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diff --git a/38591.txt b/38591.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..253631f --- /dev/null +++ b/38591.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11415 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life and Writings of Henry Fuseli, +Volume I (of 3), by John Knowles + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Life and Writings of Henry Fuseli, Volume I (of 3) + +Author: John Knowles + +Release Date: January 16, 2012 [EBook #38591] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE OF HENRY FUSELI, VOL I *** + + + + +Produced by Margo Romberg, Karl Eichwalder and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) + + + + + + + + [Illustration: HENRY FUSELI ESQre] + + Engraved by Deane from a Painting by Harlow + + London, Published by Henry Colburn & Richard Bentley, 1830. + + + + + THE LIFE + + AND + + WRITINGS + + OF + + HENRY FUSELI, Esq. M.A. R.A. + + KEEPER, AND PROFESSOR OF PAINTING TO THE ROYAL ACADEMY IN LONDON; + MEMBER OF THE FIRST CLASS OF THE ACADEMY OF ST. LUKE AT ROME. + + THE FORMER WRITTEN, AND THE LATTER EDITED BY + + JOHN KNOWLES, F.R.S. + + CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY AT ROTTERDAM, + + HIS EXECUTOR. + + "Animo vidit, ingenio complexus est, eloquentia illuminavit." + _Velleius Paterculus in Ciceronem._ + + IN THREE VOLUMES. + + VOL. I. + + LONDON: + + HENRY COLBURN AND RICHARD BENTLEY, + + NEW BURLINGTON STREET. + + MDCCCXXXI. + + LONDON: + + PRINTED BY SAMUEL BENTLEY, + + Dorset-street, Fleet-street. + + + + + TO + + THE RIGHT HONORABLE + + SUSAN, + + COUNTESS DOWAGER OF GUILFORD, + BARONESS NORTH AND GUILFORD. + + + MADAM, + +I feel a degree of diffidence in dedicating to your Ladyship the Life +and Posthumous Works of Henry Fuseli; because, with regard to the +former, no one is better acquainted with the extent of his talents, or +can form a more accurate opinion of the powers of his conversation, and +the excellent qualities of his head and heart, than yourself. In giving +some account of his life and pursuits, I have endeavoured to speak of +him as he was, and to become his "honest chronicler." How far I have +succeeded, it is for your Ladyship to form a judgment. Had it ever +occurred to me, during his lifetime, that it would be my lot to become +his Biographer, I should have kept a Journal, and thus have been enabled +to present to you, and to the world, a more copious and rich view of his +colloquial powers. But as this is not the case, if the Memoir bring to +your remembrance the general power of his genius, or give an adumbration +of his professional merit; if it convey impressions of his profound +classical attainments and critical knowledge, and recall with them the +simplicity of his domestic habits, my end is fully answered. + +It is not for me to make an apology for sending to the public, under the +high support of your Ladyship's name, the posthumous works of my friend; +as these, I know, will be acceptable to you; and many of them have +already received the highest encomiums, when delivered as Lectures +before the Members of the Royal Academy of Arts. + +I am fully certain that if the mind which dictated these works, could +now be conscious of the fact, no circumstance would give to it greater +satisfaction, than the knowledge of their appearing under the sanction +of your patronage. + + I have the honour to subscribe myself, + + Madam, + + Your Ladyship's most obedient, + + And obliged humble servant, + + JOHN KNOWLES. + + 4, Osnaburgh Street, Regent's Park, + + 24th March, 1830. + + + + + ADVERTISEMENT. + + +In offering to the public the Life and a complete edition of the +literary Works of Henry Fuseli, I feel myself called upon to state the +sources whence the former has been drawn. + +The daily intercourse and sincere friendship which subsisted for many +years between this great artist and myself, afforded me the opportunity +of witnessing his domestic habits, hearing many of the incidents of his +life, and watching his career as an artist; and, being executor to his +will, his professional as well as private papers came into my +possession. Independently of these advantages, I have been in +correspondence with the nearest branches of his family, (at Zurich, in +Switzerland,) and from their kindness have obtained many particulars of +his early life, together with the correction of some previously +inaccurate dates. Whatever estimate, therefore, may be formed of my +work, as a literary production, the particulars have been gathered from +the most authentic and unquestionable sources. + +With respect to his works, it may be necessary to state that the first +Six Lectures were published in a quarto volume under Mr. Fuseli's own +superintendence, and were printed in a more extended form than that in +which they were delivered; additional observations having been inserted +for the press, and notes added to indicate the authorities whence his +opinions were derived. They are now reprinted from a copy in my +possession, in which are noted some corrections by the author. + +The remaining Six Lectures are published from the manuscripts in his own +hand-writing, without any addition, omission, or alteration. + +The Aphorisms were collated, and re-copied fairly some years before the +death of the author: these are printed _verbatim_ as he intended they +should come before the public. + +The History of the Italian Schools of Art will be found to contain the +professional lives of Michael Angelo, Raffaelle, Titian, Correggio, and +other great masters, with the author's criticisms on their works. Most +of the observations on Art were made by Fuseli while in Italy and +France, after a close inspection of the frescoes, pictures, or works in +sculpture, which he describes or criticises; and the particulars of the +lives of the artists were deduced from a careful perusal and comparison +of the most elaborate and esteemed works in which they have been +recorded. + +The reader will notice, that, in a few instances, the same notions and +expressions are repeated; a circumstance which occasioned from an +eminent artist, (the late Sir Thomas Lawrence,) for whose opinion and +talents I had great respect, a recommendation to "use the +pruning-knife." But it appeared to me, after due consideration, to be +preferable that I should print the manuscripts as they came into my +hands; for to have omitted these passages might have disturbed the +connexion of the reasoning and rendered the author's ideas less apparent +to the reader; I therefore present his works to the world without any +omission, alteration, or addition on my part. + + John Knowles. + + + + +CONTENTS + +OF + +THE FIRST VOLUME. + + +CHAPTER I. + + Fuseli's birth and family.--Passion for drawing manifested in his + childhood.--His destination for the Church.--Singular cause of + _ambidexterity_.--Fuseli's early fondness for entomology.--He + enters the Collegium Carolinum at Zurich.--His associates there: + Lavater, Usteri, Tomman, Jacob and Felix Hess.--Professors Bodmer + and Breitinger.--His partiality for Shakspeare, &c.--His turn for + satire called forth at the College.--He courts the Poetic + Muse.--Enters into holy orders at the same time with + Lavater.--State of Pulpit oratory in Zurich.--Fuseli and Lavater + become champions of the public cause against a magistrate of + Zurich.--Quits Zurich Page 1 + + +CHAPTER II. + + The friends are accompanied in their journey by Professor + Sulzer.--They visit Augsburgh and Leipsic.--Arrive at + Berlin.--Fuseli furnishes some designs for Bodmer's work.--Baron + Arnheim.--Fuseli visits Barth, in Pomerania, where he pursues his + studies for six months under Professor Spalding.--Motives which + induce him to visit England, where he arrives in 1763, under the + protection of Sir Andrew Mitchell.--Lord Scarsdale: Mr. Coutts: Mr. + Andrew Millar: Mr. Joseph Johnson.--Fuseli receives engagements + from the booksellers.--His first residence in London: becomes + acquainted with Smollet: Falconer: A. Kauffman: Mrs. Lloyd: Mr. + Cadell: Garrick.--Fuseli accepts, and shortly after relinquishes + the charge of travelling tutor to the son of Earl Waldegrave.--His + first interview with Sir Joshua Reynolds.--His earliest production + in oil painting.--He visits Liverpool.--Takes part in Rousseau's + quarrel with Hume and Voltaire, (1767) and exerts his pen in the + cause of his countryman 22 + + +CHAPTER III. + + Fuseli leaves England for Italy in the society of Dr. + Armstrong.--They quarrel, and separate at Genoa.--Fuseli arrives at + Rome (1770).--His principle of study there.--He suffers through a + fever, and repairs to Venice for his health.--Visits Naples.--Quits + Rome (1778) for Switzerland.--Letter to Mr. Northcote.--Fuseli + renews his classical studies.--Visits his family at + Zurich.--Engages in an unsuccessful love-affair.--Arrives again in + London 46 + + +CHAPTER IV. + + Fuseli settles in London.--Interview with Mr. + Coutts.--Reconciliation with Dr. Armstrong.--Professor + Bonnycastle.--Society at Mr. Lock's.--Mr. James Carrick Moore and + Admiral Sir Graham Moore.--Sir Joshua Reynolds.--Mr. + West.--Anecdote of Fuseli and West.--The popular picture of "The + Nightmare."--Death of Fuseli's Father.--Visit to Mr. Roscoe at + Liverpool.--Fuseli's singular engagement to revise Cowper's + Iliad.--Three Letters from Mr. Cowper.--Anecdotes of Fuseli and Dr. + Geddes 57 + + +CHAPTER V. + + Subjects painted by Fuseli for Boydell's "Shakspeare Gallery."--His + assistance towards the splendid Edition of "Lavater's + Physiognomy."--His picture for Macklin's "Poets' Gallery."--His + contributions to the Analytical Review.--His critique on Cowper's + Homer 77 + + +CHAPTER VI. + + Fuseli's proficiency in Italian History, Literature, and the Fine + Arts, exemplified in his Criticism on Roscoe's Lorenzo de' Medici + 110 + + +CHAPTER VII. + + Fuseli's Marriage.--His inducements to associate himself with the + Royal Academy.--He translates Lavater's "Aphorisms on + Man."--Remarks on his own "Aphorisms on Art."--Particulars of + Fuseli's acquaintance with Mrs. Wollstonecraft 158 + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + Fuseli undertakes the Illustration of Cowper's Edition of + Milton.--First notion of the "Milton Gallery" hence + suggested.--Letter to Mr. Roscoe from Fuseli and Mr. + Johnson.--Circumstances attending Fuseli's Election as a Royal + Academician.--Sir Joshua Reynolds's temporary secession connected + with that event.--Fuseli's progress in the pictures for the + "Milton Gallery."--Controversy between Fuseli and the Rev. Mr. + Bromley.--Subjects painted for Woodmason's "Illustrations of + Shakspeare."--Subscription towards the completion of the Milton + Gallery.--Letter from Mr. Roscoe.--Fuseli contributes to Seward's + "Anecdotes."--His Visit to Windsor with Opie and + Bonnycastle.--Anecdotes connected with that Visit.--Letter from Mr. + Roscoe.--Mr. Johnson's Imprisonment, and Fuseli's adherence to + him.--Anecdote of Lord Erskine.--Exhibition of the "Milton + Gallery," and List of the Works composing it, with incidental + Comments, &c.--Letter to Fuseli from his brother Rodolph.--Letter + from Fuseli to Mr. Lock 171 + + +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 + 239 + + +CHAPTER X. + + The Biographer's Introduction to Fuseli.--New Edition of + Pilkington's Dictionary of Painters, superintended by + Fuseli.--Establishment of the British Institution, and Fuseli's + limited Contributions to the Exhibition there.--Subject from + Dante.--Fuseli's Remarks on Blake's Designs.--His Lectures on + Painting renewed.--Tribute of esteem from the Students of the + Academy.--Letter.--Death of Mr. Johnson, and Fuseli's sympathy on + the occasion.--Fuseli re-elected to the Professorship of Painting + at the Royal Academy 287 + + +CHAPTER XI. + + Fuseli's prefatory Address to his resumed Lectures.--His second + Edition of Pilkington.--He suffers from a nervous fever, and visits + Hastings in company with the Biographer.--His Picture of Marcus + Curius, and Letter relative to it.--Letter from Mr. + Roscoe.--Canova's Intercourse with Fuseli.--Anecdotes of Fuseli and + Harlow.--Letters from Fuseli to the Biographer.--Republication of + his Lectures, with additions.--Death of Professor Bonnycastle, and + Anecdote concerning him.--Death of Fuseli's friend and patron Mr. + Coutts.--An agreeable party at Fuseli's house 304 + + +CHAPTER XII. + + Decline of Fuseli's Health.--Letter from Mr. James C. + Moore.--Fuseli's Bust by Baily, and Portrait by Sir Thomas + Lawrence.--His last Academical Lectures.--Particulars of his + Illness and Death.--Proceedings relative to his interment, with an + account of the ceremony--Copy of his Will 329 + + +CHAPTER XIII. + + Fuseli's personal appearance and habits.--Existing Memorials of him + in Pictures and Busts.--His method of dividing his time.--Anecdotes + exemplifying his irritability.--His attainments in classical and in + modern Languages.--Instances of his Powers of Memory.--His intimate + knowledge of English Poetry and Literature.--His admiration of + Dante.--His Passion for Entomology.--His opinions of some + contemporary Artists.--His conversational powers, and + Anecdotes.--His deficient acquaintance with the pure Physical + Sciences 350 + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + Fuseli's inherent shyness of disposition.--His opinion of various + noted individuals, viz. Dr. Johnson, Sterne, Sir Joshua Reynolds, + Gibbon, Horne Tooke, and Thomas Paine.--His cultivation of English + notions and habits.--His attachment to civil and religious + Liberty.--His intimacy with theatrical matters.--His adventure at a + Masquerade.--His powers as a Critic, both in Literature and Art, + with various illustrative examples.--His impressions of + Religion.--One of his Letters on Literature 371 + + +CHAPTER XV. + + Character of Fuseli as an Artist.--His early style.--His ardent + pursuit of excellence in design.--His neglect of mechanical means, + particularly as regards Colours.--His professional independence, + unmixed with obstinacy.--His pre-eminent faculty of invention, and + success in the portraiture of the ideal.--His deficiencies as to + correctness, and disinclination to laborious finish.--Causes of his + limited popularity as a Painter.--His felicity in Likenesses.--His + colour and chiar-oscuro.--His quality as a Teacher of the Fine + Arts.--His ardent love of Art.--Arrangements as to the disposal of + his Works, &c.--List of his Subjects exhibited at the Royal Academy + from 1774 to 1825 395 + + +APPENDIX. + + On the character of Fuseli as an Artist, by W. Y. Ottley, + Esq.--Verses to Fuseli on his series of Pictures from the Poetical + Works of Milton, by W. Roscoe, Esq.--Ode to Fuseli on seeing + Engravings from his Designs, by H. K. White, Esq.--"A + Vision,"--verses in which Fuseli's principal productions are + briefly noticed 419 + + + + +THE + +LIFE + +OF + +HENRY FUSELI, + +M.A. R.A. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + Fuseli's birth and family.--Passion for drawing manifested in his + childhood.--His destination for the Church.--Singular cause of + _ambidexterity_.--Fuseli's early fondness for entomology.--He + enters the Collegium Carolinum at Zurich.--His associates there: + Lavater, Usteri, Tomman, Jacob and Felix Hess.--Professors Bodmer + and Breitinger.--His partiality for Shakspeare, &c.--His turn for + satire called forth at the College.--He courts the poetic + Muse.--Enters into holy orders at the same time with + Lavater.--State of pulpit oratory in Zurich.--Fuseli and Lavater + become champions of the public cause against a magistrate of + Zurich.--Quits Zurich. + + +As there is a natural wish in mankind to be made acquainted with the +history of those men who have distinguished themselves by any +extraordinary exertion of talent, so we always experience regret when +we look to the biography of a celebrated man, if we find the details +scanty, or the particulars respecting him resting for their accuracy +upon the uncertainty of oral communication, made after a lapse of +several years. + +Although the mind of an author may, at a remote period, be appreciated +by a perusal of his works, and the capacity and talents of an artist be +judged of by the powers of invention which he has displayed,--by the +harmony of his colour and the style and correctness of his lines; yet +these do not completely satisfy; we wish the more to see him in his +closet, to pursue him into familiar life, and to be made acquainted with +the paths which he trod and the mode of study which he adopted to arrive +at eminence. Who does not feel this impulse when he peruses the meagre +accounts we have received of Shakspeare or Correggio? although the +utmost efforts of industry have been employed to collect facts relating +to these extraordinary men. + +It is with such feelings that I attempt to give some particulars of the +life and professional career of Henry Fuseli, while they are fresh on +the memory; for if the biography of any particular man be not written +during his lifetime, or shortly after his decease, we recollect perhaps +only a few circumstances, and fill up the record by guessing at the +rest. + +Many of the incidents which I am about to relate respecting Mr. Fuseli +were communicated by himself; for I had the happiness of enjoying his +friendship uninterruptedly for twenty years, and was almost in the daily +habit of seeing and conversing with him until the last period of his +existence. Other particulars I have collected from some of his relations +and friends, and gleaned much from his private papers, which fell into +my possession, as executor to his will. The facts may therefore be +relied upon, and they will, at least, assist some future biographer: for +I feel the difficulties under which I must unavoidably labour, in +attempting to display the powers of a highly gifted man, and an eminent +professor in an art which requires the study of years, nay of a whole +life, to understand in any competent degree. + +Henry Fueessli (for such is the family name), the second son of John +Caspar Fueessli, was born on the 7th February, 1741, N.S. at Zurich, in +Switzerland, which city had been the native place of his family for many +generations. + +His father, John Caspar, a painter of portraits and sometimes of +landscapes, was distinguished for his literary attainments; when young, +he had travelled into Germany, and became a pupil of Kupetzky, the most +celebrated portrait painter of his time. He then resided for some time +at Rastadt, as portrait painter to that court; and afterwards went to +Ludswigsbourg, with letters of recommendation to the Prince of +Wirtemberg, and was particularly patronized by him. + +In the war of 1733, a French army having entered Germany, threw every +thing there into confusion, on which Fueessli withdrew from the scene of +military operations, to Nuremberg, and remained in that city for six +months, in expectation of a termination of hostilities; but hearing of +the fall of his patron, the Prince of Wirtemberg, in the field of +battle, he returned to Zurich, and settled in Switzerland for life. + +Shortly after his return to his native city, he married Elizabeth Waser, +an excellent woman, but of retired habits, who confined her attention to +the care of her house and family, and to the perusal of religious books. +By this marriage he had eighteen children, three of whom only arrived at +the age of manhood;--Rodolph, who followed his father's profession as a +painter, and afterwards, settling at Vienna, became librarian to the +Emperor of Germany; Henry, the subject of this Memoir; and Caspar, well +known for his able and discriminative works on entomology. + +Although John Caspar Fueessli, the father, had travelled much, and was +not unacquainted with the manners of courts, and could practise, when he +thought proper, those of a courtier, yet he had assumed the carriage of +an independent man of the world, and acquired an abrupt and blunt manner +of speaking. Yet, as he was endowed with learning and possessed of +talents, his house was frequented by men the most eminent in literature +and in the arts, in Zurich and its neighbourhood. He was also an author, +and, among other works, published the Lives of the Helvetic Painters, in +which he received considerable assistance, both in its arrangement and +style, from his son Henry. This he was enabled to do, notwithstanding, +to use his own words, "in boyhood, when the mind first becomes capable +of receiving the rudiments of knowledge, he had not the advantage of the +amalgamating tuition of a public school."[1] + +Henry Fuseli not only profited in his early years by the instruction of +his parents, but also by the society which his father kept; indeed, he +may be said to have been rocked in his cradle by the Muses,--for Solomon +Gessner was his godfather. This poet and painter was the intimate friend +of the elder Fuseli, and addressed to him an elaborate letter on +landscape-painting, which is published in his works. But it was to his +mother that Henry considered himself chiefly indebted for the rudiments +of his education: she, it appears, was a woman of superior talents, and +possessed, in a high degree, the affection and gratitude of her +children. Even in the latter days of his life, when Fuseli has spoken of +his mother, I have seen tears start into his eyes. + +Henry Fuseli showed, very early, a predilection for drawing, and also +for entomology; but the former was checked by his father, who knowing, +from his own pursuits, the difficulty of arriving at any eminence in the +fine arts, except a man's whole mind and attention be given to them; and +having designed his son Henry for the clerical profession, under the +expectation of advantageous preferment for him in the church, he +considered that any pursuit requiring more than ordinary attention would +draw his mind from those studies which appertain to theology, and thus +be injurious to his future prospects. Perhaps, too, his dislike to his +son's being an artist may also have arisen from the notion, that he +would never excel in the mechanical part of painting; for, in youth, he +had so great an awkwardness of hands, that his parents would not permit +him to touch any thing liable to be broken or injured. His father has +often exclaimed, when such things were shown to his visitors, "Take care +of that boy, for he destroys or spoils whatever he touches." + +Although the love which Fuseli had for the fine arts might be checked, +yet it was not to be diverted altogether; this pursuit, which was denied +him by parental authority, was secretly indulged,--for he bought with +his small allowance of pocket-money, candles, pencils, paper, &c., in +order to make drawings when his parents believed him to be in bed. These +he sold to his companions; the produce of which enabled him either to +purchase materials for the execution of other drawings, or to add +articles to his wardrobe, such as his parents might withhold, from +prudential motives. + +Many of his early sketches are still preserved, one of which is now in +my possession,--"Orestes pursued by the Furies." The subjects which he +chose were either terrific or ludicrous scenes: in both these, he at all +periods of life excelled: although his early works are incorrect in +point of drawing, yet they generally tell the story which they intend to +represent, with a wonderful felicity, particularly when it is considered +that several of them proceeded from the mind of a mere child, scarcely +eleven years of age. + +The work which most engrossed Fuseli's juvenile attention was Tobias +Stimmer's field-sports: these subjects he copied diligently, either with +a pen or in Indian ink, as well as the sketches of Christopher Maurer, +Gotthard Ringgli, Jobst Ammann, and other masters of Zurich. These +artists, it must be acknowledged, possessed great powers of invention, +and had a firm and bold outline, yet their figures are not to be +commended for proportions or elegance, and the mannerism of their works +was a dangerous example for a student to follow. It is not surprising, +therefore, that we find an imitation of their faults in the early +drawings of Fuseli; in which short and clumsy figures are generally +draped in the old Swiss _costume_. + +Although the father seldom or ever attended public worship, yet he was +not ignorant of the principles of religion, and knew what would be +expected from his son when he entered upon the clerical profession: in +order, therefore, to initiate him in the doctrines which he intended he +should teach, he employed a clergyman to assist him in these as well as +to instruct him in the classics. From this gentleman he borrowed the +most esteemed religious books, which it was his practice, in the +evenings, to read aloud to Henry. But while the father was reading the +paraphrases of Doddridge, or the sermons of Goetz or Saurin, the son was +not unfrequently employed in making drawings; and the better to escape +observation, he used his left hand for that purpose. This practice made +him ambidextrous during his life. + +The tutor soon perceived the bent of his pupil's inclination, who, +instead of making his themes, or attending to other studies, was +caricaturing those about him; and he told his father that, although he +had an uncommon capacity for whatever he undertook with ardour, yet he +was so wayward in his disposition, and so bent upon drawing, that it +was doubtful whether he would ever become a scholar. + +The health of Mrs. Fueessli being in a very delicate state, the family +removed a few miles from the city, for the benefit of the air. Henry was +at this time about twelve years of age. A residence in the country +opened to his active mind a new field for contemplation, in the study of +nature; and he now found great delight in what he had before in a degree +pursued,--entomology. This study his father allowed him to prosecute, as +he considered that the attempt to gain a knowledge of a science + + "Which looks through Nature up to Nature's God," + +would be advantageous to his future walk in life; he therefore indulged +his wish, encouraged him to proceed, and furnished him with books by +which he could get information respecting the genera of insects, and +their habits.