SONNET III.
Picture XLVII.
The Shepherdess of the Alps watering her Plants.—An Evening Scene.
Qual in colle aspro, &c.
As an exhibition opened for the second time has not the charm of novelty to attract the public; so, unfortunately, at its close the Milton Gallery, notwithstanding the patronage of the Royal Academy, was found to be even less productive during this than the previous season; and after four months of anxiety and disappointment, Fuseli closed it on the 18th of July 1800. Thus terminated the exhibition of one of the greatest efforts of genius ever executed by one artist. It is lamentable to contemplate that, after the labour of so many years, the energies exerted by the painter, and the privations which he endured during the time he was executing these pictures, they should have been met with so much of neglect from the public[47]. Upon the closing of this Gallery, Fuseli thus expressed himself to a friend, "I am fed with honour, and suffered to starve, if they could starve me."
Fuseli sometimes lounged about the Milton Gallery to hear the critical and other remarks of the visitors. On one occasion, a coarse-looking man left his party, and coming up to him, said, "Pray, Sir, what is that picture?" Fuseli answered, "It is the bridging of Chaos: the subject from Milton."—"No wonder," said he, "I did not know it, for I never read Milton, but I will."—"I advise you not," said Fuseli, "for you will find it a d—d tough job."
His friends felt in how embarrassed a situation Fuseli must be placed by these unsuccessful exhibitions; and they determined to relieve him by becoming purchasers of some of the pictures. The Countess of Guilford bought the "Lycidas;" Lord Rivers, "Satan calling up his Legions;" Sir Mark Sykes, Bart., "The Lubbar Fiend;" Thomas Coutts, Esq., "The Lazar House;" John Julius Angerstein, Esq. (at the recommendation of W. Lock, Esq.) "Satan starting from the touch of Ithuriel's spear;" "The Vision of the Deluge," and "Eve, newly created, led to Adam;" William Young Ottley, Esq., "Sin pursued by Death," and "The Dream of Eve;" and William Roscoe, Esq. with that friendship and liberality which he always exercised towards Fuseli, purchased pictures to the amount of £300; which, however, did not form a part of this exhibition.
Prior to the purchase of the picture of "The Deluge," by Mr. Angerstein, Fuseli wrote the following letter to Mr. William Lock.
"London, 11th August, 1800.
"As it may be expected, and indeed necessary, that I should inspect, and perhaps correct the pictures sent under Mr. Wyall's direction to Mr. Angerstein's, I take the liberty of applying through you to Mr. Lock, to be informed when my admission for that purpose may be attended with the least inconvenience to Mr. Angerstein's arrangements.
"The greater part of my exhibition, the rejected family of a silly father, are now again rolled up, or packed together against the walls of my study to be seasoned for dust, the worm, and oblivion. Τι γάρ μοι καὶ μακροῖς αὐλοῖς,[48] said Otho when in possession of his wish; I have been punished by obtaining mine. It cannot be supposed, however, that I should be quite indifferent to the fate of my bantlings; and as 'the expectations of ignorance are indefinite,' I venture to ask, whether you think it quite impracticable to persuade Mr. Angerstein to find a place for 'The Deluge?' It is not quite so wide as the smaller picture in his possession; and though, if placed on the other side of the Satan, it would be less honourable to me than the company of Rubens; it would be more in tune with the rest.
"It would be presumption in me, without authority from you, to congratulate you on what more than rumour has told me, of your intended change of state: of this, however, you are sure, that nothing conducive to the happiness of William Lock can be more interesting to any man than his
"Respects.
"Fuseli."
"To William Lock, Jun. Esq.
Norbury Park."
CHAPTER IX.
Fuseli's Lectures at the Royal Academy.—Letters respecting them from Mr. Farington.—Letter from Sir Henry Englefield, on the subject of the ancient Vases.—Death of Fuseli's friend, Lavater.—Fuseli's Visit to Paris in 1802.—His Letter from thence to Mr. James Moore.—His acquaintance with the French Painters David and Gerard.—Results of his Visit.—Letter from Mr. Roscoe.—Fuseli's Remarks on some of the Paintings in the Louvre.—Letter from Mr. Smirke.—Fuseli elected Keeper of the Royal Academy.—Incidental Anecdote.—Letter to Mr. Joseph Johnson.
