sacacens. 
 
 Behind the Messiah and the Warrior, the 
 Rider on the Black Horse is seen coming for- 
 ward. He is represented with the steady coun- 
 tenance of a man scrupulous in his estimate of 
 things ; stern in his decisions, and likely to 
 
22 
 
 require the execution of his adjudications with 
 the unrelenting solemnity of a terrible judge. 
 He bears those balances in his hands in which 
 mankind are ^' weighed and found wanting/^ 
 and Pestilence and Famine are seen before him 
 in the form of a wretched woman and an ema- 
 ciated man, absorbed in the feelings of their 
 own particular misery. He follows the two 
 preceding characters, and is supposed to typify 
 that sceptical philosophy, which affects to esti- 
 mate Christianity by the temporary circumstan- 
 ces that have arisen in the course of its progress, 
 while it is itself but a part of the great cloud of 
 mysteries which envelopes the present and fu- 
 ture purposes of Religion. 
 
 The domestic group in the foreground repre- 
 sents a family belonging to that class of society 
 who are supposed to be safe beyond the reach 
 of the ordinary casualties of life, but who are 
 still not farther remote from the darts of Death. 
 It is here that the Painter has attempted to ex- 
 cite the strongest degree of pity which his sub- 
 ject admitted, and to contrast the surrounding 
 horrors with images of tenderness and beauty. 
 The mother, in the prime of life, is represented 
 as having expired in the act of embracing her 
 children, and the woe of sudden death is still 
 more emphatically expressed in the lovely infant 
 that has fallen from her breast. The husband 
 deprecates the wrath of the hideous spectre that 
 advances over them all, while the surviving 
 
23 
 
 daughter catches hold of her mother, sensible 
 only to the loss which she has sustained by thq 
 death of so kind a parent. 
 
 In the other groups, which form the right- 
 hand division in the Picture, the Artist has 
 shewn the anarchy of the combats of men with 
 the beasts of the earth . The chief of the human 
 figures in this division, is one in the act of 
 launching his javelin at a lion, which has seized 
 and brought down a man and his horse. In the 
 character with the javelin, Mr. West has endea- 
 voured to delineate that species of courageous 
 muscular strength, which enables some men to 
 face with an undaunted countenance the rage 
 of the most ferocious animals. The sedate bra- 
 very of his look affords a fine contrast to the 
 alarm and terror of the man who is seized by 
 the enraged lion, which he had wounded with 
 his spear. Below them is a youth who has 
 broken his lance in the combat, and received a 
 fatal blow on the head; behind them, a horse- 
 man comes forward with an uplifted sword, in 
 the act of striking at a lioness that is springing 
 upon him and his horse. But the story of this 
 group would have been incomplete, had the 
 lions not been shewn conquerors to a certain 
 extent, by the two w^ounded men who are 
 thrown down as overcome beneath the hoofs 
 of the horse of Death. The one with his 
 back towards the spectator seems to regain his 
 
24 
 
 strength, and by still holding his dagger, indi- 
 cates a wish to renew the fight; the other, irre- 
 coverably dashed out of the combat, and having 
 lost his weapon, grasps at the head of his horse 
 with a useless exertion of bewildered sense. 
 The pyramidal form of this large division is 
 perfected by a furious bull torn by dogs as he 
 tosses on his horns the body of a youth. 
 
 In this portion of the picture the firmament 
 is rent asunder by bursts of lightning, and a 
 distant group is seen startled by the death of 
 a young man who has been struck with the 
 thunderbolt, and whose friends support him in 
 their arms. The interest of the episode is en- 
 creased by the figure of a young woman flying 
 from the scene in terror, but who is still in- 
 duced to look back as if constrained by affection 
 for the victim. 
 
 The principle of destruction is exemplified 
 through every part of the subject. In the upper 
 region of the clouds the audacious eagle is seen 
 pouncing on the heron, and near the dead ser- 
 pent in the foreground the affectionate dove 
 deplores its mate that has just expired. 
 
 J. G. 
 
25 
 
 73. Cupid and Psyche. 
 
 74. Madona and Child. 
 
 75. The Overthrow of Pharaoh and his Host. 
 
 Exodus, chap. 14. 
 
 Verse 26. And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine 
 hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the 
 Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. 
 
 Verse 27. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, 
 and the sea returned to his strength when the morning ap- 
 peared, and the Egyptians fled against it: and the Lord over- 
 threw the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. 
 