[2] And in the pursuit of entomology he was usually +accompanied by his younger brother, Caspar, who has written so ably upon +this science; and I have often heard Henry enlarge, in glowing terms, +upon the pleasurable sensations which he experienced, when a boy, from +the freshness of the air, at the dawn of day, when he had been creeping +through hedge-rows in search of the larvae of insects, or in pursuit of +the disturbed and escaping moth or butterfly. + +After a residence of two or three years in the country, Henry had +arrived at that age when he required and was likely to profit by more +profound instructions than he had hitherto received; with the view of +affording these, his family resumed their residence at Zurich, and he +was placed as a student in the _Collegium Carolinum_, in which he was +matriculated, and finally took the degree of Master of Arts. + +The secluded life which Fuseli's parents led, particularly while they +resided in the country, had confined his juvenile acquaintances to a M. +Nuescheler,[3] and to those youths who received occasional instructions +from his father in painting. A college was therefore a new and imposing +scene. Although he was then a novice in society, and had from nature a +degree of shyness, which was increased by seclusion; yet his acute and +discerning mind soon discovered those students who possessed the +greatest talents, and with whom he could therefore with the more +pleasure associate. Accordingly, he formed an acquaintance, which +ripened into lasting friendship, with Lavater, Usteri, Tomman, Jacob, +and Felix Hess; names well known in German literature. + +At this time, the celebrated Bodmer and Breitinger were professors in +the Caroline College; they were the intimate friends of the elder +Fueessli, (who has transmitted their likenesses to posterity,) and in +consequence of this intimacy, they paid more than ordinary attention to +the young student. These learned men were, in addition to their other +studies, actively engaged in reforming the German language, and in this +respect correcting the taste of their countrymen, and they constantly +urged their pupils to pursue the same course; for at this period a pure +and elegant style was very rare, and therefore considered no mean +acquirement. + +A naturally strong constitution, with considerable elasticity of mind, +enabled Fuseli to pursue his studies for many hours in each day without +interruption. In fact, he was capable of any mental labour, however +severe. He attended diligently the usual routine of college studies, and +being possessed of a very retentive memory, these were attained or +performed without difficulty. He therefore found time to gain a +considerable knowledge of the English, French, and Italian languages. He +was attracted to these, not only by the desire of travelling at some +future period, but that he might be enabled to read some of the most +celebrated authors in their own tongues. + +He was enamoured with the plays of Shakspeare, and attempted a +translation of Macbeth into German. The novels of Richardson, +particularly his Clarissa, made a powerful and lasting impression upon +his mind.[4] The works of Rousseau were eagerly devoured by him. And the +poetic flights of Dante not only aroused his feelings, but afforded +subjects for his daring pencil, which, notwithstanding his numerous +studies, was not laid aside. + +Mixing in society naturally gives to an observing mind a knowledge of +men and manners. After Henry Fuseli had attended for some time the +college studies, and acquired some degree of confidence in his own +powers, he discovered and exposed weak points in some of the professors +and tutors who had been held up as examples to the students, and also +brought forward the merit and latent qualities of others, who from their +modesty had remained without notice, and thus drew them from obscurity. +If he could not attain his object by satire, in which he was very +powerful, he sometimes resorted to caricature, a weapon not less +formidable in his hands. The wounded pride of some of the masters +induced them to draw up a formal complaint against him, and he was +threatened with expulsion by the president, which was only a menace to +intimidate him, as the heads of the college admired his talents, and +were pleased with his assiduity. + +In reading the Holy Scriptures (which he did diligently), the classics, +or the modern historians or poets, Fuseli's mind was most powerfully +attracted by those incidents or expressions which are out of the +ordinary course, and he frequently embodied them with his pencil. Bodmer +perceiving this bent of his mind, recommended him to try his powers in +poetry, and gave him, as models for imitation, the works of Klopstock +and Weiland. The former were considered by Henry to be master-pieces; he +caught the inspiration, and published, in a weekly journal called the +"Freymuethigen Nachrichten,"[5] an ode to Meta. This was so much in the +spirit, and so near an imitation of Klopstock's style, that the ardent +admirers of this great poet attributed it to him, and which was believed +by all who were not in the secret. He also attempted a tragedy from the +Bible, "The Death of Saul," which was also highly commended. + +It is but reasonable to suppose, that Bodmer would endeavour to instil +into the mind of a favourite pupil a love for the abstract sciences, in +the knowledge of which he was himself so eminently skilled: but for +these Fuseli showed an utter distaste, which continued during the whole +of his life. He has more than once exclaimed to me, "Were the angel +Gabriel sent expressly to teach me the mathematics, he would fail in his +mission." And he has frequently dilated upon the annoyance which he +felt, when discovered by any one of the tutors to be engaged in some +favourite pursuit, by his putting, in Latin, an abrupt and unexpected +question in physics, such as, "_Quid est calor, Henrice Fueessli?_" + +In the year 1761, Fuseli and his intimate friend Lavater entered into +holy orders. The state of pulpit oratory, at this time, in Zurich, is +thus described by a kinsman[6] of the former: "The Dutch method of +analyzing was at this time in vogue in our pulpits. By aiming at +popularity, the language was often reduced to the lowest strain, and to +mere puerilities. The subjects were chiefly dogmatical; and if a moral +theme was introduced, their sermons betrayed no knowledge of mankind: +they were mostly common-place declamation, deficient in precision and +just discrimination. Exaggeration prevented the backslider from applying +the description to himself; and as the way to reformation was neither +intelligibly nor mildly pointed out, he was rather irritated than +corrected. + + "Even the most distinguished preachers lost themselves in long + and tiresome discourses, wandering either through the barren + fields of scholastic or academic exercises, of little interest to + a common audience; or else they spun out labyrinthine allegories. + + "Others tried to excite the feelings by doctrines that bordered + on mysticism or Moravianism; and there were those who made + simplicity their aim, not the noble but the coarser species, + descending to vulgarity and meanness to flatter the popular + taste, and endeavouring to disguise vacuity and sameness by low + comparisons, little tales, and awkward imagery. + + "Some were to be found who, in their zeal for doctrinal faith, + abused morality and philosophy, and bestowed the nickname of + "_Taste-tellers_" on those who took a different course, and aimed + at a better mode of address." + + +Klopstock, Bodmer, Weiland, Zimmerman, S. Gessner, and some others, +feeling how defective pulpit oratory was at Zurich, had laboured to +bring about a better style of preaching, but without much effect. +Fuseli, upon entering into holy orders, determined to regulate his +efforts, and by the advice of these learned men, he chose Saurin's +sermons as models of manner and arrangement; but with the view of +conveying his sentiments so as to produce the greatest effect upon his +audience, adopted the more inflated language of Klopstock and of Bodmer. + +As his reputation stood high at college, and as his society was coveted +for the power which he displayed in conversation, and for his deep +knowledge in the classics and in sacred and profane history; so, a great +degree of curiosity was excited among his friends, as to the success of +his probationary sermon, which he knowing, with characteristic humour, +took his text from the 17th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, 18th +verse, "What will this babbler say?" and preached against the passion of +curiosity. + +The new mode of preaching which Fuseli adopted and carried into many of +the pulpits of Zurich; the novelty of the style, the originality of the +ideas, and the nervous language which he used, pleased "the judicious +few;" but it was "caviare to the general;" and hence the youthful +preacher gained no great degree of popular applause. His friends, and +Bodmer in particular, prompted him to persevere in the course which he +had commenced, assuring him, that, in the end, it would be crowned with +success; but at this time an incident happened, which gave a turn to his +pursuits in life. + +The works of Rousseau, Voltaire, and others, who were then endeavouring +by their writings to bring about a reform in the political and moral +conditions of society, warmed his imagination, and he, Lavater, Jacob +and Felix Hess, (who were not less influenced,) were determined to exert +themselves, to benefit those of their native city. An opportunity was +soon presented to their active minds. Rumour had been for some time busy +with the character of a ruling magistrate, the high land-bailiff Grebel, +ascribing to him various acts of tyranny and oppression, and among +others, that of appropriating to himself property, and bidding defiance +to the rightful owners. This he considered he might do with impunity, +not only by the power which he possessed from his high situation, but +also from that which he derived from his father-in-law, who was the +burgomaster of Zurich. + +The young friends made diligent inquiries into these charges, and found +that there were ample grounds to justify the reports which were current. +Their indignation was aroused, and they sent an anonymous letter to the +magistrate, threatening him with instant exposure if he did not restore +the property. Grebel, relying too much upon the feeling of security +which power creates, took no notice of this letter. Upon which Fuseli, +and Lavater in particular, excited farther by his contempt, resolved to +make the cause of the injured party their own, and accordingly wrote a +pamphlet, entitled, "The Unjust Magistrate, or the Complaint of a +Patriot," in which they detailed, in forcible and glowing terms, the +acts of oppression which had been committed, and called upon the +Government to examine into the facts, and punish the offender. + +This pamphlet they industriously circulated, and took care that it +should fall into the hands of all the principal members of the +government. The manly tone in which it was written, and the facts +adduced in support of the accusation, made such an impression on the +council of Zurich, that it was stated from authority, if the author +would avow himself, all the circumstances should be inquired into, and +the facts carefully examined. + +Upon this, Fuseli and Lavater, who were the ostensible persons, boldly +stepped forward, and acknowledged themselves the authors. Evidence was +taken, and the truth of the accusation established to its utmost extent. +An upright judgment was awarded; the property restored; and the guilty +magistrate then absconded, to avoid the personal punishment so justly +due to his crimes. + +Of this incident, which perhaps was the most important of Fuseli's life, +as it was the cause of his quitting his native country, and changing his +profession, he very seldom spoke; and during the whole term of our +acquaintance, never mentioned the particulars but once, and then +remarked, "Although I cannot but reflect with some degree of +satisfaction upon the correctness of our feeling, and the courage which +we displayed, yet, situated as we and our families then were, it evinced +precipitation on our part, and a want of knowledge of the world." + +This spirited act, on the part of Fuseli and his friends, was for some +time the theme of public conversation at Zurich, and their patriotism +was greatly applauded. But the disgrace which had fallen, by their +means, on the accused, was felt by his powerful family, who considered, +that, from their connexion with him, a part of the ignominy fell upon +themselves. The tendency and natural consequences of such feelings were +properly appreciated by the respective families of the young men, and +they considered it prudent to recommend them to withdraw for a time from +the city. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + The friends are accompanied in their journey by Professor Sulzer.-- + They visit Augsburgh and Leipsic.--Arrive at Berlin.--Fuseli + furnishes some designs for Bodmer's work.--Baron Arnheim.--Fuseli + visits Barth, in Pomerania, where he pursues his studies for six + months under Professor Spalding.--Motives which induce him to visit + England, where he arrives in 1763, under the protection of Sir Andrew + Mitchell.--Lord Scarsdale: Mr. Coutts: Mr. Andrew Millar: Mr. Joseph + Johnson.--Fuseli receives engagements from the booksellers.--His + first residence in London: becomes acquainted with Smollet: Falconer: + A. Kauffman: Mrs. Lloyd: Mr. Cadell: Garrick.--Fuseli accepts, and + shortly after relinquishes the charge of travelling tutor to the son + of the Earl of Waldegrave.--His first interview with Sir Joshua + Reynolds.--His earliest production in oil painting.--He visits + Liverpool.--Takes part in Rousseau's quarrel with Hume and Voltaire, + (1767) and exerts his pen in the cause of his countryman. + + +It was fortunate for Fuseli and his friends, that the learned Sulzer, +who held the situation of professor of mathematics in the Joachimsthel +College, at Berlin, was at Zurich at this time, having obtained leave +from the King of Prussia to visit his native country, to endeavour to +dissipate his grief for the loss of a beloved wife. Sulzer, who had +taken a lively interest in the cause which these young men had +advocated, was about to return to Berlin, and offered to take them with +him: this opportunity was not to be neglected; and he, Fuseli, Lavater, +Jacob and Felix Hess, set out on their journey, early in the year 1763, +accompanied by a numerous train of friends and admirers, who attended +them as far as Winterthur, at which place they were welcomed with +fervour, as the enemies of oppression. + +Sulzer justly and properly appreciated what would probably be felt by +young men who, for the first time, leave home and those connexions which +make home dear to them; and he therefore, in order to dissipate any +unpleasant feelings, determined to remain for some days at those cities +or towns on the road, where there was any thing to be seen worthy of +attention. The change, however, was less felt by Fuseli than by his +companions; the profession in which he had been employed was not one of +his choice; he had always entertained a strong desire to travel, and he +had lost, a few years previously, an affectionate mother[7] to whom he +was tenderly attached. + +The first city of note at which they tarried was Augsburgh: here Fuseli +showed his predilection for art, in giving, by letter to his friends at +Zurich, a florid description of the sensations which he experienced on +seeing the colossal figure of St. Michael over the gateway of the +arsenal, the work of a Bavarian sculptor, Reichel. In the churches and +senate-house of this city, the paintings of Tintoretto, Schoenfeld, and +Rothenhamer, attracted his particular attention; and he expressed his +regret at the neglect which appeared to attend the works of the +last-named master, (whom he eulogizes as "one of the most able painters +of Germany,") as his pictures were then falling into rapid decay. + +At Leipsic, they were introduced by Sulzer to Ernesti, Gellert, Weisse, +and other literati. From the description which Fuseli gave of the two +former, it is evident that he, as well as Lavater, had paid early in +life a sedulous attention to physiognomy. Of Ernesti, he says, "although +he spoke of the liberality of all classes in Saxony, his countenance did +not agree with his words; on the contrary, he seems to be growing +intolerant from knowledge and from authorship." Of Gellert, he remarks, +"he has an expressive mouth, it turns on one side with a sensible easy +smile; he is so gentle, so accustomed to express simplicity in his very +countenance, and yet so quick-sighted, that he was disturbed by being +looked at, and inquired whether I was displeased with him; he has +certainly a tendency to hypochondria." + +On their arrival at Berlin, Sulzer commenced (according to a promise +made at Zurich) arrangements for publishing a splendid and improved +edition of his friend Bodmer's "Noachide," which was to be embellished +with engravings. B. Rhode, of Berlin, was employed to make the designs +for the first four cantos; those for the remaining eight were furnished +by Fuseli, who, not only to raise his own credit, but to show his +gratitude to Bodmer, exerted his utmost ability upon that work. +Comparing these with his former drawings, it is evident that the St. +Michael, at Augsburgh, was the standard for the stupendous forms which +he introduced against a murky sky, in the terrible scenes of the +destruction of the primeval inhabitants of the earth. In these subjects +he succeeded beyond expectation. In the more lovely scenes of the poem +he was not equally happy; for, "instead of repose and cheerfulness, his +female figures had a degree of wantonness bordering somewhat upon +voluptuousness." + +The popularity of the cause which induced Fuseli and his companions to +leave Zurich travelled before them, and they were caressed not only by +the friends and acquaintances of Sulzer, at Berlin, but by all those who +were enemies to oppression from whatever quarter it might spring. Among +these, was the then Baron Arnheim, who was so much pleased with the +recital of the transaction, and struck with the appearance and +conversation of Fuseli and Lavater, that he had a picture painted, +representing their first interview, which is still preserved by his +family. + +After remaining a short time at Berlin, Sulzer placed his young friends +with Professor Spalding, who resided at Barth, in Hither Pomerania. +Fuseli here pursued his classical studies with eagerness, and did not +neglect the fine arts, for we find that he drew the portrait of the +Professor's daughter, and also added to the decorations of her +summer-house by his pencil. + +During a residence of six months at Barth, he gained the highest +estimation for talents with all those who knew him, and the esteem of +Spalding, but he left his friends there, being recalled to Berlin by +Sulzer. + +The cause of Fuseli's return to the capital was, that, at this time, +some of the literati of Germany and Switzerland had it in contemplation +to establish a regular channel of literary communication between those +countries and England. Fuseli's tutors and friends, Bodmer, Breitenger, +and Sulzer, felt a lively interest in this project, and took an active +part in carrying the design into execution. These philosophers thought, +that there was no person better qualified than Fuseli to conduct the +business. He was possessed of great mental and bodily activity; they had +the highest opinion of his talents; and they considered that his +extensive knowledge of modern languages would facilitate their project. +In making the proposal, Sulzer represented that it would be +inconvenient, if not dangerous, for him to go back, within a limited +time, to Zurich; for it was well known to the family of Grebel, that he +had taken the most active part in the affair against their relation: and +moreover that, although his companions might, under this circumstance, +from their powerful connexions, return at no distant period with +impunity, yet Fuseli, not so happily situated, would suffer from all the +effects of tyranny which power could exercise. This reasoning had its +due effect upon the mind of Fuseli; he however asked the opinion of his +father, which being in favour of his accepting the offer of Sulzer, made +him determine to visit England. + +Sir Andrew Mitchell was at this time the British minister at the court +of Prussia: he was a friend of Sulzer's, who accordingly introduced +Fuseli to him. At his house he improved much in English conversation, +and he met several men of literary note, among whom was Dr. Armstrong, +who was then physician to the British forces in Germany; and with this +gentleman he became intimately acquainted. + +Sir Andrew Mitchell was about to return to England; and being pleased +with the society of Fuseli, and wishing to give every facility to the +views of Sulzer, he liberally made the offer to the latter that his +young friend should accompany him to London, and promised that he would +give him his protection when there, and such introductions as should be +useful in effecting the object of his mission. This offer was not to be +refused: Fuseli, therefore, set out with Sir Andrew, and arrived in +England at the close of the year 1763. + +Before he quitted Prussia, he took leave of Lavater, his early and +devoted friend, who, at parting, put into his hands a paper, which he +previously had framed and glazed, on which was written, in German, "Thue +den siebenden theil von dem was du thun kannst."