The artist, as characterized by Mengs, may be compared to the orator of Cicero, and both are endued by their authors with an ideal perfection, such as the world has never seen, and will probably never see; and it is the real duty of an instructor to recommend excellence, that in striving to attain it, we may at least acquire a commendable portion of it. Considered in this point of view, I should defend several of his writings, where in the opinion of others he seems to assume a dictatorial tone, in the judgment he passes on Guido, Domenichino, and the Caracci; the very triumvirate whom he proposes as models in the art. Mengs assuredly was not so infatuated as to hope to surpass these great men, but because he knew that no one does so well but that it might be done still better, he shews where they attained the summit of art, and where they failed. The artist, therefore, described by Mengs, and to whose qualifications he also aspired, and was anxious that all should do the same, ought to unite in himself the design and beauty of the Greeks, the expression and composition of Raffaello, the chiaroscuro and grace of Coreggio, and, to complete all, the colouring of Titian. This union of qualities Mengs has analyzed with equal elegance and perspicuity, teaching the artist how to form himself on that ideal beauty, which is itself never realised. If, on some occasions, he appears too enthusiastic, or in some degree obscure, it cannot excite our surprise, as he wrote in a foreign language, and was not much accustomed to composition. His ideas therefore stood in need of a refined scholar to render them clear and intelligible; and this advantage he would have procured, had he been resolved to publish them; but his works are all posthumous, and were given to the world by his excellency the Sig. Cav. Azara. Hence it frequently happens in his works, that one treatise destroys another, as Tiraboschi has observed in regard to his notice of Coreggio, in his Notizie degli Artefici Modenesi; and hence concludes that the Riflessioni di Mengs su i tre gran Pittori, where he finds much to censure in Coreggio, were written by him before he saw the works of that master; and that his Memorie on the life of the same master, where he extols Coreggio to the skies, and calls him the Apelles of modern painting, were written after having seen and studied him.[[92]] In spite however of all objections, he will retain a distinguished place, as well among the theorists or writers, as among professors themselves, as long as the art endures.
We perhaps should not say that Mengs was a whetstone which gave a new quality to the steel, which it could not otherwise have acquired; but that he was the steel itself, which becomes brighter and finer the more it is used. He became painter to the court of Dresden; every fresh work gave proof of his progress in the art. He went afterwards to Madrid, where in the chambers of the royal palace he painted the assembly of the Gods, the Seasons, and the various parts of the day, in an enchanting manner. After repairing a second time to Rome to renew his studies, he again returned to Madrid, where he painted in one of the saloons the Apotheosis of Trajan, and in a theatre, Time subduing Pleasure; pictures much superior to his former pieces. In Rome there are three large works by him; the painting in the vault of S. Eusebio; the Parnassus in the saloon of the Villa Albani, far superior to the preceding one;[[93]] and lastly, the cabinet of manuscripts in the Vatican was painted by him, where the celestial forms of the angels, the majesty of Moses, and the dignified character of S. Peter, the enchanting colour, the relief, and the harmony, contribute to render this chamber one of the most remarkable in Rome for its beautiful decorations. This constant endeavour to surpass himself, would be evident also from his easel pictures, if they were not so rare in Italy; as he painted many of this description for London and the other capitals of Europe. In Rome itself, where he studied young, where he long resided, to which he always returned, and where at last he died, there are few of his works to be found. We may enumerate the portrait of Clement XIII. and his nephew Carlo, in the collection of the prince Rezzonico; that of Cardinal Zelada, secretary of state; and a few other pieces, in the possession of private gentlemen, more particularly the Sig. Cav. Azara. Florence has some large compositions by him in the Palazzo Pitti, and his own portrait in the cabinet of painters, besides the great Deposition from the Cross in chiaroscuro, for the Marchese Rinuccini, which he was prevented by death from colouring; and a beautiful Genius in fresco in a chamber of the Sig. Conte Senatore Orlando Malevolti del Benino.