 Verse 28. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots 
 and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into 
 the sea after them : there remained not so much as one of them. 
 
 76. Death of General Wolfe. 
 
 77. Christ and the Angel. 
 
 78. Chrjses invoking the Vengeance of 
 
 Apollo against the Greeks. 
 
 God of the silver bow, thy shafts employ. 
 Avenge thy servant, and the Greeks destroy; 
 Thus Chryses prayed, the favVing pow'r attends. 
 And from Olympus' lofty tops descends. 
 
 Pope's Homer's Iliad, book 
 
 79- Julius Csesar's Regret on reading the 
 Life of Alexander. 
 
 80. A Landscape, View from the Terrace 
 at Windsor looking over Datchet. 
 
 81. A View of Tangier Mill, near Windsor. 
 
26 
 
 82. Moses and Aaron before Pliaraoh. 
 
 Exodus, chap. 7. 
 
 Verse 8. And the Lord spake unto Moses, and unto Aaron, 
 saying. 
 
 Verse 9, When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew 
 a miracle for you : then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy 
 rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent. 
 
 Verse 10. And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, 
 and they did so as the Lord had commanded: and Aaron cast 
 down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it 
 became a serpent. 
 
 Verse H. Then Pharaoh also called the wise men, and the 
 sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt they also did in like 
 manner with their inchantments. 
 
 Verse 12. For they cast down every man his rod, and they 
 became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. 
 
 Verse 13. And he hardened Pharaoh's heart, that he heark- 
 ened not unto them ; as the Lord had said. 
 
 83. Mark Anthony shewing the Robe and 
 
 Willof Csesar. 
 
 84. Cupids. 
 
 85. The Infant St. John. 
 
27 
 
 3fnner 9Room. 
 
 86. Omnia vincit Amor (over the arch). 
 
 87. The Bard. 
 
 O9 a rock whose haughty brow. 
 Frowns o'er old Conway's foaming flood ; 
 " Rob'd in the sable garb of woe, ; 
 With haggard eyes the poet stood/' — Gray's Poems. 
 
 88. Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh. 
 
 89. The Ascension of our Saviour. 
 
 90. Christ HeaUng the Sick in the Temple. 
 
 91. The Death of Sir Phihp Sydney, Epa- 
 
 minondas, and Chevalier Bayard, in 
 one frame. 
 
 92. Narcissus. 
 
 93. Characters in the Streets of London. 
 
 94. Overthrow of Pharaoh and his Host. 
 
 95. General Johnson saving a wounded 
 
 French Officer from the Tomahawk 
 of a North American Indian. 
 
 96. Saint Margaret of Scotland. 
 
 97* Ophelia before the King— Hamlet. 
 98. The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from 
 Paradise. 
 
28 
 
 99* Surrender of Calais. 
 
 100. Edward the Third crossing the River 
 
 Somme. 
 
 101. The Institution of the Order of the 
 
 Garter. 
 
 102. Edward the Third embracing his Son 
 
 after the Battle of Cressy. 
 
 103. Raising the Shunamite's Son. 
 
 104. Paetus and Arria. 
 
 105. Tobit and the Angel. 
 
 106. Saint Thomas a Becket. 
 
 107. A Landscape. 
 
 108. His late Majesty resuming Royal 
 
 Power in 1789- 
 
 109. King Edward the Third crowning 
 
 Ribemond at Calais. 
 
 1 10. Joshua crossing the River Jordan with 
 
 the Ark. 
 
 Joshua, chap. 3. 
 
 Verse 11. Behold the ark of the covenant of the Lord of 
 all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan. 
 
 Verse 17. And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant 
 of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, 
 and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the 
 people were passed clean over Jordan. 
 
 111. Edward the Black Prince receiving 
 
 King John of France Prisoner. 
 
29 
 
 112. Queen Phillippa at the Battle of 
 
 NeviFs Cross. 
 
 113. Sheep Washing. 
 
 114. Mr. West's Garden, upon which the 
 present large Room was erected. 
 
 115. The Good Samaritan. 
 
 116. Psyche obtaining the guarded Water. 
 
 117. Mr. West and Family. 
 
 118. The Prophet Jeremiah. 
 
 119* Daniel interpreting the Writing on 
 the Wall. 
 