[8] "Hang this in your +bed-chamber, my dear friend," said he; "look at it occasionally, and I +foresee the result." + +Sir Andrew Mitchell fully performed his promise, for, on their arrival +in London, he was anxious to introduce his _protege_ to men +distinguished either for rank, property, or talents: among these were +the late Lord Scarsdale and Mr. Coutts, the banker. Sir Andrew, knowing, +however, that booksellers of respectability and probity are the best +patrons of literary characters, strongly recommended him to Mr. Andrew +Millar and Mr. Joseph Johnson. The former was well known as an opulent +man, and an old and established publisher; the latter had but recently +begun business on his own account, but he had already acquired the +character which he retained during life,--that of a man of great +integrity, an encourager of literary men as far as his means extended, +and an excellent judge of their productions. With these persons Fuseli +kept up a friendly intercourse during their lives. + +Fuseli took lodgings in the house of a Mrs. Green, in Cranbourn Street, +then called Cranbourn Alley. He lived here from prudential +motives,--those of economy, as well as being near to the house of a +gentleman (Mr. Coutts) to whom he had been introduced, who resided at +this time in St. Martin's Lane. No sooner was he fixed in this place, +than he wrote to his father, to give him an account of his voyage and +journey from Berlin to London, and of the prospects which appeared to be +open to him. Stranger as he was in the great metropolis of England, +separated from his family, and nearly unknown to any of its inhabitants, +his sensitive feelings were aroused, and in a gloomy state of mind he +sallied forth, with the letter in his hand, in search of a post-office. + +At this period there was much greater brutality of demeanour exercised +by the lower orders of the English towards foreigners than there is at +present. Meeting with a vulgar fellow, Fuseli inquired his way to the +post-office, in a broad German pronunciation: this produced only a +horse-laugh from the man. The forlorn situation in which he was placed +burst on his mind;--he stamped with his foot, while tears trickled down +his cheeks. A gentleman who saw the transaction, and felt for Fuseli, +apologised for the rudeness which he had received, explained its cause, +and told him that, as a foreigner, he must expect to be so treated by +the lower orders of the people: after this he shewed him where he might +deposit his letter. This kindness from a stranger, in some degree, +restored tranquillity to his agonised feelings. + +Finding that his name was difficult of pronunciation to an Englishman, +he shortly after altered the arrangement of the letters, and signed +"Fusseli." + +He kept up a constant correspondence with Bodmer and Sulzer. This was +not, however, conducted in those terms of respectful diffidence in which +a pupil generally addresses his tutors; but with that manly independence +of spirit which he inherited from his father, and with that originality +of thought so peculiar to himself; which, although he frequently +differed in opinion with them, and expressed his notions with asperity, +was somewhat pleasing to these eminent men, particularly to Bodmer, +whose constant advice to his pupils was, "Think and act for yourselves." + +The independent spirit of Fuseli would not allow him to be under the +pecuniary obligations which his friends offered; he therefore laboured +hard, and fortunately got ample employment from the booksellers, in +translating works from the French, Italian, and German languages into +English; and some popular works from the English into German,--among +others the letters of Lady Mary Wortley Montague. + +In 1765, he published (with his name affixed) a translation of the Abbe +Winkelmann's "Reflections on the Painting and Sculpture of the Greeks," +which was dedicated to his friend and patron, Lord Scarsdale. The +dedication is dated the 10th April, 1765. Much to the credit of Mr. +Millar, he took every opportunity of forwarding the sale of this work, +and gave Fuseli the whole proceeds, after deducting only the expenses of +paper and printing. + +At this time he visited very frequently Smollet, and also Falconer, the +author of "the Shipwreck," and other works. The latter then was allowed +to occupy apartments in old Somerset House, and Fuseli always +represented him as a man of mild and inoffensive manners, although far +from being happy, in consequence of the pressure of his pecuniary +circumstances. For Doctor Smollet he made several drawings of scenes in +his novel of Peregrine Pickle, which were engraved and published in an +early edition of that well-known work. This edition is now very scarce. + +Mr. Cadell having, in the year 1766, succeeded to the business of Mr. +Millar, as a bookseller and publisher, he also kept up the connexion +with Fuseli, and gave him constant employment. + +A taste for the fine arts had been recently awakened in England, and +some of the principal painters, sculptors, and architects, had formed +themselves into a society for promoting them; from which circumstance, +high expectations were raised of the encouragement likely to be afforded +to artists by the public. Fuseli was stimulated by these to fresh +exertions of his pencil, and all his leisure hours were devoted to +drawing or etching historical subjects. + +About this period he became acquainted with two artists his countrymen, +Mr. Moser, who on the establishment of the Royal Academy was appointed +Keeper, and Mr. Kauffman, chiefly known, at present, as the father of +the more celebrated Angelica Kauffman, who, considered as a female +artist, even now ranks high as an historical painter. + +With Miss Kauffman, it appears, Fuseli was much enamoured; and although +he did not at any time hold her professional talents in high esteem, +yet he always spoke of her in terms of regard, and considered her as a +handsome, lively, and engaging woman. + +The youth, fine manly countenance and conversational talents of Fuseli +made a deep impression upon most female hearts and minds: hence, Miss +Mary Moser (now better known as Mrs. Lloyd), the daughter of Mr. Moser, +who was in almost the daily habit of seeing and conversing with him, +also experienced their influence; and she flattered herself that the +feelings which she had were mutual. + +If Fuseli ever had any affection for this lady while he was in England, +it was soon dissipated by change of scene and the pleasures which he +pursued when in Italy. The two following letters, which are extracted +from Mr. J. T. Smith's Life of Nollekens, tend to show the disposition +of both parties towards each other. + + "If you have not forgotten at Rome those friends whom you + remembered at Florence, write to me from that nursery of arts and + raree-show of the world, which flourishes in ruins: tell me of + pictures, palaces, people, lakes, woods, and rivers; say if Old + Tiber droops with age, or whether his waters flow as clear, his + rushes grow as green, and his swans look as white, as those of + Father Thames; or write me your own thoughts and reflections, + which will be more acceptable than any description of any thing + Greece and Rome have done these two thousand years. + + "I suppose there has been a million of letters sent to Italy with + an account of our Exhibition, so it will be only telling you what + you know already, to say that Reynolds was like himself in + pictures which you have seen; Gainsborough beyond himself in a + portrait of a gentleman in a Vandyke habit; and Zoffany superior + to every body, in a portrait of Garrick in the character of Abel + Drugger, with two other figures, Subtle and Face. Sir Joshua + agreed to give a hundred guineas for the picture; Lord Carlisle + half an hour after offered Reynolds twenty to part with it, which + the Knight generously refused, resigned his intended purchase to + the Lord, and the emolument to his brother artist. (He is a + gentleman!) Angelica made a very great addition to the show; and + Mr. Hamilton's picture of Briseis parting from Achilles, was very + much admired; the Briseis in taste, _a l'antique_, elegant and + simple. Coates, Dance, Wilson, &c. as usual. Mr. West had no + large picture finished. You will doubtless imagine, that I + derived my epistolary genius from my nurse; but when you are + tired of my gossiping, you may burn the letter, so I shall go on. + Some of the literati of the Royal Academy were very much + disappointed, as they could not obtain diplomas; but the + Secretary, who is above trifles, has since made a very flattering + compliment to the Academy in the Preface to his Travels: the + Professor of History is comforted by the success of his "Deserted + Village," which is a very pretty poem, and has lately put himself + under the conduct of Mrs. Hornick and her fair daughters, and is + gone to France; and Dr. Johnson sips his tea, and cares not for + the vanity of the world. Sir Joshua, a few days ago, entertained + the Council and Visitors with calipash and calipee, except poor + Coates, who last week fell a sacrifice to the corroding power of + soap-lees, which he hoped would have cured him of the stone: many + a tear will drop on his grave, as he is not more lamented as an + artist than a friend to the distressed. (_Ma poca polvere sono + che nulla sente!_) My mamma declares that you are an insufferable + creature, and that she speaks as good English as your mother did + High-German. Mr. Meyer laughed aloud at your letter, and desired + to be remembered. My father and his daughter long to know the + progress you will make, particularly + + Mary Moser, + + Who remains sincerely your friend, and believes you will exclaim + or mutter to yourself, '_Why did she send this d----d nonsense to + me?_'" + + Henry Fuseli, Esq. a Roma. + + * * * * * + + "Rome, April 27, 1771. + + "MADAM, + + "I am inexcusable. I know your letter by heart, and have never + answered it; but I am often so very unhappy within, that I hold it + matter of remorse to distress such a friend as Miss Moser with my + own whimsical miseries;--they may be fancied evils, but to him who + has fancy, real evils are unnecessary, though I have them too. All + I can say is, that I am approaching the period which commonly + decides a man's life with regard to fame or infamy; if I am + distracted by the thought, those who have passed the Rubicon will + excuse me, and you are amongst the number. + + "Mr. Runciman, who does me the favour to carry these lines, my + friend, and, in my opinion, the best _Painter_ of _us_ in Rome, has + desired me to introduce him to your family; but he wants no other + introduction than his merit. I beg my warmest compliments to papa + and mamma, and am unaltered, + + + "Madam, + + "Your most obliged servant and friend, + + "Fuseli." + + "To Miss Moser, + Craven Buildings, Drury Lane." + + +Mrs. Lloyd was a painter of flowers, which she grouped with taste, and +coloured with truth and brilliancy; in this department of the art she +experienced patronage from her late Majesty Queen Charlotte, who +employed her pencil not only on pictures, but also to decorate a room in +the palace at Frogmore. This lady always held the talents of Fuseli in +the highest respect. Being invited by the late Mr. Angerstein to view +the superb collection of pictures in his house in Pall Mall, then +belonging to him, but subsequently sold by his heirs to the Nation, she +left him by expressing her gratitude for the treat which his kindness +had afforded her, but she added, "In my opinion, Sir, your finest +pictures are on the staircase," alluding to those which he purchased of +Fuseli, and which had formed a part of the Milton Gallery. + +At this time, Garrick was in the height of his reputation; and as Fuseli +considered the theatre the best school for a foreigner to acquire the +pronunciation of the English language, and Garrick's performance an +excellent imitation of the passions, which would give him a lesson +essential to historical designs; he never missed the opportunity of +seeing him act, and he was generally to be found in the front row of the +pit: to obtain which, he often used much personal exertion, and put +himself in situations of hazard and inconvenience. And he has often +dwelt with delight upon the performances of the man who represented so +well the stormy passions of Richard, or the easy libertinism of Ranger; +and then could descend to the credulous Abel Drugger, and, in the +character of the silly tobacconist, so alter the expression of his +countenance as scarcely to be recognised as the person who had +delineated the higher character in the histrionic art. As a proof of the +strong impression which Garrick's acting made at this period upon +Fuseli, there are now in the possession of the Countess of Guilford, two +drawings, which he presented to the late Alderman Cadell; the one +representing Garrick and Mrs. Pritchard as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, +from the passage, + + "I have done the deed;" + +the other, Garrick as Richard the Third, making love to Lady Anne, over +the corse of her father-in-law, Henry the Sixth. These, according to an +inscription on the second, were made in London, in 1766. And although +they have the faults of most of his early productions, yet they are +drawn with characteristic truth and spirit. + +At the end of the year (1766) an advantageous offer was made to Fuseli, +to undertake the situation of travelling tutor to Viscount Chewton, the +eldest son of Earl Waldegrave, which, after consulting Professor Sulzer, +he accepted. For this charge, it was considered, his extensive knowledge +of languages and eminent literary talents fully qualified him. His +lordship was young, and, when in France, showed an impatience of control +common to a youth of his age and rank in life, the latter of which he +thought should exempt him from the authority and constraint which his +tutor considered it his duty to exert. This disposition, on the part of +the pupil, naturally excited the irritable feelings of Fuseli, and on a +second refusal to obey, a severe blow was given. Considering that, after +this, his services would be of no avail to a youth by whom they were not +properly appreciated, he, to use his own words, "determining to be a +bear-leader no longer," wrote in nearly those terms to Earl Waldegrave, +and returned to England. He left, however, some written instructions +with Lord Chewton, showing how he might profit by travelling. On his +return to this country, Earl Waldegrave, so far from condemning (as +Fuseli expected) his conduct, told him that he had acted with a proper +degree of spirit; but Fuseli's family, and most of his friends, blamed +him in the strongest terms for his impetuosity, as they considered that +a want of forbearance on his part had ruined those prospects in life +which naturally would arise from forming a connexion with a family of +such consequence as that of Earl Waldegrave. To Bodmer he explained all +the circumstances of the case, with the state of his feelings; and his +venerable tutor wrote him a letter of consolation. In reply to this, +Fuseli spoke in florid terms of the agonies which he had felt while +residing in that noble family, when he considered himself obliged to say +Yes, when No "stuck in the throat;"--and thus showed, that he was not +framed to live with courtiers. In after-life he used to remark jocosely +to his friends, "The noble family of Waldegrave took me for a +bear-leader, but they found me the bear." + +On Fuseli's return to England, in 1767, there was every prospect that +the society which had been formed for the promotion of the fine arts +would receive royal protection and patronage, and become a chartered +body.[9] And it was then the general opinion, that great public +encouragement would be given to artists. This still increased his wish +to become a painter. He sought for and obtained an introduction to Mr. +(afterwards Sir Joshua) Reynolds, to whom he showed a portfolio of +drawings, and some small etchings, which he had recently made from +subjects in the Bible, and an etching on a large scale from +Plutarch,--"Dion seeing a female spectre sweep his hall." Sir Joshua, +who was much struck with the style, grandeur, and original conception of +his works, asked him how long he had been from Italy? Fuseli answered, +"he had never seen that favoured country;" at which the former expressed +much surprise; and, to mark how highly he estimated his talents, +requested permission to have some of the drawings copied for himself. +This was readily granted, and he was induced, by the solicitations of +Fuseli, to accept some of the etchings. The interview ended by Reynolds +assuring him, that "were he at his age, and endowed with the ability of +producing such works, if any one were to offer him an estate of a +thousand pounds a-year, on condition of being any thing but a painter, +he would, without the least hesitation, reject the offer." + +Having received such encouragement and flattering encomiums from the +greatest painter of the age, Fuseli directed nearly the whole of his +attention to drawing; and at the recommendation of Reynolds, afterwards +tried oil colours. The first picture he produced was "Joseph +interpreting the dreams of the butler and baker of Pharaoh." On showing +this to Reynolds, he encouraged him to proceed, remarking, "that he +might, if he would, be a colourist as well as a draughtsman." This +picture, now in the possession of the Countess of Guilford, fully +justifies the opinion of Sir Joshua, as it is remarkably well coloured, +and, as a first attempt in oil colours, may be considered a surprising +production. + +From the time of Fuseli's first arrival in England, he had been a +constant visitor at Mr. Johnson's house, and, in common with all those +who were acquainted with him, was a great admirer of his steady, upright +character. In the summer of 1767, he was prevailed upon to accompany him +to Liverpool, which was Johnson's native town. From this, and subsequent +visits, Fuseli became acquainted with men who, in after-life, were the +greatest patrons of his pencil. + +The attention of the public was at this time much engaged by the +constant attacks made by Hume and Voltaire on the works of Rousseau. +Fuseli advocated the cause of his countryman, and published anonymously, +during the year 1767, a thin duodecimo volume, entitled "Remarks on the +Writings and Conduct of J. J. Rousseau." But he never wished it to be +considered that he was the author of this work. To speak of it as a +literary production, it abounds with wit and sarcasm; and although, in +style, it cannot be considered strictly English, yet there is novelty in +the remarks, and great power of language throughout the book. It also +shows him to be well read in the works of Rousseau, whom at this time he +idolized, and to be perfectly acquainted with the nature of the disputes +in all their bearings. Perhaps the reasons for not wishing it to be +considered a work of his, although he never denied it, were, that there +are in several instances coarseness of language and indelicacies of +expression which disfigure the pages of the book, and that in more +advanced life the high opinion which he had formed of Rousseau, was in a +degree abated. Fuseli gave the design for the frontispiece, which +represents in the foreground, Voltaire booted and spurred, riding upon +man, who is crawling upon the earth: in the back of the picture, Justice +and Liberty are gibbeted. Rousseau is witnessing Voltaire's pranks, and +by his attitude seems to threaten disclosure. This work is rarely to be +met with, as the greater part of the impression was destroyed shortly +after it was printed, by an accidental fire which took place in Mr. +Johnson's house, who then resided in Paternoster Row. + + + + +CHAPTER III + + Fuseli leaves England for Italy in the society of Dr. + Armstrong.--They quarrel, and separate at Genoa.--Fuseli arrives at + Rome (1770).--His principle of study there.--He suffers through a + fever, and repairs to Venice for his health.--Visits Naples.--Quits + Rome (1778) for Switzerland.--Letter to Mr. Northcote.--Fuseli + renews his classical studies.--Visits his family at + Zurich.--Engages in an unsuccessful love-affair.--Arrives again in + London. + + +Fuseli had now determined to relinquish the pen for the pencil, and to +devote his life to painting; his wishes were therefore directed to Rome, +the seat of the fine arts. + +Having at Mr. Coutts' table renewed the intimacy with Dr. Armstrong, +which formerly subsisted at Berlin, and as the Doctor considered it +necessary to pass the winter in the milder climate of Italy, to relieve +a catarrhal complaint, under which he was then labouring, Fuseli was +tempted to accompany him thither, and they left London the end of +November 1769, with the intention of going to Leghorn by sea. + +Their voyage, from adverse winds and tempestuous weather, was long and +tedious; the monotony of a life at sea, and the qualms which generally +affect landsmen in such a situation, were not fitted to allay the +naturally irritable tempers of Armstrong and his companion: they at +first became dissatisfied with their situation, then with each other, +and finally quarrelled about the pronunciation of an English word; +Fuseli pertinaciously maintaining that a Swiss had as great a right to +judge of the correct pronunciation of English as a Scotsman. + +After a tedious passage of twenty-eight days, the ship was driven by a +gale of wind into Genoa, where Fuseli and Armstrong parted in a mood far +from friendly. Armstrong took the direct road to Florence, where he +intended to reside. Fuseli went first to Milan; here he remained a few +days to examine the works of art, and then passed a short time at +Florence, on his way to Rome, where he arrived on the 9th of February +1770. + +Shortly after he had taken up his abode in "the eternal city," he again +changed the spelling of his name; this he did to accommodate it to the +Italian pronunciation; and always afterwards signed, "_Fuseli_." + +His views now were to see the stores of art, which had been collected +in, or executed at Rome; and subsequently, to examine with care each +particular specimen, for his future improvement. He did not spend his +time in measuring the proportion of the several antique statues, or in +copying the fresco or oil pictures of the great masters of modern times; +but in studying intensely the principles upon which they had worked, in +order to infuse some of their power and spirit into his own productions. + +Although he paid minute attention to the works of Raphael, Correggio, +Titian, and the other great men whom Italy has produced, yet, he +considered the antique and Michael Angelo as his masters, and formed his +style upon their principles. + +To augment his knowledge, he examined living models, sometimes attended +the schools of anatomy, and used the dissecting knife, in order to trace +the origin and insertion of the outer layer of muscles of the human +body. But he was always averse to dissecting, believing the current +story, that his idol, Michael Angelo, had nearly lost his life from a +fever got by an anatomical examination of a human body in a state of +putrefaction. + +By such well-directed studies, and by great exertion, his improvement +was rapid, and he soon acquired a boldness and grandeur of drawing +which surprised the Italian artists, one of whom was so struck with some +of his compositions, that, in reference to their invention, he +immediately exclaimed, "Michael Angelo has come again!" + +In the year 1772, his progress was impeded by a fever, which enfeebled +his nervous system. This illness he attributed to the heat of the +climate, and to having, in a degree, departed from those regular and +very abstemious habits which marked the early part of his life. The +fever changed his hair, originally of a flaxen, to a perfectly white +colour, and caused a tremulous motion in the hands, which never left +him, but increased with age. He has more than once told me, that this +indisposition drove his mind into that state, which Armstrong so +forcibly describes in "The Art of preserving Health:" + + "Such a dastardly despair + Unmans your soul, as madd'ning Pentheus felt, + When, baited round Cithaeron's cruel sides, + He saw two suns, and double Thebes ascend." + +Being advised to change the air and scene, he went to Venice, and +remained there until he had thoroughly examined the works of art in that +city, and regained sufficient strength of body and mind to resume with +effect his studies and labours at Rome. + +Although he got much employment from those Englishmen who resided at or +visited Rome, yet he saved no money, being always negligent of pecuniary +concerns. His friends in England were unacquainted with his progress in +the arts until the year 1774, when he sent a drawing to the exhibition +of the Royal Academy, the subject of which was, "The death of Cardinal +Beaufort," from Shakspeare. + +In 1775, he visited Naples, studied the works of art in that city, and +examined the excavations at Herculaneum and Pompeii. + +In 1777, he sent from Rome to England a picture in oil, representing a +scene in "Macbeth," for the annual exhibition at the Royal Academy. + +In 1778, he took a farewell of Rome, and left his friends there with +regret. As a nation, however, he was not very partial to the modern +Italians, who, he said, "were lively and entertaining, but there was the +slight drawback of never feeling one's life safe in their presence." +This he exemplified by the following fact: "When I was one day preparing +to draw from a woman selected by artists for a model, on account of her +fine figure, on altering the arrangement of her dress, I saw the hilt +of a dagger in her bosom, and on inquiring, with astonishment, what it +meant, she drew it, and quaintly answered, 'Contro gl' impertinenti.'" + +On