In March 1801, Fuseli delivered three lectures on painting, at the Royal Academy, which were numerously attended, and he gained much applause.
The feelings of the Academicians, the students, and the public, with respect to the lectures, will be shewn by the following letters from Joseph Farington, Esq. R.A. the friend of Fuseli, and a gentleman who at this time took a lead in all the affairs of the Royal Academy.
"dear sir,
"Though I did not attend your lecture last night, I was not the less interested for you, and, before the evening closed, had the satisfaction to receive, from one who was present, an account that was equal to my wishes. Be assured that you have made a due impression on the minds of the members, and have added to the credit of the Academy, and to your own reputation.
"I shall hope to see you soon.
"Believe me to be, dear Sir,
"Your's most sincerely,
"Jos. Farington."
"To Henry Fuseli, Esq."
"Tuesday, March 24, 1801.
"dear sir,
"I have still more reason to congratulate you on the effect of your last night's discourse, which made a still stronger impression in your favour. Go on, for the honour of the Academy, your own credit, and, I hope, interest.
"Dear Sir,
"Your's truly,
"Jos. Farington."
"To Henry Fuseli, Esq."
"March 31, 1801.
"dear sir,
"Last night I saw Mr. Daniell, and this morning another person who was at the Academy last night. The room, I am informed, was more crowded; a proof of spreading reputation, and the satisfaction general.
"More encouragement to succeed cannot be required.
"Dear Sir,
"Your's very sincerely,
"Jos. Farington."
"To Henry Fuseli, Esq."
These lectures Fuseli published in the month of May 1801, in a quarto volume, which was dedicated to his friend, William Lock, Esq. of Norbury Park. As they have been long before the Public, it is unnecessary now to speak of their merit; suffice it to say, that they have been translated into the German, French, and Italian languages.
The publication of Fuseli's lectures having made a great sensation among artists, and that on ancient art in particular having been much canvassed by them as well as by antiquaries, he wished to gain, and, if he saw fit, to embody in future editions, as much information as could be obtained on this subject; he therefore made application to his friend the late Sir Henry Englefield, Bart. for his observations upon the Vases of the ancients, commonly called Etruscan, which that gentleman gave him in the following letter:
"Tilney Street, August 24, 1803.
"dear sir,
"At your desire, I communicate to you such observations on the ancient Vases, commonly called Etruscan, as a minute examination of many of the finest specimens in the magnificent collection of Mr. Thomas Hope, and the select and very beautiful one belonging to Mr. Edwards, have enabled me to make, particularly with respect to the mechanical process used in the decoration of them.
"The material of these vases is clay of a very fine and close quality, extremely light, and of a colour nearly the same in all, a light and agreeable orange red.
"They all, without exception, are covered with a varnish or glazing of a dark colour, but not in all of the same tint; in some, it has a greenish hue, and a lustre of a metallic appearance; this is most striking in those found near Nola. In many, the varnish is of a brown black, like asphaltum.
"The vases may be ranked in four classes.
"1. Those covered with varnish without ornament or painting of any kind.
"2. Those which bear on the natural ground of the ware, figures in black varnish.
"3. Those whose figures are left in red, the vase being covered with varnish.
"4. Vases covered entirely with varnish, on which ornaments are painted in colours.
"Of the first sort it will be necessary to say but little. Many of the most exquisitely formed Nolan vases are of this sort. The varnish appears to have been laid on while the vase was on the lathe. The parallel strokes visible on the surface of the varnish, and its extreme equality of tint, prove this. No better mode can be devised for varnishing, except dipping the ware into the liquid varnish; and this was not done in these vases, as the varnish never covers the hollow of the foot, nor descends deep within the neck. I cannot at all say whether the vase was varnished while yet wet, or first suffered to dry, or even baked a first time, as is the process in much of our common modern glazed earthenware.
"The second sort bear in general marks of the most remote antiquity. The figures are universally of a stiff and meagre form, the drapery close, and the folds few and hard. Yet in many the composition is good, and the action of the figures vigorous. They exactly resemble in style the bronzes still remaining of Etruscan work.