Returning from the consideration of his works to Mengs himself, I leave to others to estimate his merit, and to determine how far his principles are just.[[94]] As far as regards myself, I cannot but extol that inextinguishable ardour of improving himself by which he was particularly distinguished, and which prompted him, even while he enjoyed the reputation of a first rate master, to proceed in every work as if he were only commencing his career. Truth was his great aim, and he diligently studied the works of the first luminaries of the art, analysed their colours, and examined them in detail, till he entered fully into the spirit and design of those great models. Whilst employed in the ducal gallery in Florence, he did not touch a pencil, until he had attentively studied the best pieces there, and particularly the Venus of Titian in the tribune. In his hours of leisure he employed himself in carefully studying the fresco pictures of the best masters of that school, which is so distinguished in this art. He was accustomed to do the same by every work of celebrity which fell in his way, whether ancient or modern; all contributed to his improvement, and to carry him nearer to perfection; he was in short a man of a most aspiring mind, and may be compared to the ancient, who declared that he wished "to die learning." If maxims like these were enforced, what rapid strides in the art might we not expect! But the greater part of artists form for themselves a manner which may attract popularity, and then relax their efforts, satisfied with the applause of the crowd; and if they feel the necessity of improving, it is not with a design of acquiring a just reputation, but of adding to the price of their works.
Notwithstanding the considerable space which Mengs has occupied in our time, he has nevertheless left room for the celebrity of Pompeo Batoni, of Luca. The Cav. Boni, who has honoured this artist with an elegant eulogium, thus expresses himself in comparing him with Mengs. "The latter," he says, "was the painter of philosophy, the former of nature. Batoni had a natural taste which led him to the beautiful without effort; Mengs attained the same object by reflection and study. Grace was the gift of nature in Batoni, as it had formerly been in Apelles; while the higher attributes of the art were allotted to Mengs, as they were in former days to Protogenes. Perhaps the first was more painter than philosopher, the second more philosopher than painter. The latter, perhaps, was more sublime, but more studied; Batoni less profound, but more natural. Not that I would insinuate that nature was sparing to Mengs, or that Batoni was devoid of the necessary science of the art, &c." If it were ever said with truth of any artist, that he was born a painter, this distinction must be allowed to Batoni. He learned only the principles of the art in his native country, and of the two correspondents from whom I have received my information, the one considers him to have been the scholar of Brugieri, the other of Lombardi, as already mentioned, vol. i. p. 360, and probably he was instructed by both. He came young to Rome, and did not frequent any particular school, but studied and copied Raffaello and the old masters with unceasing assiduity, and thus learnt the great secret of copying nature with truth and judgment.
That boundless and instructive volume, open to all, but cultivated by few, was rightly appreciated by Batoni, and it was hence that he derived that beautiful variety in his heads and contours, which are sometimes wanting even in the great masters, who were occasionally too much addicted to the ideal. Hence, too, he derived the gestures and expressions most appropriate to each subject. Persuaded that a vivid imagination was not alone sufficient to depict those fine traits in which the sublimity of the art consists, he did not adopt any attitudes which were not found in nature. He took from nature the first ideas, copied from her every part of the figure, and adapted the drapery and folds from models. He afterwards embellished and perfected his work with a natural taste, and enlivened all with a style of colour peculiarly his own; clear, engaging, lucid, and preserving after the lapse of many years, as in the picture of various saints at S. Gregorio, all its original freshness. This was in him not so much an art as the natural ebullition of his genius. He sported with his pencil. Every path was open to him; painting in various ways, now with great force, now with a touch, and now finishing all by strokes. Sometimes he destroyed the whole work, and gave it the requisite force by a line.[[95]] Although he was not a man of letters, he yet shows himself a poet in conception, both in a sublime and playful style. One example from a picture in the possession of his heirs, will suffice. Wishing to express the dreams of an enamoured girl, he has represented her wrapped in soft slumbers, and surrounded by loves, two of whom present to her splendid robes and jewels, and a third approaches her with arrows in his hand, while she, captivated by the vision, smiles in her sleep. Many of these poetical designs, and many historical subjects, are in private collections, and in the courts of Europe, from which he had constant commissions.