his way to Switzerland, he stayed some time at Bologna, Parma, +Mantua, Milan, Lugano, and Belanzona. At Bologna, he remained with Sir +Robert Smyth, Bart. who, while at Rome, had given him considerable +employment. Thence he proceeded to Lugano, from which place he wrote the +following letter to Mr. Northcote, who was then studying at Rome:-- + + "Lugano, 29th Sept. 1778. + + "DEAR NORTHCOTE, + + "You may, and must think it unfriendly for me to have advanced to + the borders of Switzerland without writing to you; but what would + have been friendly to you was death to me; and self-preservation is + the first duty of the eighteenth century. Madness lies on the road + I must think over to come at you; and at the sound of Rome, my + heart swells, my eye kindles, and frenzy seizes me. + + "I have lived at Bologna as agreeably and as happily as my + lacerated heart and boiling brains would let me, with Sir Robert + and his lady. + + "You, whose eye diverges not, will make the use of Bologna I have + not, or at least but very imperfectly: much more than what is + thought of, may be made of that place. What I admire, and what I + frequented most,--what indeed suited my melancholy best, are the + cloisters of St. Michael, in Bosco, near the city. The fragments of + painting there are by Ludovico Caracci and his school, and, in my + opinion, superior for realities to the Farnese gallery. There is a + figure[10] in one of the pictures which my soul has set her seal + upon: 'tis to no purpose to tell you what figure--if you find it + not, or doubt, it was not painted for you; and if you find it, you + will be obliged for the pleasure to yourself only. Still in that, + and all I have seen since my departure, Hesiod's paradox gains more + and more ground with me,--'that the half is fuller than the whole,' + or, if you will, full of the whole. + + "At Mantua I have had emotions which I had not apprehended from + Julio Romano, at Rome: but the post going, I have not time to enter + into so contradictory a character. + + "The enclosed[11] I shall re-demand at your hands in England. _Take + need of the mice._ Of Rome, you may tell me what you please. Those + I should wish to know something about, you know not. I have written + to Navina in the Bolognese palace; pray give her my best + compliments _e dille che quando saro in Inghilterra trovero qualche + opportunita di provare, prima del mio ritorno in Italia, che non + sono capace di scordarmi dell' amicizia sua_. To Mr. Hoare I shall + write next post. + + "Love me, + + "Fuseli. + + "P.S. I have been here (at Lugano) these eight days, at the house + of an old schoolfellow of mine, who is governor of this place. + + "A Mons. James Northcote, a Roma." + + +In Italy he became acquainted with David and other artists of note, as +well as with several Englishmen distinguished either for rank or +talents. With the Hon. George Pitt (the late Lord Rivers,) he there +became very intimate, and he was flattered by his friendship and +patronage, which he enjoyed during the whole of his life. + +The necessary employment of his time in painting, and studying works of +art, during several of the first years of his residence in Italy, was +such as to leave little opportunity for other occupations, and he found, +to his regret, that he had either lost a great deal of his knowledge of +the Greek language, or, what is more probable, that he had never +possessed it in that degree which he flattered himself he had attained +while at college. Determined, however, to regain or acquire this, he now +studied sedulously the Grecian poets, made copious extracts of fine +passages from their works, and thus gained, in the opinion of the best +judges, what may be called, at least, a competent knowledge of that +language. + +Although Fuseli's professional talents were much admired, and highly +appreciated in Italy, yet, as he did not court it, he never obtained a +diploma, or other honour, from any academy in those cities in which he +resided, or occasionally visited. Indeed, he refused all overtures which +were made to him on this subject; for he considered that the institution +of academies "were symptoms of art in distress." + +Having arrived at Zurich the end of October 1778, after an absence of +sixteen years, his father, who had taken great pains, in early life, to +check his love for the fine arts, and to prevent his being an artist, +was now gratified by witnessing the great proficiency he had attained: +and he knew enough of the state of the arts in Europe to feel that his +son did then rank, or would shortly, among the first painters of his +time. During a residence of six months with his family, he painted some +pictures; among them "The Confederacy of the Founders of Helvetian +liberty," which he presented to, and which is still preserved in, the +Senate-house at Zurich. Lavater, however, did not consider this picture +a good specimen of his friend's powers, particularly as to colouring, +and expressed his distaste to this in such strong terms, as were by no +means gratifying to him. + +Fuseli was always very susceptible of the passion of love. But when at +Zurich, in the year 1779, his affections were gained in an extraordinary +degree by the attractions of a young lady, then in her twenty-first +year, the daughter of a magistrate, who resided in the "Rech" house of +Zurich. This lady, whom he calls in his correspondence, "Nanna," had a +fine person, lively wit, and great accomplishments, and among the +latter, her proficiency in music was considerable, which is celebrated +in a poem by Goeethe. It appears that she was not indifferent to him; +but her father, who was opulent, considered that her marriage with a man +dependent upon the caprice of the public for his support, was not a +suitable connexion for his daughter, and he therefore withheld his +consent to their union. This disappointment drove Fuseli from Zurich +earlier than he intended; and it would appear by his letters, that his +mind, even after his arrival in England, was almost in a state of +phrenzy. He, some time after, however, received the intelligence that +"Nanna" had given her hand to a gentleman who had long solicited it, +Mons. le Consieller Schinz, the son of a brother of Madame Lavater; and +thus his hopes in that quarter terminated. + +In April 1779, he took a last farewell of his native country and family, +and returned to settle again in London. On his way to England, in order +to improve his knowledge in art, he travelled leisurely through France, +Holland, and the Low Countries, examining in his route whatever was +worthy of notice. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + Fuseli settles in London.--Interview with Mr. + Coutts.--Reconciliation with Dr. Armstrong.--Professor + Bonnycastle.--Society at Mr. Lock's.--Mr. James Carrick Moore and + Admiral Sir Graham Moore.--Sir Joshua Reynolds.--Mr. + West.--Anecdote of Fuseli and West.--The popular picture of "The + Nightmare."--Death of Fuseli's Father.--Visit to Mr. Roscoe at + Liverpool.--Fuseli's singular engagement to revise Cowper's + Iliad.--Three Letters from Mr. Cowper.--Anecdotes of Fuseli and Dr. + Geddes. + + +When Fuseli arrived in London, he took apartments in the house of an +artist, Mr. Cartwright, whom he had known at Rome. This Gentleman then +resided at No. 100, St. Martin's Lane, and practised chiefly as a +portrait painter; he sometimes attempted historical subjects, in which, +however, he did not excel. The kindness and simplicity of Mr. +Cartwright's disposition and manners were appreciated by Fuseli, who +afforded him many useful hints, and sometimes assistance, in his +professional pursuits. When we look at the historical pictures which he +painted, it is easy to perceive what figures owe their production to +Fuseli's mind; but it must be confessed that they appear to hang to the +subject + + "Like a giant's robe upon a dwarfish thief." + +When settled in London, his first object was to renew an acquaintance +with those whose friendship he had cultivated, and, as he considered, +secured before he went to Italy. On calling, for this purpose, upon Mr. +Coutts, that gentleman frankly said, he was not pleased with him for the +quarrel which he had with Dr. Armstrong while on board ship. Fuseli +attempted to remove the impression which had been made on Mr. Coutts' +mind; but that gentleman replied, "I consider that the age and talents +of the Doctor should have commanded a sufficient degree of respect from +you, to have prevented any rudeness on your part; and I am very sorry to +tell you, that he is now labouring under a severe, and what is +considered an incurable malady." This account disarmed Fuseli, who had +always entertained a high opinion of the talents of Armstrong, and +considered his poems, particularly that on "The Art of preserving +Health," productions of great merit. He therefore determined to +suppress every hostile feeling, and to call upon the Doctor without +delay. + +On sending up his name, he was admitted almost immediately into +Armstrong's bed-chamber. The poet, however, could not restrain his +naturally sarcastic humour, and the following dialogue took +place:--Armstrong: "So, you have come back?" Fuseli: "Yes; I have come +home." Armstrong: "Come, you mean, to London! 'the needy villain's +gen'ral home;' however," (putting out his hand) "I thank you for this +visit: you find me in bad plight; but I am glad to see you again." After +this salutation they conversed amicably; but the Doctor did not long +survive the interview.[12] + +About this time, the intimacy between Fuseli and Professor Bonnycastle +commenced, which was kept up during their lives. The introduction took +place at Mr. Johnson's house. Fuseli's voice being heard as he ascended +the staircase, Mr. Johnson said to Bonnycastle, "I will now introduce +you to a most ingenious foreigner, whom I think you will like; but, if +you wish to enjoy his conversation, you will not attempt to stop the +torrent of his words by contradicting him." + +The genius and acquirements of Fuseli soon attracted the notice of men +who were distinguished for learning and talents, and more especially +those who possessed also a taste for the fine arts; among whom may be +particularly noticed Lord Orford, and Mr. Lock of Norbury Park, with +whom, and with his eldest son in particular, he kept up a constant +friendly intercourse. Fuseli not only regarded Mr. William Lock junior, +for the amiability of his character and his extensive knowledge, but +also for his taste and critical judgment in the fine arts, as well as +for the power which he displays in historical painting, whenever he +condescends to employ his pencil thereon. In this particular, he +considered that Mr. W. Lock ranked as high, or higher, than any historic +painter in England. The society at the house of Mr. Lock was well chosen +and very select; and here he occasionally met Sir Joshua Reynolds and +Dr. Moore, author of Zeluco and other popular works. Dr. Moore being +highly entertained with his conversation, took an early opportunity of +introducing him to his family, with the whole of whom Fuseli kept up the +most uninterrupted intercourse and friendship during life. + +I may, I hope, here be allowed to digress by stating, that after the +marriage of Mr. James Carrick Moore and that of his brother, Admiral +Sir Graham Moore, Fuseli in a manner became domesticated in their +respective families. In their houses he was always a welcome and +highly-favoured guest: there he was unrestrained; and his wit and gibes +were allowed to sally forth sometimes upon contemporary artists, and +often upon popular men, or passing events. The freedom which he enjoyed +in their society, encouraged him to give utterance to the wild and +unpremeditated flights of his fancy. It was with these favoured friends +that he displayed the depth of his learning, his fine taste in poetry, +and critical judgment in painting. By their indulgence, his intemperate +expressions usually passed unnoticed, and the ebullitions of a naturally +impatient temper were soothed. + +Gratitude makes me acknowledge the uniform kindness which I have also +experienced from Mr. Carrick Moore and his family; and that I am +indebted to them for much valuable assistance in compiling the +particulars of Fuseli's life, and for some of those characteristic +anecdotes and reminiscences which will be found in the sequel. Fuseli +has more than once said to me, after we had partaken of their +hospitality, "Moore's is the most pleasant house to visit that I know," +and coupled the observation with such encomiums on the sound sense, +knowledge, and accomplishments of that family, (known certainly to those +who have the pleasure of their acquaintance,) which, if repeated in this +place, might be considered by some as flattery on my part. + +When Fuseli returned to England, Sir Joshua Reynolds was in the zenith +of popularity as a portrait painter; but his powers in historical +painting were not then sufficiently appreciated: hence, some of his best +works remained on his hands until his death; for example, the "Dido," +the series of designs for the painted window at Oxford, the "Cymon and +Iphigenia," and several others. West, as an historical painter, was +held, at this time, in equal, if not in higher esteem by the public, +than Sir Joshua. Fuseli was astonished at this, and accordingly was not +backward in expressing his opinion thereon, both in writing and in +conversation, for he was at no time of his life an admirer of West. He +however always gave to him the merit of much skill in composing;--of a +thorough knowledge of the art which he professed, and a perfect mastery +over the materials which he employed; and he spoke in terms of qualified +praise of his pictures of "Regulus,"--"Death of Wolfe," and "Paul +shaking the viper from his hand."--But he considered that West was +wanting in those qualities of the art which give value to historical +design,--invention, and boldness of drawing; and being determined to +show what he could do in these particulars, in 1780, Fuseli exhibited at +the Royal Academy the following pictures: + +"Ezzlin musing over Meduna, slain by him, for disloyalty, during his +absence in the Holy Land."--"Satan starting from the touch of Ithuriel's +lance."--"Jason appearing before Pelias, to whom the sight of a man with +a single sandal had been predicted fatal." + +These paintings raised him, in the opinion of the best judges, to the +highest rank in the art; and the President, Sir Joshua Reynolds, +considered that they possessed so much merit, that he had them placed in +prominent situations in the Exhibition. + +The following anecdote has been told of Fuseli, with regard to West, +which is certainly characteristic of the man, and if true, shows his +feelings towards that painter in a very pointed manner. At the election +of West to the chair of the Royal Academy, in the year 1803, after a +secession of twelve months, the votes for his return to the office of +President were unanimous, except one, which was in favour of Mrs. Lloyd, +then an academician. Fuseli was taxed by some of the members with +having given this vote, and answered, "Well, suppose I did, she is +eligible to the office--and is not one old woman as good as another?" + +The next year, 1781, he painted his most popular picture, "The +Nightmare," which was considered to be unequalled for originality of +conception. The drawing first made, which is now in my possession, had +the words, "St. Martin's Lane, March 1781," written by him in the +margin; it is a masterly performance, chiefly in black chalk, and is +composed without the head of the mare. This subsequent thought is added +in the picture, which, when placed in the annual exhibition of 1782, +excited, as it naturally would, an uncommon degree of interest. This +picture was sold by him for twenty guineas; it was subsequently engraved +by Burke, and published by J. R. Smith; and so popular was the subject, +that the publisher acknowledged to have gained upwards of five hundred +pounds by the sale of the prints, although vended at a small price. + +The conception of the subject of "The Nightmare" has been thus +beautifully described by one of the most popular poets of his time,--Dr. +Darwin. + + "So on his NIGHTMARE, through the evening fog, + Flits the squab fiend o'er fen, and lake, and bog; + Seeks some love-wilder'd maid with sleep oppress'd + Alights, and grinning sits upon her breast-- + Such as of late, amid the murky sky, + Was marked by FUSELI'S poetic eye; + Whose daring tints, with Shakspeare's happiest grace, + Gave to the airy phantom form and place-- + Back o'er her pillow sinks her blushing head, + Her snow-white limbs hang helpless from the bed; + While with quick sighs and suffocative breath, + Her interrupted heart-pulse swims in death." + +Fuseli painted at different periods several pictures of "the Nightmare:" +but in each of them there are variations from, or additions to, the +first drawing of that subject. His fame was about this time further +raised by two pictures, "The Weird Sisters," and "Lady Macbeth walking +in her sleep," of which excellent prints in mezzotinto were made; these +also became popular, and tended to advance the merit of the artist in +the opinion of connoisseurs. + +In 1781, he received intelligence of the death of his father,[13] who +was esteemed both as a writer and a painter, and had not only acquired a +name for his talents, but for the assistance which he was at all times +ready to give in furtherance of literature and the fine arts. At his +decease, he had arrived at the advanced age of seventy-five years. +Fuseli this year painted a picture, representing an interview, which +took place in 1778, between him and his aged tutor, Bodmer. In +this, Fuseli is sitting in an attitude of great attention, and Bodmer +apparently speaking: the subject of the conversation may be supposed to +relate to philosophy or literature, from the bust of a sage which is +placed upon the mantel of the room. This picture he sent to Zurich, as a +present to Solomon Escher, a friend of his, and a near relation of +Bodmer. About this period, in paying a visit to Lord Orford, with whom +he kept up the most familiar intercourse, he had the misfortune to fall +from a horse, and, among other injuries which he received dislocated his +shoulder. + +In 1785, he again visited Liverpool, having received an invitation from +Mr. Roscoe,[14] whose acquaintance he had made shortly after his return +to this country from Italy. This visit cemented that friendship which +remained unabated during his life. Of the virtues and talents of this +friend, Fuseli always spoke in the highest terms of praise. Mr. Roscoe, +who saw Fuseli's works with the eye of a poet, as well as with that of a +connoisseur, patronized him, not only by giving him commissions at +different times to paint ten pictures for himself, but by recommending +his works to his numerous friends. + +In January 1786, Cowper issued a prospectus for publishing a translation +of Homer into English blank verse. To give the public some notion of his +powers, and ability to execute the task, he sent to Mr. Johnson, his +publisher, a manuscript translation of 107 lines of the 24th book of the +Iliad, being part of the interview of Priam and Achilles, and also +proposals for publishing the work by subscription. This specimen was +shown to Fuseli, who, without hesitation, made several alterations in +it, which appeared to Mr. Johnson to be so judicious, that he sent it +back to Cowper for his opinion before the manuscript was printed, +without, however, mentioning the name of the critic. Cowper immediately +saw that these alterations were improvements, and had been made by a +scholar and a man of taste; and expressed his readiness, not only to +adopt them, but to attend to any suggestions, if the same person would +overlook his translation. Fuseli readily agreed to do this, without the +notion of any reward; and he accordingly made observations on the +translation of the Iliad, and alterations therein, before the several +books passed through the press. + +Hayley, in his Life of Cowper, and the latter in the preface to his +translation of Homer, and also in his published letters, have given many +testimonials of their opinion of Fuseli, not only as a Greek scholar, +but for his taste and judgment in English poetry. The former (Hayley) +remarks, "It is a singular spectacle for those who love to contemplate +the progress of social arts, to observe a foreigner, who has raised +himself to high rank in the arduous profession of a painter, correcting, +and thanked for correcting, the chief poet of England, in his English +version of Homer." + +The following letters, hitherto unpublished, which I have obtained +through the kindness of Mr. Hunter, one of the executors to the will of +the late Mr. Johnson, are additional evidence how highly Cowper +estimated the assistance which he received from Fuseli. + + "Olney, March 5th, 1786. + + "SIR, + + "I ought sooner to have acknowledged the receipt of Mr. Fuseli's + strictures; and, had I been at leisure to consult my own + gratification, should have done so. The work will be greatly + indebted to him; and I cannot help adding, though I believe I said + it before, that I account myself singularly happy in the advantages + that I shall derive to my translation from his fine taste and + accurate acquaintance with the original. + + "I much wish for an answer to my question concerning my + subscribers' payments at Bristol. Have you a correspondent there + who can negotiate it? Again I remind you, though perhaps + unnecessarily, of the second volume for Richard Howard, Esq. + + "I have this day sent to Lady Hesketh the remaining half of book 2, + and the whole of books 3, 4, and 5. From her they will pass to + General Cowper, and from him, I suppose, to Mr. Fuseli, in a short + time. In the interview which he had with that gentleman, he was + highly pleased with him. + + "I am, Sir, + + "Your most humble servant, + + "William Cowper." + + "Mr. Joseph Johnson." + + + "Olney, March 8th, 1786. + + "SIR, + + "You are very happy in being so intimately connected with Mr. + Fuseli, a gentleman of such exquisite taste and learning; and I + also account myself very happy, that by your means my work has + found its way into the hands of a person in all respects so + perfectly well qualified to revise it. I am only sorry, that my + distance from town permits me not (at least for the present) the + pleasure of an introduction to one to whom I am to be so much + indebted. I very sincerely thank you for interesting yourself so + much in my comfort, as to write to me principally with a view to + inform me of his approbation. You may take my word for it, that I + find your intelligence on that head a great and effectual + encouragement. I have had some anxious thoughts upon the matter, as + you may suppose, and they are guests I am always glad to dismiss + when I can; and immediately after reading your letter, accordingly + dismissed them. + + "Mr. Fuseli will assuredly find room for animadversion. There are + some objectionable lines, and others that are improvable, of which + I am myself aware. When I receive the manuscript again, I will give + it a close examination, both that I may avail myself of Mr. + Fuseli's remarks to the utmost, and give to the whole of it the + best finishing that I can.