"The mode pursued in painting them was this:
"The intended figure was painted without any previous discoverable outline in varnish, and then resembled exactly those figures so common under the name of Silhouettes. When the varnish was quite dry and hard, the features, the limbs, and the folds of the drapery, &c. were scratched through it with a pointed tool, which was applied with such force as to cut some depth into the clay of the vase. This sort of outlining was sometimes carried round parts of the contour, which appeared to the artist not sufficiently distinct without it. The hands and fingers are often thus partially scratched out. Parts of the drapery and ornaments on the heads of the figures were then covered with a coat of coloured paint. Violet occurs most frequently; often a green, and sometimes white. In some vases of the most ancient and rudest appearances, animals, particularly birds, are coloured not only with these colours, but also red and yellow; and the appearance and style of these vases have a great resemblance to the Egyptian paintings on their mummy chests. The vases of this sort are said to be universally found in the deepest graves, so deep indeed, that over them sepulchral chambers of a later date, with vases of a totally different character are often found. That the colours above-mentioned were put on after the outline was scratched in, is ascertained by the circumstance of the colours having in many instances run into, and partially filled up, the strokes engraved in the vases. This species of painting is evidently the first improvement on the simple Skiagrams.
"The vases of the third description, namely those whose figures are left in red, on a ground of dark varnish, are by much the most common of any, and are found of all degrees of excellence, from the most careless and slight finishing, to the most exquisite work; but in all, the style of design is essentially different from those described above, with the figures in black. In the red figures, however negligently executed, there is a fulness of form, and a freedom of drapery perfectly similar to the remains of Greek art which have reached us, whether in sculpture or coins.
"The process also of this execution is entirely different from the second sort, and will be now minutely described from repeated observations of many of the most exquisite of them, made not only with the naked eye, but with glasses of high magnifying power.
"The first thing painted on these vases was an outline of the figures, not only of their contour, but the markings of the features, muscles, folds of the drapery, ornaments, &c. This outline, in those vases which are of fine execution, was made with an instrument which carried a very fine and equal point, and at the same time left a very full body of the colour used on the vase. The colour itself appears to have been of a thick consistence; for if the strokes, even the finest, (which are as fine as could be made by a good pen,) are carefully examined with a magnifier in a side light, it will be distinctly perceived that there is a slight hollow in the middle of each, owing to the colour having flowed round the point which traced it, and met behind it,—just as we see in a road where the mud is of a semi-fluid consistence, that the track of a wheel is filled in with the pasty mire, leaving a depressed line in the centre of the rut.
"It is impossible to say whether the instrument used for these outlines was of the nature of a pen or a brush; yet I am inclined to think from the flowing appearance of the lines, that a firm and finely pointed brush or pencil was used. Whichever it was, the hands which guided it possessed a steadiness and freedom of execution, almost incredible. Lines of a great length and difficult curvatures are carried over the convex surface of the vases, without the least wavering or indecision, or any lifting the point from the vase, or any repetition, or filling up of the stroke. An attentive examination of the outline will ascertain this fact beyond a doubt, and a further proof of it may be drawn from the few instances in which strokes of very great length have been done at twice, particularly in a vase of great size and admirable execution in the collection of Mr. Hope, representing probably the story of Triptolemus, where the long parallel lines marking the feathers of the wing of a Genius have been suspended about half way; and no particular care has been taken to conceal the junction of the lines.
"This vase also furnishes a very rare and instructive instance of what, by artists, are called pentimenti, or changes of design. The wheel of a chariot and part of the arms of a figure, with a patera or cup in the hand, have been considerably varied; and the first outline is still visible like a faint red chalk stroke, but without any appearance of enlargement or smearing, so that it should seem that the false stroke was scraped off by a sharp edge, carefully applied to the surface of the vase when the varnish or paint was nearly dry.
"That the outline was performed with this freedom and celerity, and scarcely ever altered, may be further inferred, from the great inaccuracies of drawing so frequent even in those vases whose design and execution are of the very highest class. Perhaps an absolutely unerring precision of hand has never been the lot of any artist, however excellent. The drawings of the greatest masters prove that they found many things to alter in their most careful first lines; and the union of excellence and defect on the vases can, I think, only be accounted for in the supposition of an unaltered line.