Batoni possessed an extraordinary talent for portrait painting, and had the honour of being employed by three pontiffs in that branch of the art, Benedict XIV., Clement XIII., and Pius VI.; to whom may be added, the emperor Joseph II. and his august brother and successor, Leopold II., the Grand Duke of Muscovy, and the Grand Duchess, besides numerous private individuals. He for some time painted miniatures, and transferred that care and precision which is essential in that branch to his larger productions, without attenuating his style by hardness. We find an extraordinary proof of this in his altarpieces, spread over Italy, and mentioned by us in many cities, particularly in Lucca. Of those that remain in Rome, Mengs gave the preference to S. Celso, which is over the great altar of that church. Another picture, the Fall of Simon Magus, is in the church of the Certosa. It was intended to have been copied in mosaic for the Vatican, and to have been substituted for a picture of the same subject by Vanni, the only one in that church on stone. But the mosaic, from some cause or other, was not executed. Perhaps the subject displeased, from not being evangelical, and the idea of removing the picture of Vanni not being resumed, the subject was changed, and a commission given to Mengs to paint the Government of the church conferred on S. Peter. He made a sketch for it in chiaroscuro with great care, which is in the Palazzo Chigi, but did not live to finish it in colours. This sketch evinces a design and composition superior to the picture of Batoni, but the subject of the latter was more vigorously conceived. At all events, however, Batoni must henceforth be considered the restorer of the Roman School, in which he lived until his 79th year, and educated many pupils in his profession.
The example of the two last eminent artists was not lost on Antonio Cavallucci da Sermoneta, whose name when I began to print this volume, I did not expect would here have found a place. But having recently died, some notice is due to his celebrity, as he is already ranked with the first artists of his day. He was highly esteemed both in Rome and elsewhere. The Primaziale of Pisa, who in the choice of their artists consulted no recommendation but that of character, employed him on a considerable work, representing S. Bona of that city taking the religious habit. It breathes a sacred piety, which he himself both felt and expressed in a striking manner. In this picture he wished to shew that the examples of christian humility, such as burying in a cloister the gifts of nature and fortune, are susceptible of the gayest decoration. This he effected by introducing a train of noble men and women, who, according to custom, assisted in the solemnity. In this composition, in which he follows the principles of Batoni rather than those of Mengs, we may perceive both his study of nature, and his judgment and facility in imitating her. Another large picture of the saints Placido and Mauro, he sent into Catania, and another of S. Francesco di Paola, he executed for the church of Loreto, and which was copied in mosaic. In Rome are his S. Elias and the Purgatorio, two pictures placed at S. Martino a' Monti, and many works in the possession of the noble family of Gaetani, who were the first to encourage and support this artist. His last work was the Venus and Ascanius, in the Palazzo Cesarini, which has been described to me as a beautiful production by the Sig. Gio. Gherardo de' Rossi, who has declared his intention of publishing the life of Cavallucci, which will no doubt be done in his usual masterly manner.
The Roman School has recently had to regret the loss of two accomplished masters; Domenico Corvi of Viterbo, and Giuseppe Cades of Rome, who although younger than Corvi, and for some years his scholar, died before him. In my notice of them, I shall begin with the master who has been honoured and eulogized more than once in the respectable Memorie delle belle Arti, as well as his scholar, and also some other disciples; as there was not in Rome in the latter times any school more productive in talent. He was truly an accomplished artist, and there were few to compare with him in anatomy, perspective, and design; and from Mancini his instructor, he acquired something of the style of the Caracci. Hence, his academy drawings are highly prized, and I may say, more sought after than his pictures, which indeed want that fascination of grace and colour which attracts the admiration alike of the learned and the vulgar. He maintained an universal delicacy of colour, and was accustomed to defend the practice by asserting, with what justice I cannot say, that pictures painted in that manner were less liable to become black. His most esteemed works are his night pieces, as the Birth of our Saviour in the church of the Osservanti at Macerata, which is perhaps the summit of his efforts. Some amateurs went thither express towards the close of day; a lofty window opposite favoured the illusion of the perspective of the picture; and Corvi, who in other pictures is inferior to Gherardo delle Notti, viewed in this manner, here excels him, by an originality of perspective and general effect. He worked much both for his own countrymen and foreigners, besides the pictures which he kept ready by him, to supply the daily calls of purchasers, and many of which are still on sale in the house of his widow.