[15] + + * * * * * + + "I am, Sir, + + "Your most humble servant, + + "William Cowper." + + "Mr. Joseph Johnson." + + + "Olney, Sept. 2d, 1786. + + "SIR, + + * * * * * + + "Present, Sir, if you please, my compliments to your friend Mr. + Fuseli, and tell him, that I shall be obliged to him if, when he + has finished the revisal of the 8th book, he will be so good as to + send it to General Cowper's, in Charles Street, together with his + strictures. Assure him, likewise, that I will endeavour, by the + closest attention to all the peculiarities of my original, to save + him as much trouble as I can hereafter. I now perfectly understand + what it is that he requires in a translation of Homer; and being + convinced of the justness of his demands, will attempt at least to + conform to them. Some escapes will happen in so long a work, which + he will know how to account for and to pardon. + + "I have been employed a considerable time in the correction of the + first seven books, and have not yet begun the ninth; but I shall in + a day or two, and will send it as soon as finished. + + "I am, Sir, + + "Your most humble servant, + + "William Cowper." + + "Mr. Joseph Johnson." + + +Fuseli grew tired of the labour which he had imposed upon himself, +before the Iliad was finished; but yet he went through the task of +correcting the translation of that poem until its conclusion. The +following extract of a letter to Mr. Roscoe, dated 25th November, 1789, +shows his feelings upon the subject:-- + + "You are not surely serious when you desire to have your remarks + on Cowper's Iliad burnt; whatever they contain upon the specific + turn of language is just; many observations are acute, most + elegant: though, perhaps, I cannot agree to all; for instance, the + word rendered murky is not that which, in other passages, + expresses the negative transparency of water: it means, I believe, + in the text, a misty appearance: this depended on a knowledge of + the Greek. + + "I heartily wish with you, that Cowper had trusted to his own + legs, instead of a pair of stilts, to lift him to fame." + +When Cowper began the Odyssey, Fuseli pleaded, and, as will be shown, +justly pleaded, that his numerous avocations would not allow him time to +correct the translation; this the poet states, and regrets the +circumstance in his preface. He however saw parts of the poem as it was +passing through the press, and made some observations thereon: these are +given in notes, to which the initial letter F. is affixed. + +It is a singular fact that Fuseli never saw Cowper, nor did he ever +write to him or receive a letter from him; all communications being +carried on either through General Cowper, the relation of the poet, or +Mr. Joseph Johnson. + +The late Doctor Geddes frequently visited at Mr. Johnson's, and often +met Fuseli there; both, from their natural temperament, were impatient +of contradiction, and each had an opinion of his own powers, and +depreciated those of the other. It was only to meet in order to dispute, +and the ready wit of Fuseli usually raised the irritable temper of the +doctor, who, when provoked, would burst out of the room and walk once or +twice round St. Paul's Churchyard before he returned to the company; to +the great amusement of Fuseli. One day he indulged himself at Johnson's +table, to plague Geddes with uttering a string of truisms: Geddes at +length became impatient, and said, "I wonder that you, Mr. Fuseli, who +have so much ready wit, should be uttering dogmas by the hour together." +Fuseli immediately answered, "You, Doctor, to find fault with +dogmas,--you, who are the son of a dog--ma." The pause between the +syllables instantly raised a tumult in the doctor's mind, and he +replied, "Son of a b----h I suppose you mean;" and, as usual, left the +room to cool himself by his accustomed round. + +Dr. Geddes had a great love for horticultural pursuits. Dilating one day +on the evils of fanaticism, Fuseli stopped him, by, "You, Doctor, to +speak against fanaticism, when you are a fanatic."--"In what?" asked +Geddes impatiently.--"In raising cucumbers," said the other. + +When Cowper's translation of Homer appeared, Geddes, who was a great +admirer of Pope, was irritated beyond measure at the work, but chiefly +by the praises bestowed in the preface upon Fuseli; and he had not +sufficient prudence even to hide what he felt, but a detail of this will +be given best in the words of his intimate friend, admirer, and +biographer, the late Doctor I. Mason Good. + + "Pope was the idol of Geddes, and estimated by him as highly + above Cowper, as Cowper was above his contemporaries: and he + could not but look with a jealous eye upon any one who attempted + to rival the poet of his heart. Geddes was disgusted with Cowper + from the very first page, and in a fit of undue exasperation + declared he would translate Homer himself, and show that it was + possible to make as good versification, while he preserved not + only all the epithets and phraseologies of the original, which + Mr. Cowper has not done, but the very order itself. Yet what + appears principally to have irritated him, was Mr. Cowper's + declaration, towards the close of his preface, of acknowledgments + 'to the learned and ingenious Mr. Fuseli,' whom he styles in the + same place 'the best critic in Homer I have ever met with.' + + "Accident had frequently thrown Dr. Geddes and Mr. Fuseli into + the same company, and much learned dust had as frequently been + excited between the two critical combatants, not at all times to + the amusement of the rest of the respective parties. Whatever + opinion Mr. Fuseli may have entertained of the powers of his + antagonist, it is certain that Doctor Geddes was not very deeply + impressed with those of Mr. Fuseli, and that he scarcely allowed + him the merit to which he is actually entitled. When, therefore, + he found in Mr. Cowper's preface, that instead of consulting the + profound erudition and sterling authorities of Stephens, Clarke, + Ernesti, and Velloison, he had turned to Mr. Fuseli as his only + oracle, and had gloried in submitting to the whole of his + corrections and emendations: to his disappointment at the + inadequacy of the version, was added a contempt of the quarter to + which he had fled for assistance. + + "Geddes resolved to translate Homer, and in the beginning of + 1792, published a translation of the first book as a specimen. In + the preface he says, 'I beg leave to assure my readers that + neither _Fuseli nor any other profound critic_ in Homer, has + given me the smallest assistance; the whole merit or demerit of + my version rests solely with myself.' The attempt failed, and he + never succeeded beyond the first book." + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + Subjects painted by Fuseli for Boydell's "Shakspeare Gallery."--His + assistance towards the splendid Edition of "Lavater's + Physiognomy."--His picture for Macklin's "Poets' Gallery."--His + contributions to the Analytical Review.--His critique on Cowper's + Homer. + + +In the year 1786, Mr. Alderman Boydell, at the suggestion of Mr. George +Nicol, began to form his splendid collection of modern historical +pictures, the subjects being from Shakspeare's plays, and which was +called "The Shakspeare Gallery." This liberal and well-timed speculation +gave great energy to this branch of the art, as well as employment to +many of our best artists and engravers, and among the former, to Fuseli, +who executed eight large and one small picture for the gallery. The +following were the subjects: + +Prospero, Miranda, Caliban, and Ariel--from the Tempest. Titania in +raptures with Bottom, who wears the ass's head, attendant fairies, &c. +Titania awaking, discovers Oberon at her side; Puck is removing the +ass's head from Bottom--Midsummer Night's Dream. Henry the Vth with the +Conspirators--King Henry V. Lear dismissing Cordelia from his +Court--King Lear. Ghost of Hamlet's Father--Hamlet. Falstaff and +Doll--King Henry IV. 2d part. Macbeth meeting the Witches on the +Heath--Macbeth. Robin Goodfellow--Midsummer Night's Dream.--This gallery +gave the public an opportunity of judging of Fuseli's versatile powers. + +The stately majesty of the ghost of Hamlet's father, contrasted with the +expressive energy of his son, and the sublimity brought about by the +light, shadow, and general tone, strike the mind with awe. In the +picture of Lear is admirably pourtrayed the stubborn rashness of the +father, the filial piety of the discarded daughter, and the wicked +determination of Regan and Goneril. The fairy scenes in the Midsummer +Night's Dream amuse the fancy, and show the vast inventive powers of the +painter: and Falstaff with Doll is exquisitely ludicrous. + +The example set by Boydell was a stimulus to other speculations of a +similar nature, and within a few years appeared the Macklin and +Woodmason galleries; and it may be said with great truth, that Fuseli's +pictures were among the most striking, if not the best in either +collection. + +The splendid edition of Lavater's physiognomy was announced this year +(1786) for publication. Fuseli wrote the preface, or, as he modestly +called it, the "advertisement;" corrected the translation by Hunter; +made several drawings to illustrate the work; and superintended the +execution of the engravings. Lavater had prepared many of his drawings, +illustrative of the system, on a folio size, wishing the treatise to be +brought out in that form; and it was his desire, that his lines should +be rather traced than imitated by the engraver. Fuseli entered into an +animated correspondence on this subject; gave him to understand, that +the quarto size best pleased the British public; and expressed his own +decided opinion against "ponderous folios." He at length succeeded in +getting Lavater's slow consent to the work appearing in quarto; but so +particular was the author as to a proper exemplification, that he made +his drawings anew to suit the quarto size. + +In 1787, he painted a picture for Macklin's Poet's Gallery, "the Vision +of Prince Arthur." + +In May 1788, the Analytical Review was commenced by Mr. Johnson, and he +entered into engagements with most of the authors whose works he +published, to write criticisms for it. Fuseli, of course, was among the +number; and he wrote, during the progress of that work, which continued +until December 1798, upwards of eighty articles, some of which were long +and laboured criticisms, while others were only brief notices of the +contents of the books. As his knowledge was general and extensive, so he +was employed in several departments of literature, and reviewed works on +the classics, history, the _belles lettres_, physiology, geography, and +the fine arts. Fuseli not only took an interest in his own criticisms in +this Review, but frequently defended those of others. When the +authenticity of the Parian Chronicle was doubted by the Rev. Joseph +Robertson, in a work which he published, it was reviewed and confuted by +the Rev. John Hewlett. Robertson replied to this very angrily; and on +Mr. Hewlett's being urged, in the hearing of Fuseli, not to let this +reply pass without observation, he immediately said, "Answer it! no, by +G----d, the subject is as dead as hell: a lion does not feed upon +carrion." + +The following criticisms on "Cowper's Homer," and "Roscoe's Lorenzo de' +Medici," will give some idea of his powers in this department of +literature. + + COWPER'S HOMER. + + Translators of poetry may be arranged into two classes: those who, + without invention, but an ardent ambition for its honours, with + powers of embellishment, harmony of diction, and elegance of taste, + attempt to graft their own scions on a solid stem; and those who, + from real or imagined sympathy with the production of another, + unable to perceive excellence through any other medium but that of + their idol, renounce all individual consequence, swear to his + words, and rank themselves under his banner. The first sacrifice + their model to themselves and their age; the second sacrifice both + to their darling original. Of both kinds of translation, the muses + of this country have produced specimens: Mr. Pope ranks foremost in + the former; whether that of Mr. Cowper claims the same eminence in + the latter class, we are now to inquire. + + Though the ultimate end of poetry be to please, and the best + include both instruction and pleasure at once, it will easily be + perceived that the laws which are to rule two species of + translation so different, cannot be the same. The laws which the + first imposes, are of its own creation and choice; the laws of the + second resemble somewhat those which a master prescribes to his + servant;--they have little to gratify vanity, they are related to + resignation,--they are fidelity and simplicity, with as much + harmony and vivacity as is compatible with both; for the translator + of Homer, indeed, the difficulty will not be--how much he shall + sacrifice of these two last requisites, but how much he shall be + able to obtain, or to preserve. + + By _fidelity_, some will understand the mere substitution of one + language for another, with the entire sacrifice of idiom and metre, + which belongs only to the literal translation of school-books. + Fidelity, as Mr. C. himself has with equal happiness and precision + defined it in his preface, is that quality which neither omits nor + adds any thing to an author's stock. "I have invented nothing,' + says he; "I have omitted nothing." When we consider the magnificent + end of epic poetry,--to write for all times and all races,--to + treat of what will always exist and always be understood, the puny + laws of local decorum and fluctuating fashions by which the + omission or modification of certain habits and customs, natural but + obsolete, is prescribed, cannot come into consideration. Such laws + may bind the meaner race of writers. He who translates Homer knows, + that when Patroclus administers at table, or Achilles slays the + sheep himself for Priam, a chief and a prince honour the chieftains + and king who visit them, and disdain to leave to meaner hands these + pledges of hospitality; and he translates faithfully and minutely, + nor fears that any will sneer at such a custom, but those who sneer + at the principle that established it. He neither "attempts to + soften or refine away" the energy of passages relative to the + theology of primitive ages, or fraught with allegoric images of + the phenomena of nature, though they might provoke the smile of the + effeminate, and of the sophists of his day. This is the first and + most essential part of the fidelity prescribed to a translator; and + this Mr. C. has so far scrupulously observed, that he must be + allowed to have given us more of Homer, and added less of his own, + than all his predecessors; and this he has done with that + simplicity, that purity of manner, which we consider as the second + requisite of translation. + + By _simplicity_, we mean, what flows from the heart; and there is + no instance of any translator known to us, who has so entirely + transfused the primitive spirit of an ancient work into a modern + language; whose own individual habits and bent, if we may be + allowed the expression, seem to be so totally annihilated, or to + have coalesced so imperceptibly with his model. He is so lost in + the contemplation of his author's narrative, that, in reading, we + no more think of _him_ than we do of Homer, when he hurls us along + by the torrent of his plan: no quaintness, no antithesis, no + epigrammatic flourish, beckons our attention from its track, bids + us admire or rather indignantly spurn the intruding dexterity of + the writer. To have leisure to think of the author when we read, or + of the artist when we behold, proves that the work of either is of + an inferior class: we have neither time to inquire after Homer's + birth-place or rank, when Andromache departs from her husband, nor + stoop to look for the inscription of the artist's name, when we + stand before the Apollo. + + Considering next the _harmony_ of numbers prescribed to the + translator of a poet, Mr. C. himself allows that he has many a + line 'with an ugly hitch in its gait;' and perhaps to those he + acknowledges as such, and the copious list of others called forth + in battle array against him, no trifling file of equally feeble, + harsh, or halting ones might be added. Still we do not hesitate to + give it as our opinion, founded on a careful perusal of the whole, + that the style and the flow of his numbers are in general + consonance with the spirit of the poem. In particular lines, he may + be inferior to many; we even venture to say, that he has as often + adopted or imitated the discords of Milton, as his flow of verse. + The English Jupiter perhaps shakes his ambrosial curls not with the + full majesty of the Greek; the plaintive tones of Andromache do not + perhaps melt, or the reverberated bursts of Hector's voice break, + on our ear with their native melody or strength; the stone of + modern Sisyphus oppresses not with equal weight, or rebounds with + equal rapidity as that of old; the hoarseness of Northern language + bound in pebbly monosyllables, and almost always destitute of + decided quantities, must frequently baffle the most vigorous + attempt, if even no allowance were made for the terror that invests + a celebrated passage, and dashes the courage of the translator with + anxiety and fear. Still, if Mr. C. be not always equally successful + in the detail, his work possesses that harmony which consists in + the variety of well-poised periods,--periods that may be pursued + without satiety, and dismiss the ear uncloyed by that monotony + which attends the roundest and most fortunate rhyme, the rhyme of + Dryden himself. + + The chief trespass of our translator's style,--and it will be found + to imply a trespass against his fidelity and simplicity,--is no + doubt the intemperate use of inversion, ungraceful in itself, + contrary to the idiom of his language, and, what is still worse, + subversive of perspicuity, than which no quality distinguishes + Homer more from all other writers: for Homer, though fraught with + every element of wisdom, even in the opinion of a critic[16] to no + heresy more adverse than that of acknowledging faultless merit, + whether ancient or modern,--Homer, with all this fund of useful + doctrine, remains to this day the most perspicuous of poets, the + writer least perplexed with ambiguity of style. His tale is so + clearly told, that even now, as of yore, he is or may be the + companion of every age, and almost every capacity, at almost every + hour. This perspicuity is perhaps not to be attained by the + scantiness of modern grammar; it is perhaps not to be fully + expected from the inferior powers of the most attentive translator, + wearied with labour, and fancying that to be clear to others which + is luminous to him: but this we cannot allow to be pleaded every + where in excuse of our translator's ambiguities, after the ample + testimony he bore in his preface to the perspicuity of his author. + Such palliation, indeed, will not be offered by him who tells us, + that not one line before us escaped his attention. We decline + entering into particulars on this head, partly because Mr. C. + cannot be ignorant of the passages alluded to, partly because + sufficient, and even exuberant, pains have been taken by others to + point them out to the public. + + But if the translator often deviate from his model in so essential + a requisite, he scrupulously adheres to another of much less + consequence,--the observance of those customary epithets with which + Homer distinguishes his gods and heroes from each other. As most of + these are frequently no more than harmonious expletives of the + verse, often serve only as a ceremonious introduction to his + speakers, we are of opinion, that he might at least have sometimes + varied them with advantage to his verse, and for the greater + gratification of his reader. He who thought it a venial licence to + deviate in the first line of his work from the text, who + cries--'woe to the land of dwarfs,'[17]--who makes his hero often + 'the swiftest of the swift,' tinges the locks of Menelaus with + 'amber,' and varies Eumaeus from plain swineherd to 'the illustrious + steward or noble pastor of the sties,' he surely might have saved + us from the 'archer-god,' 'the cloud-assembler Jove,' the + 'city-spoiler chief,' the 'cloud-assembler deity,' &c. &c. &c. or, + in mercy to our debauched ears, have meditated combinations more + consonant to verse and language. Their casual omission would not + have proved a greater infidelity than that which made him disregard + names and epithets, expressly repeated in the original, of which + that of Asius the Hyrtacide in the catalogue[18] is a striking + instance. + + Homer is ample, and the translator studies to be so, and generally + with success; but Homer is likewise concise, where Mr. C. is often + verbose, and where, by more careful meditation, or more frequent + turning of line and period, he might have approached his master. + Homer finishes; but, like Nature, without losing the whole in the + parts. The observations which the translator offers on this in the + Preface we are tempted to transcribe. Pref. p. xv. + + "The passages which will be least noticed, and possibly not at all, + except by those who shall wish to find me at a fault, are those + which have cost me abundantly the most labour. It is difficult to + kill a sheep with dignity in a modern language, to flay and to + prepare it for the table, detailing every circumstance of the + process. Difficult also, without sinking below the level of poetry, + to harness mules to a waggon, particularizing every article of + their furniture, straps, rings, staples, and even the tying of the + knots that kept all together. Homer, who writes always to the eye, + with all his sublimity and grandeur, has the minuteness of a + Flemish painter." + + To this remark, founded on truth, we could have wished Mr. C. had + added the reason why Homer contrived to be minute without being + tedious,--to appear finished without growing languid,--to + accumulate details without losing the whole; defects which have + invariably attended the descriptions of his finished followers, + from Virgil and Apollonius, down to Ariosto, and from him to the + poets of our days, Milton alone excepted. It is, because he never + suffered the descriptions that branched out of his subject to + become too heavy for the trunk that supported them; because he + never admitted any image calculated to reflect more honour on his + knowledge than on his judgment; because he did not seek, but find, + not serve, but rule detail, absorbed by his great end; and chiefly, + because he, and he alone, contrived to create the image he + described, limb by limb, part by part, before our eyes, connecting + it with his plot, and making it the offspring of action and time, + the two great mediums of poetry. The chariot of Juno is to be + described:[19] it is not brought forth as from a repository, tamely + to wait before the celestial portico, and subjected to finical + examination, the action all the while dormant: on the spur of the + moment, Hebe is ordered to put its various parts together before + our eyes; the goddess arranges her coursers, mounts, shakes the + golden reins, and flies off with Minerva, and our anticipating + expectation, to the battle. Agamemnon is to appear in panoply:[20] + we are not introduced to enumerate greaves, helmet, sword, belt, + corslet, spear; they become important by the action only that + applies them to the hero's limbs. We are admitted to the toilet of + Juno:[21] no idle _etalage_ of ornaments ready laid out, of boxes, + capsules, and cosmetics; the ringlets rise under her fingers, the + pendants wave in her ears, the zone embraces her breast, perfumes + rise in clouds round her body, her vest is animated with charms. + Achilles is to be the great object of our attention: his shield a + wonder:[22] heaven, earth, sea, gods, and men, are to occupy its + orb; yet, even here he deviates not from his great rule, we see its + august texture rise beneath the hammer of Vulcan, and the action + proceeds with the strokes of the celestial artist. Where + description must have stagnated or suspended action, it is confined + to a word, 'the sable ship,' 'the hollow ship;' or despatched with + a compound, 'the red-prowed ship,' 'the shadow-stretching spear.' + If the instrument be too important to be passed over lightly, he, + with a dexterity next to miraculous, makes it contribute to raise + the character of the owner. The bow of Pandarus is traced[23] to + the enormous horns of the mountain ram, and its acquisition proves + the sly intrepidity of the archer, who bends it now. The sceptre of + Agamemnon[24] becomes the pedigree of its wearer: it is the + elaborate work of Vulcan for Jupiter, his gift to Hermes, his + present to Pelops, the inheritance of Atreus, the shepherd-staff of + Thyestes, the badge of command for Agamemnon. Thus Homer describes; + this is the mystery, without which the most exquisite description + becomes an excrescence, and only clogs and wearies the indignant + and disappointed reader. Poetic imitation, we repeat it, is + progressive, and less occupied with the _surface_ of the object + than its _action_; hence all comparisons between the poet's and the + painter's manners, ought to be made with an eye to the respective + end and limits of either art: nor can these observations be deemed + superfluous, except by those who are most in want of them, the + descriptive tribe, who imagine they paint what they only perplex, + and fondly dream of enriching the realms of fancy by silly + excursions into the province of the florist, chemist, or painter of + still life. + + Proceeding now to lay before the reader specimens of the + translation itself, we shall select passages which, by their + contrast, may enable him to estimate the variety of our author's + powers, to poise his blemishes and beauties, and to form an idea of + what he is to expect from a perusal of the whole. To exhibit only + the splendid, would have been insidious; it would have been unfair + to expose languor alone;--we have pursued a middle course; and when + he has consulted the volumes themselves, the reader, we trust, will + pronounce us equally impartial to the author and himself. + + Juno, entering her apartment to array herself for her visit to + Jupiter on Gargarus, is thus described--Iliad, B. XIV. p. 365. + + "She sought her chamber; Vulcan, her own son, + That chamber built. He framed the solid doors, + And to the posts fast closed them with a key + Mysterious, which, herself except, in heav'n + None understood. Entering, she secured + The splendid portal. First, she laved all o'er + Her beauteous body with ambrosial lymph, + Then, polish'd it with richest oil divine + Of boundless fragrance; oil that, in the courts + Eternal only shaken, through the skies + Breathed odours, and through all the distant earth. + Her whole fair body with those sweets bedew'd, + She pass'd the comb through her ambrosial hair, + And braided her bright locks, streaming profuse + From her immortal brows; with golden studs + She made her gorgeous mantle fast before, + Ethereal texture, labour of the hands + Of Pallas, beautified with various art, + And braced it with a zone fringed all round + An hundred fold; her pendents triple-gemm'd + Luminous, graceful, in her ears she hung, + And cov'ring all her glories with a veil, + Sun-bright, new-woven, bound to her fair feet + Her sandals elegant. Thus, full attired + In all her ornaments, she issued forth, + And beck'ning Venus from the other pow'rs + Of Heav'n apart, the Goddess thus bespake: + 'Daughter, beloved! Shall I obtain my suit? + Or wilt thou thwart me, angry that I aid + The Grecians, while thine aid is given to Troy?' + "To whom Jove's daughter, Venus, thus replied. + 'What would majestic Juno, daughter dread + Of Saturn, sire of Jove? I feel a mind + Disposed to gratify thee, if thou ask + Things possible, and possible to me.' + "Then thus, with wiles veiling her deep design, + Imperial Juno. 