 Daniel, chap. 5. 
 
 Verse 17. Then Daniel answered and said, before the King, 
 Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another: 
 yet I will read the writing unto the King, and make known to 
 him the interpretation. 
 
 120. Moses receiving the Laws, 
 
 Exodus, chap. 31. 
 
 Verse 1 2. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying. 
 
 Verse 17, It is a sign between me and the children of Israel 
 for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and 
 on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed. 
 
 Verse 1 8. And he gave unto Moses when he had made an 
 end of communing with him, upon mount Sinai, two tables of 
 testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God. 
 
 121. The Prophet Isaiah. 
 
 122. Iris coming to Priam. 
 
 Then down her bow the winged Iris drives, 
 And swift at Priam's mournful court arrives ; 
 Where the sad sons beside their father's throne 
 Sate bath'd in tears, and answer'd groan for groan. 
 And all amidst them lay the hoary sire. 
 
 Pope's Homer's Iliad, Book xxiv. 
 
123. View of Cranford Bridge. 
 
 124. The first Picture painted by the late 
 
 Mr. West, when a child. 
 
 125. Boys and Grapes. 
 
 The last Picture painted hy the late Mi\ West. 
 
 126. Noah Sacrificing. 
 
 Genesis, chap. 8. , 
 
 Verse 20. And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord ; and 
 took of every clean beast and of every clean fowl, and offered 
 burnt offerings on the altar. 
 
 127* The Stolen Kiss. 
 
 128. View in Windsor Great Park. 
 
 129. Ehjah raising the Widow's Son. 
 
 I. Kings, chap. 17. 
 
 Verse 17. And it came to pass after these things, that the 
 son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick ; and his 
 sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. 
 
 Verse 1 8. And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do 
 with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call 
 my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? 
 
 Verse 23. And Elijah took the child, and brought him down 
 out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him* unto his 
 mother: and Elijah said. See, thy son liveth. 
 
 130. A design for a Monument for the 
 
 late Lord Nelson. 
 
 131. Death of Admiral Loni Nelson. 
 
 132. Cupid and Psyche. 
 
133. View of Windsor Castle from the 
 
 Great Park. 
 
 134. The Paddington Canal Boats. 
 
 135. Nathan and David. 
 
 II. Samuel, chap. 12. 
 Verse 7. And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. 
 
 136. The Messiah. 
 
 Revelations, chap. 1. 
 
 Verse 7. Behold he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall 
 see him : and they also which pierced him : and all kindreds 
 of the earth shall wail because of him, even so, amen. 
 
 137. Chryseis restored to her Father. 
 
 138. Cave of Despair. 
 
 " That darkesome cave they enter, where they find 
 
 That cursed man low sitting on the ground, 
 ** Musing full sadly in his sullein mind; 
 
 His griesly lockes long growen and unbound, 
 ^' Disordred hong about his shoulders round, 
 " And hid his face, through which his hollow eyne 
 " Lookt deadly dull, and stared as astound; 
 " His raw-bone cheekes, through penurie and pine, 
 " Were shronke into his jawes, as he did never dine. 
 
 " His garment, nought but many ragged clouts, 
 " With thornes together pind and patched was, 
 " The which his naked sides he wrapt abouts ; 
 *' And him beside there lay upon the gras 
 " A dreary corse, whose life away did pas. 
 
 All wallowed in his own yet luke-warme blood, 
 " That from his wound yet welled fresh, alas I 
 '* In which a rusty knife fast fixed stood, 
 " And made an open passage for the gushing flood. 
 
32 
 
 139. The Crucifixion of our Saviour. 
 
 St, Luke, chap. 23. 
 
 Verse 44. And it was about the sixth hour, and there was 
 darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. 
 
 Verse 45. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the 
 temple was rent in the midst. 
 
 St. Matthew, chap. 27. 
 
 Verse 52. And the graves were opened: and many bodies 
 of the saints which slept arose. 
 
 Verse 54. Now when the centurion, and they that were 
 with him, watching Jesus, saw the earth quake, and those 
 things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, TRULY 
 THIS WAS THE SON OF GOD. 
 
 140. Paetus and Arria. 
 
 141. Abraham going to Sacrifice. 
 
 142. Tlie Golden Age. 
 
 CHARLES SMART, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED BY C. H, REYNELL, BROAD STREET, GOLDEN SQUARE*