"What has been hitherto said of the mode of outlining this sort of vases is applicable only to the finish of them. In those of inferior finish, the outlines are much thicker, and laid on with a less body of colour; and in many of the coarsest, there is reason to think that no outline at all was made, but that the figures were merely left red in the general wash of the vase, with the dark-coloured varnish, and the outlines of the features, folds of the drapery, &c. were put in with a large brush, and in a very careless manner. Indeed, on the very finest of the vases, the subordinate decorations, such as the honeysuckle (as it is called) ornament so frequent under the handles, were simply left red in the general wash of varnish over the body of the vase; at least no outline of them is now discoverable. To return to the painting of the finest vases. The outline already described being perfectly dry, the artist with a brush or other similar instrument which bore a full body of colour and made a stroke of about a quarter of an inch in breadth, went carefully round the contours of the outlined figures. In this operation, an opportunity was given to make slight alterations in the design, and in some degree to amend the contour. This seems to have been often done; for the original outline is often covered in parts by this wash, and appears projecting from the surface of the vase under it; affording also a proof that the outline was dry and hard before this wash was laid on. Frequently, also, this wash does not come quite up to the original outline; but in general the wash follows the outline in a most steady and masterly manner. Probably at this time the hair of the figures was put in with a thin wash of the same varnish or colour, managed with peculiar freedom and dexterity, and so washed out to nothing at the extremities of the flowing curls of the tresses, as to have the lightest and at the same time the most finished effect. It is to be observed that the hair, which in some parts is as dark as the ground of the vase, is not carried quite to the ground, but that a small space is left red round the hair, in order to relieve it from the ground of the vase.
"The truth of the contour being thus secured by this narrow border of ground carefully laid on the covering, the remaining surface of the vase with its varnish, might be safely entrusted to an inferior hand. That the varnish was laid on at twice, is evident by inspection of any well-finished vase, where the first narrow line of varnish is distinctly visible under the general wash.
"This process finished the greater part of the vases, even the finest; but on some, particularly those of the largest size, when every thing else was quite dry, some parts of the design were coloured with washes of two different tints. The horses and parts of the armour are painted with white, which when dry is opaque, but when wetted becomes nearly transparent. Parts of the drapery and ornaments round the necks and on the heads of the figures, and some of the shields, are painted yellow, and several small flowers and ornaments of foliage, which are interspersed among the figures, are painted in white and yellow. The internal outlines and muscles of the horses are painted with lines of a light orange on the white; and the white shields are ornamented in the same manner. That the white horses were painted after the original black outline of the human figures was dry, is evidently seen in the magnificent vase in the possession of Mr. Edwards. In that vase a leg of one of the horses comes across the thigh and drapery of a figure, and the original outline of that figure is visible under the white colour which forms the horse's leg. All these colours are so fixed on the vases, probably by fire, that they resist the action of aquafortis.
"The vases of the last sort, namely, those which have ornaments in white and other colours painted on a black ground, which covered the whole surface of the vase, are very rarely to be met with. Mr. Hope possesses several, which Sir William Hamilton told me were all found in one sepulchral chamber, in which none of any other sort were placed. The cause of this singularity it were vain to enquire. No figures are represented on these vases, but the ornaments are light wreathes of ivy, or vine-leaves, with masks and other bacchanalian symbols. The execution is careless, but spirited; the paint used seems of the same quality with that above described as covering the horses, &c. in vases of the third sort; and the mode of applying it appears in no wise to differ from what would be now pursued. It is not, therefore, necessary to say any thing further on this subject.
"It is singular that on vases so profusely adorned with painting, scarcely an instance of any thing like bas-relief or sculpture of any kind occurs; on the handles of Mr. Edwards's great Vase, two full faces in very flat relief are seen; but, con rispetto parlando, is it quite certain that these handles are entirely ancient?
"These are the observations which a very careful examination has enabled me to make on the mechanical process used in adorning the ancient earthern Vases called Etruscan. To your judgment, Dear Sir, I submit them, confident that you will, Si quid novisti rectius istis, Candidus—rectify my errors.
"I am, with sincere regard,
"Your obliged and faithful,
"H. Englefield."