'Give me those desires, + That love-enkindling power by which thou sway'st + Immortal hearts, and mortal, all alike. + For to the green Earth's utmost bounds I go, + To visit there the parent of the Gods, + Oceanus, and Tethys his espoused, + Mother of all. They kindly from the hands + Of Rhea took, and with parental care + Sustain'd and cherish'd me, what time from heav'n + The Thund'rer howl'd down Saturn, and beneath + The earth fast bound him and the barren Deep. + Them, go I now to visit, and their feuds + Innumerable to compose; for long + They have from conjugal embrace abstain'd + Through mutual wrath; whom by persuasive speech + Might I restore into each other's arms, + They would for ever love me and revere. + + "Her, foam-born Venus then, Goddess of smiles, + Thus answer'd. 'Thy request, who in the arms + Of Jove reposest the Omnipotent, + Nor just it were, nor seemly, to refuse.' + "So saying, the cincture from her breast she loos'd + Embroider'd, various, her all-charming zone. + It was an ambush of sweet snares, replete + With love, desire, soft intercourse of hearts, + And music of resistless whisper'd sounds + That from the wisest steal their best resolves; + She placed it in her hands and thus she said. + 'Take this--this girdle fraught with ev'ry charm. + Hide this within thy bosom, and return, + Whate'er thy purpose, mistress of it all.' + She spake; imperial Juno smiled, and still + Smiling complacent, bosom'd safe the zone." + + Euphorbus falls thus under the spear of Menelaus: Iliad, B. XVII. + p. 452. v. 60. + + "Sounding he fell; loud rang his batter'd arms. + His locks, which even the Graces might have own'd, + Blood-sullied, and his ringlets wound about + With twine of gold and silver, swept the dust. + As the luxuriant olive, by a swain + Rear'd in some solitude where rills abound, + Puts forth her buds, and, fann'd by genial airs + On all sides, hangs her boughs with whitest flow'rs, + But by a sudden whirlwind from its trench + Uptorn, it lies extended on the field, + Such, Panthus' warlike son, Euphorbus seem'd, + By Menelaus, son of Atreus, slain + Suddenly, and of all his arms despoil'd. + But as the lion on the mountains bred, + Glorious in strength, when he hath seiz'd the best + And fairest of the herd, with savage fangs + First breaks her neck, then laps the bloody paunch + Torn wide; meantime, around him, but remote, + Dogs stand and swains clamouring, yet by fear + Repress'd, annoy him not or dare approach; + So there, all wanted courage to oppose + The force of Menelaus, glorious chief." + + The beauty of this passage will no doubt prompt Mr. C. to revise + the words descriptive of the olive's gender. He cannot possibly + have had an eye to the passage in the XIth B. of the Odyssey, + relating to the spirit of Tiresias; the licence there, and the + beauty obtained by it, are founded on very different principles. + + With the following ample scene between Achilles, Lycaon, and + Asteropaeus, we conclude our extracts from the Iliad, B. XXI. p. + 553. v. 119. + + "Such supplication the illustrious son + Of Priam made, but answer harsh received. + 'Fool! speak'st of ransom? Name it not to me. + For till my friend his miserable fate + Accomplish'd, I was somewhat giv'n to spare, + And num'rous; whom I seized alive, I sold; + But now, of all the Trojans whom the Gods + Deliver to me, none shall death escape, + 'Specially of the house of Priam, none. + Die, therefore, even thou, my friend! What mean + Thy tears, unreasonably shed, and vain? + Died not Patroclus, braver far than thou? + And look on me--see'st not to what an height + My stature tow'rs, and what a bulk I boast? + A king begat me, and a Goddess bore. + What then! A death by violence awaits + Me also, and at morn, or eve, or noon + I perish, whensoe'er the destin'd spear + Shall reach me, or the arrow from the nerve.' + "He ceased, and where the suppliant kneel, he died. + Quitting the spear, with both hands spread abroad + He sat; but swift Achilles with his sword + 'Twixt neck and key-bone smote him, and his blade + Of double edge sank all into the wound. + He prone extended on the champion lay, + Bedewing with his sable blood the glebe, + 'Till, by the foot, Achilles cast him far + Into the stream, and as he floated down, + Thus in wing'd accents, glorying exclaim'd. + 'Lie there, and feed the fishes, which shall lick + Thy blood secure. Thy mother ne'er shall place + Thee on thy bier, nor on thy body weep, + But swift Scamander on his giddy tide + Shall bear thee to the bosom of the sea. + There, many a fish shall through the crystal flood + Ascending to the rippled surface, find + Lycaon's pamper'd flesh delicious fare. + Die Trojans! till we reach your city, you + Fleeing, and slaughtering, I. This pleasant stream + Of dimpling silver, which ye worship oft + With victim bulls, and sate with living steeds + His rapid whirlpools, shall avail you nought, + But ye shall die, die terribly till all + Shall have requited me with just amends + For my Patroclus, and for other Greeks + Slain at the ships, while I declined the war.' + "He ended, at whose words still more incensed + Scamander means devised, thenceforth, to check + Achilles, and avert the doom of Troy. + Meantime the son of Peleus, his huge spear + Grasping, assail'd Asteropaeus, son + Of Pelegon, on fire to take his life. + Fair Periboea, daughter eldest-born + Of Acessamenus, his father bore + To broad-stream'd Axius, who had clasp'd the nymph + In his embrace. On him Achilles sprang. + He, newly risen from the river, stood + Arm'd with two lances opposite, for him + Xanthus embolden'd, at the deaths incensed + Of many a youth whom, mercy none vouchsafed, + Achilles had in all his current slain. + And now, small distance interposed, they faced + Each other, when Achilles thus began. + 'Who art and whence, who dar'st encounter me? + Hapless, the sires whose sons my force defy.' + "To whom the noble son of Pelegon, + Pelides, mighty chief. 'Why hast thou ask'd + My derivation? From the land I come + Of mellow-soil'd Paeonia, far remote, + Chief-leader of Paeonia's host spear-arm'd; + This day hath also the eleventh ris'n + Since I at Troy arriv'd. For my descent, + It is from Axius' river, wide-diffused, + From Axius, fairest stream that waters earth, + Sire of bold Pelegon, whom men report + My sire. Let this suffice. Now fight, Achilles!' + "So spake he threat'ning, and Achilles rais'd + Dauntless the Pelian ash. At once two spears + The hero bold, Asteropaeus threw, + With both hands apt for battle. One his shield + Struck but pierced not, impeded by the gold, + Gift of a God; the other as it flew + Grazed his right elbow; sprang the sable blood; + But, overflying him, the spear in earth + Stood planted deep, still hung'ring for the prey. + Then, full at the Paeonian Peleus' son + Hurl'd forth his weapon with unsparing force, + But vain; he struck the sloping river-bank, + And mid-length deep stood plunged the ashen beam. + Then, with his faulchion drawn, Achilles flew + To smite him; he in vain, meantime, essay'd + To pluck the rooted spear forth from the bank; + Thrice with full force he shook the beam, and thrice, + Although reluctant, left it; at his fourth + Last effort, bending it, he sought to break + The ashen spear-beam of AEacides, + But perish'd by his keen-edg'd faulchion first; + For on the belly, at his navel's side, + He smote him; to the ground effused fell all + His bowels, Death's dim shadows veil'd his eyes, + Achilles ardent on his bosom fix'd + His foot, despoil'd him, and exulting cried. + 'Lie there; though river-sprung thou find'st it hard + To cope with sons of Jove omnipotent. + Thou said'st, a mighty river is my sire-- + But my descent from mightier Jove I boast; + My father, whom the myrmidons obey, + Is son of AEacus, and he, of Jove. + As Jove all streams excels that seek the sea, + So, Jove's descendants nobler are than theirs. + Behold a River at thy side--Let Him + Afford thee, if he can, some succour--No, + He may not fight against Saturnian Jove. + Therefore, not kingly Achelous, + Nor yet the strength of Ocean's vast profound, + Although from him all rivers and all seas, + All fountains, and all wells proceed, may boast + Comparison with Jove, but even He + Astonish'd trembles at his fiery bolt, + And his dread thunders rattling in the sky." + + On opening the Odyssey, we present the reader with the interview of + Ulysses and his mother in the Shades, and the description of Tyro's + amour with Neptune.--Odyss. B. XI. p. 254. + + "She said; I ardent wish'd to clasp the shade + Of my departed mother; thrice I sprang + Toward her, by desire impetuous urged, + And thrice she flitted from between my arms, + Light as a passing shadow or a dream. + Then, pierced by keener grief, in accents wing'd + With filial earnestness, I thus replied:-- + 'My mother, why elud'st thou my attempt + To clasp thee, that ev'n here, in Pluto's realm, + We might to full satiety indulge + Our grief, enfolded in each other's arms? + Hath Proserpine, alas! only dispatch'd + A shadow to me, to augment my woe?' + "Then, instant, thus the venerable form. + 'Ah, son! thou most afflicted of mankind! + On thee, Jove's daughter, Proserpine, obtrudes + No airy semblance vain; but such the state + And nature is of mortals once deceased. + For they nor muscle have, nor flesh, nor bone; + All those, (the spirit from the body once + Divorced) the violence of fire consumes, + And, like a dream, the soul flies swift away. + But haste thou back to light, and, taught thyself + These sacred truths, hereafter teach thy spouse.' + "Thus mutual we conferr'd. Then, thither came, + Encouraged forth by royal Proserpine, + Shades female num'rous, all who consorts, erst, + Or daughters were of mighty chiefs renown'd. + About the sable blood frequent they swarm'd, + But I consid'ring sat, how I might each + Interrogate, and thus resolv'd. My sword + Forth drawing from beside my sturdy thigh, + Firm I prohibited the ghosts to drink + The blood together; they successive came; + Each told her own distress; I question'd all. + "There, first, the high-born Tyro I beheld; + She claim'd Salmoneus as her sire, and wife + Was once of Cretheus, son of AEolus, + Enamour'd of Enipeus, stream divine. + Loveliest of all that water earth, beside + His limpid current she was wont to stray, + When Ocean's God (Enipeus' form assumed) + Within the eddy-whirling river's mouth + Embraced her; there, while the o'er-arching flood, + Uplifted mountainous, conceal'd the God + And his fair human bride, her virgin zone + He loos'd, and o'er her eyes sweet sleep diffused. + His am'rous purpose satisfied, he grasp'd + Her hand, affectionate, and thus he said. + 'Rejoice in this, my love, and when the year + Shall tend to consummation of its course, + Thou shalt produce illustrious twins, for love + Immortal never is unfruitful love. + Rear them with all a mother's care; meantime, + Hence to thy home. Be silent. Name it not, + For I am Neptune, shaker of the shores.' + "So saying, he plunged into the billowy deep. + She, pregnant grown, Pelias and Neleus bore, + Both valiant ministers of mighty Jove." + + The visit of Hermes to Calypso and her abode, are thus + described.--Odyss. B. V. p. 110. + + "He ended, nor the Argicide refused, + Messenger of the skies; his sandals fair, + Ambrosial, golden, to his feet he bound, + Which o'er the moist wave, rapid as the wind, + Bear him, and o'er th' illimitable earth, + Then took his rod, with which, at will, all eyes + He closes soft, or opes them wide again. + So arm'd, forth flew the valiant Argicide. + Alighting on Pieria, down he stoop'd + To ocean, and the billows lightly skimm'd + In form a sea-mew, such as in the bays + Tremendous of the barren deep her food + Seeking dips oft in brine her ample wing. + In such disguise, o'er many a wave he rode, + But reaching, now, that isle remote, forsook + The azure deep, and at the spacious grot + Where dwelt the amber-tressed nymph arrived, + Found her within. A fire on all the hearth + Blazed sprightly, and, afar-diffused, the scent + Of smooth split cedar and of cyprus-wood. + Odorous, burning, cheer'd the happy isle. + She, busied at the loom, and plying fast + Her golden shuttle, with melodious voice + Sat chaunting there; a grove on either side, + Alder and poplar, and the redolent branch + Wide-spread of cypress, skirted dark the cave. + There many a bird of broadest pinion built + Secure her nest, the owl, the kite, and daw + Long-tongued, frequenter of the sandy shores. + A garden-vine luxuriant on all sides + Mantled the spacious cavern, cluster-hung + Profuse; four fountains of serenest lymph + Their sinuous course pursuing side by side, + Stray'd all around, and ev'ry where appear'd + Meadows of softest verdure, purpled o'er + With violets; it was a scene to fill + A God from heav'n with wonder and delight. + Hermes, heav'n's messenger, admiring stood + That sight, and having all survey'd, at length + Enter'd the grotto; nor the lovely nymph + Him knew not soon as seen, for not unknown + Each to the other the immortals are, + How far soever sep'rate their abodes. + Yet found he not within the mighty chief + Ulysses; he sat weeping on the shore, + Forlorn, for there his custom was with groans + Of sad regret t' afflict his breaking heart, + Looking continual o'er the barren deep. + Then thus Calypso, nymph divine, the God + Question'd from her resplendent throne august." + + With the subsequent passage of Ulysses' stratagem in the cave of + Polypheme, we shall dismiss the Odyssey, and add a few + observations.--Odyss. B. IX. p. 207. + + "'Cyclops! thou hast my noble name inquired, + Which I will tell thee. Give me, in return, + The promised boon, some hospitable pledge. + My name is[25] Outis; Outis I am call'd, + At home, abroad, wherever I am known.' + "So I; to whom he, savage, thus replied: + 'Outis, when I have eaten all his friends, + Shall be my last regale. Be that thy boon.' + "He spake, and, downward sway'd, fell resupine, + With his huge neck aslant. All conqu'ring sleep + Soon seized him. From his gullet gush'd the wine + With human morsels mingled, many a blast + Sonorous issuing from his glutted maw. + Then, thrusting far the spike of olive-wood + Into the embers glowing on the hearth, + I heated it, and cheer'd my friends the while, + Lest any should, through fear, shrink from his part. + But when that stake of olive-wood, though green, + Should soon have flamed, for it was glowing hot, + I bore it to his side. Then all my aids + Around me gather'd, and the Gods infused + Heroic fortitude into our hearts. + They, seizing the hot stake rasp'd to a point, + Bored his eye with it, and myself, advanced + To a superior stand, twirl'd it about. + As when a shipwright with his wimble bores + Tough oaken timber, placed on either side + Below, his fellow artists strain the thong + Alternate, and the restless iron spins; + So grasping hard the stake pointed with fire, + We twirl'd it in his eye; the bubbling blood + Boil'd round about the brand; his pupil sent + A scalding vapour forth that singed his brow, + And all his eye-roots crackled in the flame. + As when the smith an hatchet or large axe + Temp'ring with skill, plunges the hissing blade + Deep in cold water, (whence the strength of steel,) + So hiss'd his eye around the olive-wood. + The howling monster with his outcry fill'd + The hollow rock, and I, with all my aids, + Fled terrified. He, plucking forth the spike + From his burnt socket, mad with anguish, cast + The implement, all bloody, far away. + Then, bellowing, he sounded forth the name + Of ev'ry Cyclops dwelling in the caves + Around him, on the wind-swept mountain tops; + They, at his cry flocking from ev'ry part, + Circled his den, and of his ail enquired. + 'What grievous hurt hath caused thee, Polypheme! + Thus yelling, to alarm the peaceful ear + Of Night, and break our slumbers? Fear'st thou lest + Some mortal man drive off thy flocks? or fear'st + Thyself to die by cunning or by force?' + "Them answer'd, then, Polypheme from his cave, + 'Oh, friends! I die, and Outis gives the blow.' + "To whom with accents wing'd his friends without. + 'If no[26] man harm thee, but thou art alone, + And sickness feel'st, it is the stroke of Jove, + And thou must bear it; yet invoke for aid + Thy father Neptune, sov'reign of the floods.' + "So saying, they went, and in my heart I laugh'd; + That by the fiction only of a name, + Slight stratagem! I had deceived them all." + + If translation be chiefly written for those who cannot read the + original, it is, we apprehend, self-evident, that Polypheme's + charging _Outis_ with an attempt on his life, and the departure of + his associates in consequence of this information, must remain a + problem to those who do not understand the Greek. To them, _Outis_ + is the name of somebody, and why that should pacify the giants who + came to assist the Cyclops, appears unsatisfactory, if not + inconceivable. Clarke, when he adduces the passage from the Acta + Eruditorum, which censures Gyphanius for having translated _Outis_, + _nemo_, would have done well if he had adduced other reasons in + support of his opinion (if indeed he coincided in opinion with that + passage) than grammatical futilities. The separation of ou-de can + be no reason why the brethren of Polypheme should depart; his + destruction remained a call equally urgent for their assistance, + whether it was carrying on by fraud or force. In Homer, whenever a + man is asked after his name, he replies, they call me so, or my + mother has given me such a name; and this is always in the + accusative. Ulysses, to deceive Polypheme, consults probability, + and the customary reply to a question after a name, and therefore + calls him _Outin_, not _Outina_, to escape the suspicion of the + Cyclops; but well surmised, or Homer at least for him, that his + enemy would pronounce his name in the nominative, if he should be + asked who was his destroyer. If the deception be puerile, it is to + be considered, that no sense can be obtained without it; and on + whom is it practised? on something worse than a solitary barbarian + not trained up in social craft; it is exerted on a monster of mixed + nature, unacquainted with other ideas than the immediate ones of + self-preservation, brutal force, and greedy appetite. The whole + fiction is indeed one of those which Longinus calls dreams, but the + dreams of Jupiter; and the improbabilities of the component parts + vanish in the pathos, and the restless anguish of curiosity which + overwhelms us in the conduct of the tale.[27] + + That the translation of the word Krataus, in the celebrated passage + of Sisyphus, should have met with indulgence from those who insist + on the preservation of _Outis_, may not be matter of surprise, + because, as Mr. C. observes, 'it is now perhaps impossible to + ascertain with precision what Homer meant by the word krataus, + which he only uses here and in the next book, where it is the name + of Scylla's dam.' We give it up too, though not willingly, because + the ancients appear to have been as ignorant of the being so called + as ourselves; some of whom, by cutting the word into two, attempted + to make it rather an attribute of the stone itself, than the effect + of some external power: but from _him_, we are more surprised at + the observation on the word anaides,' in the same passage, as + 'also of very doubtful explication.' Is it not the constant + practice of Homer to diffuse energy by animating the inanimate? has + he forgotten the maddening lances, the greedy arrows, the roaring + shores, the groaning earth, the winged words, the cruel brass, and + a thousand other metaphors from life? and if these occurred not to + his memory, the observation of _Aristotle_ on the passage in + question, as quoted by Clarke, might have removed all doubts about + the true sense of the word anaides, when applied to a rock. + + Mr. Cowper, in his interpretation of many words and expressions of + dubious explication, has generally chosen that sense which seemed + most to contribute to the perspicuity of the passage: thus in + Iliad, iv. v. 306, seq. when Nestor instructs his troops before the + battle, he has, in our opinion, adopted the best and only sense, + though rejected by Clarke, with more subtilty than reason. Thus he + has substituted the word 'monster' for the epithet amaimaketos, + Iliad, xvi. 329, with sufficient propriety, whether that word be + expressive of enormity of dimension, or untameableness of + disposition; in both which senses it occurs in Pindar.[28] We might + enlarge on the terms ametrochitonas; tropai Eelioio; orsothyre, and a + variety of others equally disputed or obscure; but as they will be + sufficiently recognized by the scholar, whilst the unlearned reader + is enabled to pass smoothly over them, we shall just observe, that + the interpretation of the proverbial passage in Odyss. viii. v. + 351, + + Deilai toi deilon ge kai engyai engyaasthai + 'Lame suitor, lame security,' + + is the happiest instance of the superiority of plain sense over + learning merely intricate. + + When, in Odyss. iv. v. 73, Telemachus describes the mansion of + Menelaus, Mr. C., with all the translators, renders Elektron + 'amber,' contrary to the explanation of Pliny, who defines electrum + to be gold, containing a fifth part of silver, and quotes the + Homeric passage.[29] Amber ornaments, we believe, are not mentioned + by Homer in the singular. Thus, in Odyss. xviii. 294-5, the golden + necklace presented by Eurymachus, is called Elektroisin eermenon, + inlaid with amber drops. + + Homer, Odyss. xi. v. 579, seq., places two vultures by the sides of + Tityus, who entered his entrails, and tore his liver by turns, and + adds, to enhance the terror of the image, + + ho d' ouk apamyneto chersi, + + 'he had not hands to rescue him;' entranced, no doubt, or chained + to the ground. This Mr. C. translates-- + + "----Two vultures on his liver prey'd, + Scooping his entrails; nor suffic'd his hands + To fray them thence."