Cades recommends himself to our notice, principally by a facility of imitation, dangerous to the art when it is not governed by correct principles. No simulator of the character of another handwriting, could ever rival him in the dexterity with which at a moment's call he could imitate the physiognomy, the naked figure, the drapery, and the entire character of every celebrated designer. The most experienced persons would sometimes request from him a design after Michelangiolo or Raffaello, or some other great master, which he instantly complied with, and when confronted with an indisputable specimen of the master, and these persons were requested to point out the original, as Buonaruoti for example, they often hesitated, and frequently fixed on the design of Cades. He was notwithstanding, extremely honourable. He made on one occasion, a large design in the style of Sanzio, to deceive the director of a foreign cabinet, who boasted an infallible knowledge of the touch of Raffaello; and employing a person to shew it to him, with some fictitious history attached to it, the director purchased it at 500 zecchins. Cades wishing to return the money, the other refused to receive it, insisting on retaining the drawing, and disregarding all the protestations of the artist, and his request to be remunerated by a smaller sum; and this drawing is at this moment probably considered as an original, in one of the finest cabinets of Europe. He was confident in his talents from his early years, and on a public occasion, he made a drawing after the bent of his own genius, regardless of the directions of Corvi, who wished it to be done in another style, and he was in consequence dismissed from that school. This drawing obtained the first premium, and now exists in the academy of S. Luke, where it is much admired. In the art of colouring, too, he owed little to the instruction of masters, and much to his native talent of imitation. I have seen exhibited in the church of the Holy Apostles, a picture by him, which in the upper part represents the Madonna with the Holy Infant, and in the inferior part five saints, an allegorical picture, as I have heard suggested, relating to the election of Clement XIV. That Pope was elected by the suffrages of the Cardinal Carlo Rezzonico and his friends, and contrary to the expectation of P. Innocenzio Buontempi, who ordered the picture, and who after this election was promoted by the Pope to the eminent station of Maestro nel S. Ordine Serafico, and afterwards to that of the Pope's confessor. Hence this piece represents in the centre S. Clement reading the sacred volume; on his right is S. Carlo, who appears to admire his learning, and by his attitude seems to say, "This is a man justly entitled to the pontificate;" and in the last place S. Innocent the Pope, which representing the person of the P. Maestro, must here for the sake of propriety yield the place to the Cardinal S. Carlo. In the background are S. Francis and S. Anthony, half figures. Cades here took for his model the picture of Titian in the Quirinal, which he imitated as well in the composition as in the colour. And in this, indeed, he proceeded too far, giving it that obscure tone which the works of Titian have acquired only by the lapse of time. Cades here defended himself by saying that this piece was intended to be placed in the church of S. Francesco di Fabriano in a very strong light, where if the colours had not been kept low, they would have been displeasing to the spectator. There is an error in the perspective which cannot be overlooked. The allegorical figure of P. M. Innocenzio, who stands amazed at the sudden phenomenon, appears to be out of equilibrium, and would fall in real life. Other faults of colour, of costume, or of vulgarity of form, are noticed in others of his pictures by the author of the Memorie, in tom. i. and iii. But as he advanced in life he improved his style from study, and attending to the criticisms of the public. In tom. iii. just referred to, we find the description of one of his works executed for the Villa Pinciana, the subject of which is taken from Boccaccio; Walter Conte di Anguersa recognized in London. Let us weigh the opinion which this eminent author gives of this most beautiful composition, or let us compare it with the picture of S. Joseph of Copertino, which he painted at twenty-one years of age, as an altarpiece in the church of the Apostles, and we shall perceive the rapid strides which are made by genius. Other princely families, besides the Borghesi, availed themselves of his talents to ornament their palaces and villas; as the Ruspoli and the Chigi, and he executed several works for the empress of Russia. He died before he had attained his fiftieth year, and not long after he had so much improved his style. In the opinion of some, his execution still required to be rendered more uniform, since he sometimes displayed as many different manners in a picture, as there were figures. But in that he might plead the example of Caracci, as we shall notice on a proper opportunity.
We shall now pass to other branches of the art, and shall commence with landscapes. In this period flourished the scholars of the three famous landscape painters, described in their proper place, besides Grimaldi, mentioned in the Bolognese School, who resided a considerable time in Rome; and Paolo Anesi, of whom we made mention in speaking of Zuccherelli. With Anesi lived Andrea Lucatelli, a Roman, whose talents are highly celebrated in every inferior branch of the art. In the archbishop's gallery in Milan are a number of his pictures, historical, architectural, and landscapes. In these he often appears original in composition, and in the disposition of the masses; he is varied in his touch, delicate in his colouring, and elegant in his figures, which, as we shall see, he was also accustomed to paint in the Flemish style, separate from his landscapes.