"To Henry Fuseli, Esq. R. A."
Early in the year (1801) Fuseli was much dejected by the intelligence of the death of his old and esteemed friend and fellow-student, Lavater. This singular man fell a sacrifice to what he considered his clerical duty; for, when Zurich was occupied by the French, in an attempt to afford consolation and alleviation to the sufferings of his townsmen, which usually accompany the presence of an invading army, he was stabbed by the bayonet of a soldier, under which wound he languished for some months, and closed a valuable and useful life on the 2nd of January, 1801.
The treaty of peace which was signed at Amiens in 1802, afforded the English an opportunity of visiting France, and examining those treasures of art which Buonaparte had torn by violence from Italy, Germany, and Holland, when those countries were subjected to him, in consequence of the conquests of the French armies. Fuseli being determined to view them, went to Paris, accompanied by some friends, with the intention also of collecting materials for publishing, for the information of travellers, a critical account of the principal pictures and statues which then adorned the Louvre. The party consisted of Mr. Farington, R.A. Mr. James Carrick Moore, Mr. Halls a young artist, and himself.
Urgent business compelled Mr. Moore to return to London earlier than he had anticipated; but the remainder of the party passed six weeks in Paris, during the months of September and October, whence Fuseli wrote to Mr. Moore the following letter:—
"dear moore,
"I had once a valuable friend in the Rev. Mr. Whalley, who took great pains to improve me by his correspondence; he was able at all times to write faster than he could think; from which you probably might be led to surmise that his epistles would have been fuller of news than observations—you would be mistaken; they were essays crammed with trite observations, such as delight in a magazine;—news I never heard from him. If I except you, I must own that all my correspondents on your side of the water are very like him. Your letter from Dieppe gave me some useful information, such as might preserve my knee from another synovia,[49] or my neck from a crick; and if you took more delight to penetrate my character than to fit me for a trip across the water, in your last, you have at least convinced me that you thought more of me when you wrote, than of yourself,—a phenomenon that at once decides your character in my mind, and furnishes me with a master-key for your heart; in any other way you would have found poor Harry
'Too shallow, much too shallow,
To sound the bottom of his Jemmy's mind.'
"I am, I hope, in the last week of my stay in this paradise of mud, and fricandeaus. God! what additional ecstasies you have lost by your precipitate flight! So many pictures, which would have exercised your critical faculty; the Apotheosis of St. Petronilla, by Guercino, in which a colossal dowdy on this side of the grave is transformed to a celestial beauty on the other; the Fontana d' Amore, by Titian, a picture which transports you to the plains of Arcadia, or the vale of Enna; the whole-length of Cardinal Bentivoglio, by Vandyck—a soul personified—a male soul, I mean: for the mirror of all female spirit, soul, mind, and graces, would have been held up to you by Titian again, in the portrait of his Mistress untwining her ringlets, or, as Petrarch would have called them, her
'Crespe chiome d'or puro lucenti.'
"Madame, dont je baise les mains, will explain this to you: and so much for what you have lost at the Museum.
"Since your departure, we have been joined by Mr. Robert Smirke, than whom no young man I ever liked more, and only wish and fondly hope he will say the same of me, when he talks of old men. I have been with him to see the house of Madame Ricamier, the ultimate standard of Parisian taste, whose enchanting bedchamber he has not only measured, but drawn with a taste which improves it. As Harriet loves Latin as well as Italian, I will gratify you both with the inscription on the pedestal of a small marble figure of Silence at the head of the bed. 'Tutatur amores et somnos conscia lecti.' Halls, who sees, observes, says little, laughs more, is frequently indisposed, and looks forward to England, requests to be remembered to you, and may be sure of his request. The inquisitive traveller, my other companion and manager, does the same, but has not forgotten that you would not let him stretch his legs on one of the beds at St. Juste.[50] He and I have been presented to the "Section des belles lettres et des beaux arts" of the Institute at the Louvre, where we were equally tired, I by understanding, and he by not understanding, what we heard.—My love to Graham—adieu, till you see me in Grosvenor-street.
"Henry Fuseli."
"10 Vendemiaire, in Christian,
2d October, 1802."