---- + + Why not, if he had a hand for each vulture, unless we suppose him + chained or entranced? + + Odyss. xix. 389, Ulysses removes from the light of the hearth into + the shade, lest the nurse, who had already discovered a striking + resemblance in his shape, voice, and limbs, to those of her lost + master, by handling his thigh, and seeing all at once the scar on + it, should be convinced that he could be no other, and betray him. + This Mr. C. translates thus: p. 453. + + "Ulysses (for beside the hearth he sat) + Turn'd quick _his face_ into the shade, alarm'd + Lest, handling him, she should at once + remark His scar, and all his stratagem unveil." + + He who, unacquainted with the rest, should read these lines, would + either conclude that the nurse had not looked at the face before, + or that the scar was in the face. Minerva had taken care that + Ulysses should not be discovered by his countenance, making + identity vanish into mere resemblance; but as the scar in such a + place, without a miracle, could belong only to Ulysses, he + attempted to elude the farther guesses of the nurse, by having his + thigh washed in the dark. + + Odyss. viii. 400, Euryalus, eager to appease Ulysses for the + affront offered to him, addressed Alcinous his chief-- + + Ton d' aut' Euryalos apameibeto, phonesen te + Alkinoe kreioi.---- + + But Mr. C. turns Alcinous into his father; + + "When thus Euryalus his _sire_ addressed." + + The sons of Alcinous were Laodamus, Halius, and Clytoneus. + + When Mr. C., Odyss. xi. v. 317, seq. tells us that Alcmena bore + Megara to Creon, he says surely what Homer has not said,[30] who + mentions Megara as the daughter of Creon, and one of the women + Ulysses _saw_, and not as the sister and wife of Hercules together. + + But enough. Of similar observations, perhaps more might be added. + These at least will show the attention with which we have compared + copy and original. If, among the emendations of a future edition, + they be not passed over as cavils, or treated as nugatory, our + purpose will be fully answered. It would be difficult to determine + in which of the two poems Mr. C. has succeeded best. We however + incline to decide in favour of the Odyssey. The prevalent mixture + of social intercourse, domestic manners, and rural images, with the + scenes of terror and sublimity, as upon the whole it renders that + poem more pleasing, though not more interesting than the Iliad, and + what we would call a poem for all hours, appears to us to have been + more adapted to the mild tones of our translator, than the + uninterrupted sublimity and pathos of the Iliad. In parting from + both, we congratulate the author on the production, and the public + on the acquisition of so much excellence. We contemplate the whole + in its mass as an immense fabric reared for some noble purpose: on + too near an approach, not perhaps of equal beauty, with parts left + rough that might have been smoothed to neatness, and others only + neat that might have been polished into elegance; blemishes that + vanish at a proper distance: by uniform grandeur of style, the + whole strikes with awe and delight, attracts now the eyes of the + race who saw it rise, and, secure of duration from the firmness of + its base and the solidity of its materials, will command the + admiration of posterity. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + Fuseli's proficiency in Italian History, Literature, and the Fine + Arts, exemplified in his Criticism on Roscoe's Lorenzo de' Medici. + + +The following review of Roscoe's Lorenzo de' Medici, will shew Fuseli's +critical knowledge of Italian history. + + ROSCOE'S LORENZO DE MEDICI. + + "The close of the fifteenth, (says Mr. R. Pref. p. i.) and the + beginning of the sixteenth century, comprehend one of those periods + of history which are entitled to our minutest study and enquiry. + Almost all the great events from which Europe derives its present + advantages are to be traced up to those times. The invention of the + art of printing, the discovery of the great Western Continent, the + schism from the Church of Rome, which ended in the reformation of + many of its abuses, and established the precedent of reform; the + degree of perfection attained in the fine arts, compose such an + illustrious assemblage of luminous points, as cannot fail of + attracting for ages the curiosity and admiration of mankind. + + "A complete history of these times has long been a great + desideratum in literature; and whoever considers the magnitude of + the undertaking will not think it likely to be soon supplied. + Indeed, from the nature of the transactions that then took place, + they can only be exhibited in detail, and under separate and + particular views. That the author of the following pages has + frequently turned his eye towards this interesting period is true; + but he has felt himself rather dazzled than informed by the survey. + A mind of greater compass, and the possession of uninterrupted + leisure, would be requisite to comprehend, to select, and to + arrange the immense varieties of circumstances which a full + narrative of those times would involve, when almost every city of + Italy was a new Athens, and that favoured country could boast its + historians, its poets, its orators, and its artists, who may + contend with the great names of antiquity for the palm of mental + excellence: when Venice, Milan, Rome, Florence, Bologna, Ferrara, + and several other places, vied with each other, not in arms, but in + science and in genius, and the splendour of a court was estimated + by the number and talents of learned men, who illustrated it by + their presence, each of whose lives and productions would, in a + work of this nature, merit a full and separate discussion. + + "From this full blaze of talents, the author has turned towards a + period when its first faint gleams afford a subject, if not more + interesting, at least more suitable to his powers; when, after a + night of unexpected darkness, Florence again saw the sun break + forth with a lustre more permanent, though perhaps not so bright. + The days of Dante, Boccaccio, and of Petrarch, were indeed past; + but under the auspices of the House of Medici, and particularly + through the ardour and example of Lorenzo, the empire of science + and taste was again restored." + + Having thus, with great modesty, stated the motives for his choice + of subject, the author presents us with a rapid sketch of the + Medician family, the literary and political character of Lorenzo, + and his undeserved fate as statesman and writer in the succeeding + century: he then proceeds to a critical enumeration of the + narratives composed of his life, from the contemporary one of + Niccolo Valori to the recent volumes of Fabroni, the mass of whose + valuable documents, together with the communications of a learned + friend, admitted to the printed and manuscript treasure of the + Laurentian library, and the acquisition of a number of scarce + tracts, procured from the sales of the Crevenna and Pinelli books, + arranged and concentrated by indefatigable assiduity, he considers + as the basis on which he was enabled to erect his own system, and + to fill up the chasm that had hitherto separated from legitimate + history, the period elapsed between the last stage of decay and + final dissolution of the Byzantine empire by Mahommed II. and the + brilliant epoch that rose with the accession of Charles the Fifth + to the German throne. + + The first chapter opens with Florence, its origin, its tempestuous + though not improsperous liberty during the political schism of its + citizens into the two factions of Ghibelines and Guelphs, or + Bianchi and Neri, subsiding at length under the levelling + preponderance of the Medicean family, whose annals our author + traces from the real or romantic date of Charlemagne to the + accession of Cosmo, emphatically decorated with the appellation of + _Pater Patriae_, and the height of its commercial and political + influence. + + 'The authority,' observes our author, p. 13, 'which Cosmo and his + descendants exercised in Florence during the fifteenth century, was + of a very peculiar nature; and consisted rather in a tacit + influence on their part, and a voluntary acquiescence on that of + the people, than in any prescribed or definite compact between + them. The form of government was ostensibly a republic, and was + directed by a counsel of ten citizens, and a chief executive + officer, called the _Gonfaloniere_, or standard-bearer, who was + chosen every two months. Under this establishment, the citizens + imagined they enjoyed the full exercise of their liberties; but + such was the power of the Medici, that they generally either + assumed to themselves the first offices of the state, or nominated + such persons as they thought proper to those employments. In this, + however, they paid great respect to popular opinion. That + opposition of interests so generally apparent between the people + and their rulers, was, at this time, scarcely perceived at + Florence, where superior qualifications and industry were the + surest recommendations to public authority and favour. Convinced of + the benefits constantly received from this family, and satisfied + that they could, at any time, withdraw themselves from a connexion + that exacted no engagements, and required only a temporary + acquiescence, the Florentines considered the Medici as the fathers, + and not as the rulers of the republic. On the other hand, the + chiefs of this house, by appearing rather to decline than to court + the honours bestowed on them, and by a singular moderation of the + use of them when obtained, were careful to maintain the character + of simple citizens of Florence, and servants of the state. An + interchange of reciprocal good offices was the only tie by which + the Florentines and the Medici were bound; and, perhaps, the long + continuance of this connexion may be attributed to the very + circumstance, of its being in the power of either of the parties, + at any time, to have dissolved it.' + + The temporary interruption of Cosmo's power by the successful + struggle of an opposite party, headed by families eclipsed in his + blaze, his exile, and his banishment to the Venetian state, tended + only, from the resignation and magnanimity of his conduct, to + rivet, at his recall, the voluntary chains of his + fellow-citizens;--and he continued the unrivalled arbiter of + Florence and it's dependencies, the primary restorer of Greek and + Latin literature, and the most enlightened patron of the arts, to + the advanced age of seventy-five, and the hour of his death, + gratified with the prospect of the continuation of family power, + from the character of his son Piero, and that of his two grandsons, + Lorenzo and Juliano. The ample and varied detail of this assemblage + of important subjects we leave, as preliminary, to the curiosity of + our readers, and hasten to the second chapter, and the appearance + of Lorenzo. + + 'Lorenzo de' Medici,' says, Mr. R., p. 69, 'was about sixteen years + of age when Cosmo died, and had at that time given striking + indications of extraordinary talents. From his earliest years he + had exhibited proofs of a retentive and vigorous mind, which was + cultivated not only by all the attention which his father's + infirmities would permit him to bestow, but by a frequent + intercourse with his venerable grandfather. He owed also great + obligations, in this respect, to his mother, Lucretia, who was one + of the most accomplished women of the age, and distinguished + herself not only as a patroness of learning, but by her own + writings. Of these some specimens yet remain, which are the more + entitled to approbation, as they were produced at a time when + poetry was at its lowest ebb in Italy. The disposition of Lorenzo, + which afterwards gave him a peculiar claim to the title of + _magnificent_, was apparent in his childhood. Having received as a + present a horse from Sicily, he sent the donor, in return, a gift + of much greater value, and on being reproved for his profuseness, + he remarked that there was nothing more glorious than to overcome + others in acts of generosity. Of his proficiency in classical + learning, and the different branches of that philosophy which was + then in repute, he has left indisputable proofs. Born to restore + the lustre of his native tongue, he had rendered himself + conspicuous by his poetical talents, before he arrived at manhood. + To these accomplishments he united a considerable share of strong, + natural penetration and good sense, which enabled him, amidst the + many difficulties that he was involved in, to act with a + promptitude and decision which surprised those who were witnesses + of his conduct; whilst the endowments which entitled him to + admiration and respect, were accompanied by others that + conciliated, in an eminent degree, the esteem and affections of his + fellow-citizens. + + 'In his person, Lorenzo was tall and athletic, and had more the + appearance of strength than of elegance. From his birth, he + laboured under some peculiar disadvantages--his sight was weak, his + voice harsh and unpleasing, and he was totally deprived of the + sense of smell. With all these defects his countenance was + dignified, and gave an idea of the magnanimity of his character; + and the effects of his eloquence were conspicuous on many important + occasions. In his youth, he was much addicted to active and + laborious exercises, to hawking, horsemanship, and country sports. + Though not born to support a military character, he gave sufficient + proofs of his courage, not only in public tournaments, which were + then not unfrequent in Italy, but also upon more trying occasions. + Such was the versatility of his talents, that it is difficult to + discover any department of business, or of amusement, of art, or of + science, to which they were not at some time applied; and in + whatever he undertook, he arrived at a proficiency which would seem + to have required the labour of a life much longer than that which + he was permitted to enjoy. + + 'The native energy and versatility of his character were + invigorated by a suitable education: to the notions of piety, + imbibed from Gentile d'Urbino, and perhaps from his mother, he + added the accomplishments of a scholar, under the tuition of + Landino, and received the elements of the Aristotelian and Platonic + philosophy from Argyropylus and Ficino; but that exquisite taste in + poetry, in music, and in every department of the fine arts, which + enabled him to contribute so powerfully towards their restoration, + was an endowment of nature, the want of which no education could + have supplied.' + + Such were the qualifications with which Lorenzo entered on the + stage of public life, and which enabled him, with the political + experience he had acquired on his travels through the most powerful + states of Italy, and the connexions he had then formed, to defeat, + at his return, the conspiracy framed by Luca Pitti against his + father Piero, and probably to frustrate the war raised against + Florence by its exiles, without the loss of much blood or treasure. + + Delivered by these successes from external and domestic strife, the + Medici were at leisure again to attend to their darling object, the + promotion of learning. Several literary characters are here + delineated; principally those of Cristoforo Landino, and Leo + Battista Alberti, the Crichton of Italy, of whose unlimited powers + the greatest was perhaps that, which he, if we believe Vasari, + possessed over his horse; and our author proceeds to the giostra, + or tournament, celebrated by Luca Pulci and Agnolo of Monte + Pulciano, in which Lorenzo and Juliano appear to have been the + principal actors, though the candidates were eighteen in number. + + 'The steed upon which Lorenzo made his first appearance,' says our + historian, p. 96, 'was presented to him by Ferdinand King of + Naples. That on which he relied in the combat, by Borso Marquis of + Ferrara. The Duke of Milan had furnished him with his suit of + armour. His motto was, _Le tems revient_; his device, the _fleurs + de lys_; the privilege of using the arms of France having shortly + before been conceded to the Medici by Louis XI., by a solemn act. + His first conflict was with Carlo Borromei; his next with Braccio + de' Medici, who attacked him with such strength and courage, that + if the stroke had taken place, Orlando himself, as the poet assures + us, could not have withstood the shock. Lorenzo took speedy + vengeance, but his spear breaking into a hundred pieces, his + adversary was preserved from total overthrow. He then assailed + Carlo de Forme, whose helmet he split, and whom he nearly unhorsed; + Lorenzo then changing his steed, made a violent attack upon + Benedetto Salutati, who had just couched his lance ready for the + combat.' + + Some specimens of the two panegyrics, with the plan of that + composed by Politiano, are annexed, and translated with our + author's own felicity. + + The philosophical amusements of the two brothers follow next, in a + pertinent descant on the _disputationes Camaldulenses_ of Landino; + and after these, Lorenzo is presented to us as a lover. The + materials are furnished by his own sonnets, and the comment he + composed on them, and, though the dead and the surviving beauties + he celebrates are left nameless, there is reason to suppose, that + they were Simonetta, the deceased mistress of his brother, and + Lucretia Donati. + + 'The sonnets of Lorenzo,' says Mr. R., p. 116, 'rise and fall + through every degree of the thermometer of love; he exults and he + despairs; he freezes and he burns; he sings of raptures too great + for mortal sense, and he applauds a severity of virtue that no + solicitations can move. From such contradictory testimony, what are + we to conclude? Lorenzo has himself presented us with the key that + unlocks this mystery. From the relation which he has before given, + we find that Lucretia was the mistress of the poet, and not of the + man. Lorenzo sought for an object to concentrate his ideas, to give + them strength, and effect, and he found in Lucretia a subject that + suited his purpose and deserved his praise. But having so far + realized his mistress, he has dressed and ornamented her according + to his own imagination. Every action of her person, every emotion + of her mind, is subject to his control. She smiles or she frowns; + she refuses or relents; she is absent or present; she intrudes upon + his solitude by day, or visits him in his nightly dreams, just as + his presiding fancy directs. + + 'In the midst of these delightful visions, Lorenzo was called upon + to attend to the dull realities of life. He had now attained his + twenty-first year, and his father conceived that it was time for + him to enter into the conjugal state. To this end, he had + negotiated a marriage between Lorenzo and Clarice, the daughter of + Giacopo Orsini, of the noble and powerful Roman family of that + name, which had so long contended for superiority with that of the + Colonna. Whether Lorenzo despaired of success in his youthful + passion, or whether he subdued his feelings at the voice of + paternal authority, is left to conjecture only. Certain, however, + it is, that in the month of December 1468, he was betrothed to a + person whom, it is probable, he had never seen, and the marriage + ceremony was performed on the 4th day of June, 1469.[31] That the + heart of Lorenzo had little share in this engagement, is marked by + a striking circumstance. In adverting to his marriage in his + Ricordi, he bluntly remarks, that he took this lady to wife; _or + rather_, says he, _she was given to me_, on the day + before-mentioned. Notwithstanding this apparent indifference, it + appears, from indisputable documents, that a real affection + subsisted between them; and there is reason to presume that Lorenzo + always treated her with particular respect and kindness. Their + nuptials were celebrated with great splendour. Two military + spectacles were exhibited, one of which represented a field battle + of horsemen, and the other the attack and storming of a fortified + citadel.' + + Lorenzo's second journey to Milan, and the death of his father, + Piero, take up the remainder of this chapter. + + The variety of the materials that compose the third chapter, which + opens with the political state of Italy at the time of Lorenzo's + succession to the direction of the republic, is too great, perhaps + the incidents too minute, and the transition from event to event + too rapid, to admit of extracts. The riches of the Medici, their + commercial concerns, and other sources of revenue--the character of + Giuliano de' Medici, that of Angelo Politiano--the league between + the Duke of Milan, the Venetians, and the Florentines--the + establishment of the academy of Pisa--an account of Lorenzo's Poem, + entitled _Altercatione_, with specimens and translations, + constitute the most prominent features of the chapter. + + The fourth chapter, whether we consider the importance of the + events related, or the perspicuity and energy with which they are + developed and told, contains, in our opinion, the most interesting + period in the life of Lorenzo, the annals of Florence, and the + general history of that time. 'The conspiracy of the Pazzi,' says + our author, p. 176, was 'a transaction in which a pope, a cardinal, + an archbishop, and several other ecclesiastics, associated + themselves with a band of ruffians, to destroy two men who were an + honour to their age and country; and purposed to perpetrate their + crime at a season of hospitality, in the sanctuary of a Christian + church, and at the very moment of the elevation of the host, when + the audience bowed down before it, and the assassins were presumed + to be in the immediate presence of their God.' + + Having traced the origin of the conspiracy to Rome, and the + ambition and inveterate enmity of Sixtus the Fourth, and his + nephew, Count Girolamo Riario, to Lorenzo, Mr. R. proceeds to their + Florentine accomplices, the family of the Pazzi, whom, though + allied by intermarriages to that of the Medici, envy, intolerance + of superiority, penury, and profligacy, had rendered their + irreconcilable enemies. The young Cardinal Riario our author + considers more as an instrument in the hands of his uncle Girolamo, + than as an accomplice in the scheme; and proceeds: + + P. 180. 