A certain country family, whose reason for coming to town was the intention of having their pictures drawn, and principally that of the hopeful heir, brought him to the artist. Seeing that a little converse with the world would soon wear off his awkward rusticity, instead of drawing him in a green coat with spaniels, or in the more contemptible livery of a fop playing with a lapdog, the painter gave him a soul darting with proper spirit through the rusticity of his features. A gentleman met the mother and sisters coming down stairs the day it was finished, and found Sir Godfrey in a violent rage above: “Look there,” said he, pointing to a picture, “there is a fellow! I have put some sense into him, and none of his family know him.”
VANDYKE AND KNELLER.
There was a period, observed Sir Joshua Reynolds, when to name Vandyke in competition with Kneller was to incur human contempt. The character of the eighteenth century in England resembled that of the seventeenth in Italy. It was the age of English mediocrity, the reaction of that powerful burst of national genius that was developed by the civil wars and the revolution.
TONSON, THE BOOKSELLER.
Kneller was very covetous, very vain, and a great glutton. Tonson, the bookseller, got many pictures from him, it is related, by playing these passions against the other. He would tell the great painter that he was the greatest master that ever was, and send him every now and then a haunch of venison and a dozen of claret. “Oh!” said Kneller once to Vandergucht, “this old Jacob loves me; he is a very good man: you see he loves me, for he sends me good things, the venison was fat!” Kneller would say to Cock, the auctioneer, “I love you, Mr. Cock, and I will do you good; but you must do something for me too, Mr. Cock; one hand can wash the face, but two hands wash one another.”
LAWRENCE (SIR THOMAS), P.R.A.
THOMAS LAWRENCE was born in the city of Bristol, in May, 1769. He was the youngest of a family of sixteen children, and was remarkable from his infancy for his winning manners. His father took much pains in teaching the child passages from the poets, and at five years old he could repeat any speech in Milton’s Pandemonium. The child was equally clever with his pencil; observing which, a Derbyshire baronet, struck with the boy’s genius, offered to send him to Rome at an expense of £1000, but his father replied that “his son’s talents required no cultivation.” At so young an age of five years his drawings of eyes were so good as to make Fuseli remark with enthusiasm: “But, by G—t, he paints eyes better than Titian!” In 1785, young Lawrence received the Society of Arts Medal with five guineas for the most successful copy from the old masters, being a crayon drawing of the “Transfiguration” of Raphael; he also received “the greater silver palette gilt,” by special vote of the committee. Having become a student of the Royal Academy at the age of eighteen, he sent in the year 1787 the extraordinary number of seven pictures; in the following year he sent six portraits; thirteen in 1789, and twelve pictures in 1790. At the express desire of His Majesty, Lawrence was admitted an Associate of the Royal Academy, by the suspension of a law against the admission of an Associate under the age of twenty-four. Although supported by Sir Joshua Reynolds, his election was much opposed by several academicians. Shortly before Lawrence’s return in 1820 from Rome, where he had been engaged on the great work of painting the Allied Sovereigns, Benjamin West, the President of the Royal Academy, died full of honours. Lawrence was unanimously chosen to succeed him, and the King, in approval of the choice, added a superb gold chain and medal of himself. In addition to the honour of knighthood by the Prince Regent, and admission to the Academy of St. Luke, in Rome, he became, in 1817, a member of the American Academy of the Fine Arts. He was elected by the Academy of Florence, a member of the first class. The Academy of Venice added their election in 1823; that of Bologna followed; and Turin in 1826. He was also elected a member of the Imperial Academy at Vienna, and received the diploma of the Danish Academy; and finally made a chevalier of the Legion of Honour, in France. He died on the 7th January, 1830.
ROYAL FAVOURS.
Lawrence received many valuable presents from foreign princes and nobles, as marks of admiration of the great painter’s genius: the following list was made out by his sister,—