"I have not yet heard from my wife: if you should be led by your calls into the neighbourhood of Queen Anne-street, and would tell them I am coming, you will do a kind thing."
The society of Fuseli, while he was in Paris, was courted by the principal painters of the French school. David, whom he had known at Rome, paid him much attention, and wished to introduce him to the First Consul; this he however declined, as well as many other civilities which this eminent painter offered, for he frequently said, "When he looked at David, he could never divest his mind of the atrocities of the French Revolution, nor separate them from the part which he had then acted, for they were stamped upon his countenance."[51] Gerard also showed Fuseli great respect, and on every occasion expressed a high admiration of his genius.
Every one who visits the galleries of the Louvre to examine its pictures and statues critically and with care, is convinced that much of their effect is lost (particularly that of the pictures) in consequence of its being generally lighted on each side by windows, and only a small proportion of the picture-gallery by sky-lights. Fuseli, who had seen and recollected most, if not all, of the celebrated pictures, of the Italian schools in particular, in the churches or palaces for which they were painted, and to which the artists had accommodated their light and shadow, was particularly struck with the difference in their effect, and deplored their removal. He likewise perceived with great regret, the injury which they had sustained and were sustaining from the hands of the French picture-cleaners, or, as they are generally called, picture-restorers; and that, among others, the celebrated "Transfiguration," by Raphael, although it had suffered less than most, was in some degree impaired.
As the peace between England and France was of short duration, one of the objects of Fuseli's visit was lost, and his observations on the works of art then in the Louvre were not therefore published. The memoranda which he made were afterwards incorporated either in his "Lectures on Painting," in his "Fragment of a History of Art," or in the observations on the works of artists, in his editions of "Pilkington's Dictionary of Painters."
In the year 1803, he gave a picture to "The Union" Society at Liverpool: which he presented to the members, to use his own words, "as a trifling pledge of gratitude to a country which has reared the humble talents which I possess." Mr. Roscoe acknowledged the receipt of this picture by the following letter:—
"my dear friend,
"I have waited, day by day, for the last month, in expectation of either seeing you or hearing from you; and my patience being now quite exhausted, I can no longer refrain from enquiring what can be the reason of this alteration, or, at least, long protraction, of your intended visit to this place.
"In my last, I endeavoured to express the pleasure I felt in the hope of seeing you so soon, and only requested that I might have a line before you left London, that I might arrange matters (being now a man of business) so as to enjoy as much of your company as possible. We are now near the middle of November; the fine weather leaving us, and winter fast approaching; yet I still flatter myself that I may see you, and shall do so, till I hear from you to the contrary. Why not spend your Christmas with us, when days are short, and little professional time can be lost by it? At all events, let me hear from you, that I may either continue to enjoy the hope of seeing you, or reconcile myself as well as I can to my disappointment.
"It is now two or three weeks since the large case of pictures came safe to hand; "The Union" is placed in its proper station, where it has an uncommonly fine light, and looks extremely well. The printer of one of our papers wants to say something fine about it, and has called upon me for a description. Can you suggest what I shall say as to the allegorical part of it, or shall I try to do the best I can, both with respect to that and the execution? which could not have been more suitable, or had a better effect, if you had seen the place. I know no method that would have so direct a tendency to encourage the high style of painting in this country, as the introduction of good pictures into public buildings, and even churches; on which last subject, I hope to show you some remarks, which will appear in my Life of Leo X. now almost ready for the press. I allow this would be little satisfaction to the artist, if he was to give his time, talents, canvass, and paint, as some people do. You and I will, however, settle this point, I doubt not, to our mutual satisfaction.
"Having read thus far, take up your pen without delay, and let me at least once more see your magnanimous pothooks on the back of a letter, addressed to your ever faithful and affectionate friend,
"W. Roscoe."
"Liverpool, 12th Nov. 1803."
"P.S. The Allegro and Penseroso are safe at Liverpool, but are much too large for any situation I can give them at Allerton."
In order to give some notion of Fuseli's projected work, for which chiefly he went to Paris, the following criticisms upon some of the pictures then in the Gallery of the Louvre may be acceptable: these he was kind enough to offer to me when I was about to visit France in the year 1814.