'This conspiracy, of which Sixtus and his nephew were the + real instigators, was first agitated at Rome, where the intercourse + between the Count Girolamo Riario and Francesco de' Pazzi, in + consequence of the office held by the latter, afforded them an + opportunity of communicating to each other their mutual jealousy of + the power of the Medici, and their desire of depriving them of + their influence in Florence; in which event it is highly probable + that the Pazzi were to have exercised the chief authority in the + city, under the patronage, if not under the avowed dominion, of the + papal see. The principal agent engaged in the undertaking was + Francesco Salviati, archbishop of Pisa, to which rank he had lately + been promoted by Sixtus, in opposition to the Medici, who had for + some time endeavoured to prevent him from exercising his episcopal + functions. If it be allowed that the unfavourable character given + of him by Politiano is exaggerated, it is generally agreed that his + qualities were the reverse of those which ought to have been the + recommendations to such high preferment. The other conspirators + were, Giacopo Salviati, brother of the archbishop; Giacopo Poggio, + one of the sons of the celebrated Poggio Bracciolini, and who, like + all the other sons of that eminent scholar, had obtained no small + share of literary reputation; Bernardo Bandini, a daring libertine, + rendered desperate by the consequences of his excesses; Giovan + Battista Montesicco, who had distinguished himself by his military + talents, as one of the _condottieri_ of the armies of the pope; + Antonio Maffei, a priest of Volterra; and Stephano da Bagnone, one + of the apostolic scribes, with several others of inferior note. + + 'In the arrangement of their plan, which appears to have been + concerted with great precaution and secrecy, the conspirators soon + discovered, that the dangers which they had to encounter were not + so likely to arise from the difficulty of the attempt, as from the + subsequent resentment of the Florentines, a great majority of whom + were strongly attached to the Medici. Hence it became necessary to + provide a military force, the assistance of which might be equally + requisite, whether the enterprise proved abortive or successful. By + the influence of the Pope, the King of Naples, who was then in + alliance with him, and on one of whose sons he had recently + bestowed a cardinal's hat, was also induced to countenance the + attempt. + + 'These preliminaries being adjusted, Girolamo wrote to his nephew, + Cardinal Riario, then at Pisa, ordering him to obey whatever + directions he might receive from the Archbishop. A body of two + thousand men were destined to approach by different routes towards + Florence, so as to be in readiness at the time appointed for + striking the blow. + + 'Shortly afterwards the Archbishop requested the presence of the + Cardinal at Florence, where he immediately repaired, and took up + his residence at a seat of the Pazzi, about a mile from the city. + It seems to have been the intention of the conspirators to have + effected their purpose at Fiesole, where Lorenzo then had his + country residence, to which they supposed he would invite the + Cardinal and his attendants. Nor were they deceived in this + conjecture, for Lorenzo prepared a magnificent entertainment on + this occasion; but the absence of Giuliano, on account of + indisposition, obliged the conspirators to postpone the attempt. + Disappointed in their hopes, another plan was now to be adopted; + and, on further deliberation, it was resolved, that the + assassination should take place on the succeeding Sunday, in the + Church of the Reparata, since called Santa Maria del Fiore, and + that the signal for execution should be the elevation of the host. + At the same moment, the Archbishop and others of the conspirators + were to seize upon the palace or residence of the magistrates, + whilst the office of Giacopo de Pazzi was to endeavour, by the cry + of liberty, to incite the citizens to revolt. + + 'The immediate assassination of Giuliano was committed to Francesco + de' Pazzi and Bernardo Bandini, and that of Lorenzo had been + entrusted to the sole hand of Montesicco. This office he had + willingly undertaken, whilst he understood it was to be executed in + a private dwelling, but he shrunk from the idea of polluting the + House of God with so heinous a crime. Two ecclesiastics were, + therefore, selected for the commission of a deed, from which the + soldier was deterred by conscientious motives. These were, Stefano + da Bagnone, the apostolic scribe, and Antonio Maffei. + + 'The young Cardinal having expressed a desire to attend divine + service in the church of the Reparata, on the ensuing Sunday, being + the 26th day of April, 1478, Lorenzo invited him and his suite to + his house in Florence. He accordingly came with a large retinue, + supporting the united characters of cardinal and apostolic legate, + and was received by Lorenzo with that splendour and hospitality + with which he was always accustomed to entertain men of high rank + and consequence. Giuliano did not appear, a circumstance that + alarmed the conspirators, whose arrangements would not admit of + longer delay. They soon, however, learnt that he intended to be + present at the church.--The service was already begun, and the + cardinal had taken his seat, when Francesco de' Pazzi and Bandini, + observing that Giuliano was not yet arrived, left the church and + went to his house, in order to insure and hasten his attendance. + Giuliano accompanied them, and as he walked between them, they + threw their arms round him with the familiarity of intimate + friends, but in fact to discover whether he had any armour under + his dress; possibly conjecturing from his long delay, that he had + suspected their purpose. At the same time, by their freedom and + jocularity, they endeavoured to obviate any apprehensions which he + might entertain from such a proceeding. The conspirators having + taken their stations near their intended victims, waited with + impatience for the appointed signal. The bell rang--the priest + raised the consecrated wafer--the people bowed before it,--and, at + the same instant, Bandini plunged a short dagger into the breast of + Giuliano.--On receiving the wound, he took a few hasty steps and + fell, when Francesco de' Pazzi rushed upon him with incredible + fury, and stabbed him in different parts of his body, continuing to + repeat his strokes even after he was apparently dead. Such was the + violence of his rage, that he wounded himself deeply in the thigh. + The priests who had undertaken the murder of Lorenzo were not + equally successful. An ill-directed blow from Maffei, which was + aimed at the throat, but took place behind the neck, rather roused + him to his defence than disabled him. He immediately threw off his + cloak, and holding it up as a shield in his left hand, with his + right he drew his sword and repelled his assailants. Perceiving + that their purpose was defeated, the two ecclesiastics, after + having wounded one of Lorenzo's attendants, who had interposed to + defend him, endeavoured to save themselves by flight. At the same + moment Bandini, with his dagger streaming with the blood of + Giuliano, rushed towards Lorenzo; but meeting in his way with + Francesco Nori, a person in the service of the Medici, and in whom + they placed great confidence, he stabbed him with a wound + instantaneously mortal. At the approach of Bandini, the friends of + Lorenzo encircled him and hurried him into the sacristy, where + Politiano and others closed the doors, which were of brass. + Apprehensions being entertained that the weapon which had wounded + him was poisoned, a young man attached to Lorenzo sucked the wound. + A general alarm and consternation took place in the church; and + such was the tumult which ensued, that it was at first believed by + the audience that the building was falling in; but no sooner was it + understood that Lorenzo was in danger, than several of the youth of + Florence formed themselves into a body, and receiving him into the + midst of them, conducted him to his house, making a circuitous turn + from the church, lest he should meet with the dead body of his + brother.' + + Through the subsequent scenes of this atrocious drama as our limits + forbid to follow the author, and an abbreviated account would do + little justice to his copiousness or pathos, let it suffice to say, + that the immediate punishment inflicted on the conspirators, was + such as might be expected from the revenge of an infuriate people. + Even the Archbishop was hung from the windows of the palace, + without being suffered to divest himself from his prelatical robes; + nor ought it to be considered as a small aggravation of their + punishment, to have after death been gibbeted for lasting infamy, + by the pencil of such a villain as Andrea dal Castagno. Happy + Julian! happier Lorenzo, whom the contemporary genius of Politiano + has rescued from the equivocal memorial of Pollajuoli. + + It is with regret, we must refer the reader to the work itself for + the consequences that attended the defeat of this execrable + attempt--the storm raised by the enraged Pontiff, who now launched + excommunication on the quondam treasurer of the Holy See, as a son + of iniquity and nursling of perdition;--the war which, at his + instigation, the court of Naples commenced against the Republic, on + their refusal to deliver up Lorenzo;--it's various success; with + the result of that bold expedient by which Lorenzo at once put an + end to the miseries of his country, and completely triumphed over + all his enemies, we mean his visit to Ferdinand himself! At that + moment his genius had attained the summit of his powers. + + The fifth chapter treats of the studies of Lorenzo, and is executed + with a degree of _amore_ which developes to us the favourite + studies of his historian, though from the penetration displayed in + the management of all the other topics of his hero's character, it + would be unjust to apply to him the motto of '_tractant fabrilia + fabri_,' or as Johnson has since expressed it, on talking of the + political disputes of Milton with Salmasius and More, 'that let the + subject of dispute be the rights of princes and of nations, it + will, if treated by grammarians, end in grammatic squabbles.' The + author is perfectly in place and time: if we be to consider Lorenzo + as a poet, his right to that title was to be examined and + established, and the chapter became, with great propriety, part of + a treatise on poetry. After noticing the rise of Italian literature + in the fourteenth century, it's subsequent degradation, it's + revival in the fifteenth, and the rude attempts at restoring it, by + Burchiello, Matteo Franco, and the three Pulci, that honour is + conferred on Lorenzo: he is shown to have first, among his + contemporaries, discriminated the true object, and expressed the + real characteristics of poetry, in description, poetic comparison, + and personification of material objects, of passions and + affections; to have treated with success the prosopopoeia. The + sonnet, that favourite of Italy, is next discussed, and his claims + to it's honours compared with those of Dante and Petrarca; his + "Selve d'Amore," a poem in ottava rima; his new discovered poem of + "Ambra;" of the Caccia col Falcone, his moral pieces, his sacred + poems or orations, and Laude, or Lodi, are reviewed, and specimens + admirably translated, or, to speak with more propriety, excelled, + are annexed. We then proceed to his "Beoni," a piece of jocose + satire in terza rima on drunkenness, of which the fragment produced + and translated does at least as much honour to our author's vein of + humour, as to his hero's; and after expatiating on the expedition + with which he wrote, and many pertinent remarks on the + "Improvisatori" of Italy, its drama, opera, and carnival songs, the + chapter concludes with the opinion of the best contemporary + critics, on the poetic powers of Lorenzo. + + As the mutual limits of poetry and painting are so frequently + confounded, it may not be improper to extract what our author says + on the objects and characteristics of poetry. Vol. 1. p. 255. + + 'The great end and object of poetry, and consequently, the proper + aim of the poet, is to communicate to us a clear and perfect idea + of his proposed subject. What the painter exhibits by variety of + colour, by light and shade, the poet expresses in appropriate + language. The former seizes only the external form, and that only + in a given attitude. The other surrounds his object, pierces it, + and discloses its most hidden qualities. With the former, it is + inert and motionless; with the latter, it lives and moves; it is + expanded or compressed; it glares upon the imagination, or vanishes + into air, and is as various as Nature herself. + + 'The simple description of natural objects is perhaps to a young + mind the most delightful species of poetry, and was probably the + first employment of the poet. It may be compared to melody in + music, which is relished even by the most uncultivated ear. In + this department Virgil is an exquisite master.[32] Still more + lively are the conceptions of Dante, still more precise the + language in which they are expressed. As we follow him, his wildest + excursions take the appearance of reality. Compared with his vivid + hues, how faint, how delicate, is the colouring of Petrarca! yet + the harmony of the tints almost compensate for their want of force. + With accurate descriptions of the face of Nature the works of + Lorenzo abound; and these are often heightened by those minute but + striking characteristics, which though open to all observers, the + eye of the poet can alone select. Thus the description of an + Italian winter, with which he opens his poem of _Ambra_[33], is + marked by several appropriate and striking images. + + 'The foliage of the olive appears of a dark green, but is nearly + white beneath. + + "L'uliva in qualche dolce piaggia aprica + Secondo il vento par or verde or bianca." + + "On some sweet sunny slope the olive grows, + Its hues still changing as the zephyr blows." + + 'The flight of the cranes, though frequently noticed in poetry, + was perhaps never described in language more picturesque than the + following, from the same poem. + + "Stridendo in ciel, i gru veggonsi a lunge + L'aere stampar di varie e belle forme; + E l'ultima col collo steso aggiunge + Ov' e quella dinanzi alle vane orme." + + "Marking the tracks of air, the clamorous cranes + Wheel their due flight, in varied lines descried; + And each with outstretched neck his rank maintains, + In marshal'd order, through th' ethereal void." + + The following picture from his _Selve d'amore_ is also drawn with + great truth and simplicity. + + "Al dolce tempo il bon pastore informa + Lasciar le mandre, ove nel verno giacque: + E 'l lieto gregge, che ballando in torma, + Torna all'alte montagne, alle fresche acque. + L'agnel, trottando pur la materna orma + Segue; ed alcun, che pur or ora nacque + L' amorevol pastore in braccio porta: + Il fido cane a tutti fa la scorta." + + "Sweet Spring returns; the shepherd from the fold + Brings forth his flock, nor dreads the wintry cold; + Delighted once again their steps to lead + To the green hill, clear spring, and flow'ry mead. + True to their mother's track the sportive young + Trip light. The careful hind slow moves along, + Pleased in his arms the new-dropt lamb to bear: + His dog, a faithful guard, brings up the rear." + + 'In the same poem is a description of the golden age, in which the + author seems to have exerted all his powers, in selecting such + images as are supposed to have been peculiar to that happy state of + life.' + + Mr. R., with great propriety, places the essence of poetic + diction,--not of poesy itself, for that consists in invention,--in + representing its object in motion, to impress us with it's variety + of action and attitudes; in short, in following _time_, avoiding a + minute anatomy of motionless surfaces, to which words, it's + vehicle, are totally inadequate. Surface can only be distinctly + discriminated by line and colour. Hence it is evident that poetry + cannot in this respect be either put in comparison with, or be + elevated above painting; the province of their expression, and + effect, must be for ever separate, though they perfectly coincide + in their aim, which is to charm and convince the senses. Thus, when + poetry attempts to describe an object, it must confine itself to + one, or a very few words, in whatever merely relates to the shape + or surface of that object, and it's more profuse description is + _only then_ in it's place, when that object begins to move. Such is + the rule of Nature and of Homer, from which no ancient or modern + poet has deviated with impunity; and _Ariosto_, who has described + the shape, figure, and colour of Alcina, in five stanzas, has + laboured as much in vain to acquaint us with the ingredients of his + witch-beauty, as _Constantinus Manasses_ to give us a clear idea of + Helen by his agglomeration of epithets, or as Haller of the + Genziana, by a description of nineteen lines. The images which Mr. + R. adduces from Lorenzo confirm this; they attain their effect + merely by hastening from the body of the object to it's motion. + Not the most expressive words of the most expressive language ever + given to man, arranged by Homer or Milton, or a power still + superior to their's, could produce a sensation equal to that which + is instantaneously received by one glance on the face of the Venus + de' Medici, or in that of the Apollo in Belvedere; and if the + spark, which Phidias caught from the Zeus of Homer, were shot by + his _waving_ locks and the _nod_ of his brow, will it be denied + that _Ctesilas_ in his expiring warrior, from whose expression + might be collected how much remained of life, or _Aristides_ in the + wounded mother, who, in the pangs of death, struggled to remove her + child from her palsied nipple, 'surrounded, pierced, and disclosed + the most hidden qualities of their objects?' + + From what Mr. R. with great acuteness remarks on poetic comparison, + we have extracted the following sonnet of Lorenzo, with the + translation, 'not only,' as he adds, 'as an instance of the + illustration of one sensible object by another, but of the + comparison of an abstract sentiment with a beautiful natural + image.' P. 260. + + SONETTO. + + "Oime, che belle lagrime fur quelle + Che 'l nembo di disio stillando mosse! + Quando il giusto dolor che'l cor percosse, + Sali poi su nell' amorose stelle! + Rigavon per la delicata pelle + Le bianche guancie dolcemente rosse, + Come chiar rio faria, che'n prato fosse, + Fier bianchi, e rossi, le lagrime belle; + Lieto amor stava in l' amorosa pioggia, + Com' uccel dopo il sol, bramate tanto, + Lieto riceve rugiadose stille. + Poi piangendo in quelli occhi ov'egli alloggia, + Facea del bello e doloroso pianto, + Visibilmente uscir dolce faville." + + "Ah! pearly drops, that pouring from those eyes, + Spoke the dissolving cloud of soft desire! + What time cold sorrow chill'd the genial fire, + 'Struck the fair urns, and bade the waters rise.' + Soft down those cheeks, where native crimson vies + With ivory whiteness, see the crystals throng; + As some clear river winds its stream along, + Bathing the flowers of pale and purple dyes, + Whilst Love rejoicing in the amorous shower, + Stands like some bird, that, after sultry heats, + Enjoys the drops, and shakes his glittering wings: + Then grasps his bolt, and, conscious of his power, + Midst those bright orbs assumes his wonted seat, + And thro' the lucid shower his living lightning flings." + + The wing, the harp, the hatchet, the altar of _Simmias_, were the + dregs of a degraded nation's worn-out taste; but it is matter of + surprise, that a race celebrated for susceptibility of sentiment + should have submitted to lisp their first accents, and continued to + breathe their full raptures of love, in the trammels of a sonnet. + If, as may reasonably be supposed, the first twister of a sonnet + were a being of a versatile head and frozen heart, the beauties + thronged into this little labyrinth, it's glowing words, and + thoughts that burn, whether we consider the original, or it's more + than equal translation, equally challenge our admiration and + sympathy. + + We must yet be allowed to make a few observations on what our + author, perhaps with greater ingenuity than impartiality, + pronounces on the comparative excellence of the ancients and + moderns in the use of the prosopopoeia. + + P.266.--'If the moderns excel the ancients in any department of + poetry, it is in that now under consideration. It must not indeed + be supposed, that the ancients were insensible of the effects + produced by this powerful charm, which, more peculiarly than any + other, may be said + + _To give to airy nothing, + A local habitation and a name._ + + But it may safely be asserted, that they have availed themselves of + this creative faculty much more sparingly, and with much less + success, than their modern competitors. The attribution of sense to + inert objects, is indeed common to both; but that still bolder + exertion, which embodies abstract existence, and renders it + susceptible of ocular representation, is almost exclusively the + boast of the moderns.[34] + + 'If, however, we advert to the few authors who preceded Lorenzo de' + Medici, we shall not trace in their writings many striking + instances of those embodied pictures of ideal existence, which are + so conspicuous in the works of Ariosto, Spenser, Milton, and + subsequent writers of the higher class, who are either natives of + Italy, or have formed their taste upon the poets of that nation.' + + To enforce his premises, the author produces a variety of tableaux + from the writings of his hero, and not without appearance of + success, to show his superiority in this species of composition. + + To invalidate the claim of the moderns, with their fragments of + personification, it might, perhaps, be sufficient to call to the + reader's mind that immense mass of prosopopoeia, on which the + ancients established the ostensible fabric of their religion. What + were the divinities that filled their temples, but images of + things, personifications of the powers of nature? and were not + these the auxiliaries of their poets? Discriminated by + characteristics so appropriate and so decisive, that no observation + of succeeding ages has been able to add any thing essential, or to + subtract any thing as superfluous from their insignia. At this + moment, the poet and the artist subsist on their sterling + properties; and the greatest of the moderns could do no more than + recompose from the birth of Minerva, the charms of Pandora, and the + horrors of Scylla, the origin, the beauty, and the deformities of + his Sin; and if, by the superhuman flight of his fancy, he snatched + the attributes and shape of Death from a region yet unexplored by + former wings, the being itself had not been unknown to the + ancients; it carried off Alceste, and offered battle in it's gloom + to Hercules. But will it be denied, that by personifying the _act_ + by which his heroes were to fall, and the _punishment_ attendant on + that act, Milton has, as far as in him lay, destroyed the + _credibility_ of his poem? Homer found the _abstractions_, which he + mingled with the real actors of his poem, already personified; and + to demand a belief in the existence of Minerva or Jupiter, + subjected his reader to no greater exertion, than to believe in the + existence of Achilles or Ulysses. Had credibility not been the + great principle of Homer, had he introduced _Wisdom_ seizing + _Achilles_ by the hair, and _Beauty_ ravishing _Paris_ from the + combat, the Iliad, in what concerns the plan, would be little more + than the rival of the Pilgrim's Progress. + + But if Homer _refused admittance to new-personified beings_ as + actors of his poem, has he contented himself entirely with + monosyllabic animation of the inanimate, with roaring shores, + remorseless stones, or maddening lances? The enormous image of + _Discord_ in the fourth, the picturesque prosopopoeia of + _Prayers_ and _Guilt_ in the ninth, and the luxuriant episode of + _Guilt_ again in the nineteenth book of the "Ilias," not only prove + the contrary, but establish him beyond all competition, Milton + perhaps excepted, as the first master of that poetic figure. The + _Liberty_ of Petrarch, and the _Jealousy_ and _Hope_ of Lorenzo de' + Medici, may with equal propriety adopt the names of _Health_, + _Suspicion_, and _Curiosity_; but the _Litae_ of Homer are images + discriminated from all others, and will rank as models of true + prosopopoeia without the assistance of Hesiod, AEschylus, or the + love-embodying romance of Apuleius. + + The Appendix to the first volume consists of forty-two pieces, and + contains the political and literary documents of the history. Of + these the papers relative to the conspiracy of the Pazzi, + especially the commentarium of Poliziano, the brief of + excommunication of Sixtus IV, the reply of the Florentine Synod, + and the deposition of Giambattista de Montesicco before his + execution, are the most interesting. + + One great prerogative of the author is, no doubt, that happy + distribution of matter, by which the grave and the more amusing + parts of the subject alternately relieve each other. Having left + his reader "con la bocca dolce," at the conclusion of the first + volume, Mr. R. at the beginning of the second, exhibits the rival + of Petrarch, if not as the founder, at least as the first who gave + action and energy to that conciliating system of politics, since + denominated the balance of power, the darling maxim of modern + statesmen. + + 'The situation of Italy,' says our author, p. 4, 'at this period, + afforded an ample field for the exercise of political talents. The + number of independent states of which it was composed, the + inequality of their strength, the ambitious views of some, and the + ever-active fears of others, kept the whole country in continual + agitation and alarm. The vicinity of these states to each other, + and the narrow bounds of their respective dominions, required a + promptitude of decision, in cases of disagreement, unexampled in + any subsequent period of modern history. Where the event of open + war seemed doubtful, private treachery was without scruple resorted + to; and where that failed of success, an appeal was again made to + arms. The Pontifical See had itself set the example of a mode of + conduct that burst asunder all the bonds of society, and operated + as a convincing proof that nothing was thought unlawful which + appeared to be expedient. To counterpoise all the jarring interests + of these different governments, to restrain the powerful, to + succour the weak, and to unite the whole in one firm body, so as to + enable them on the one hand successfully to oppose the formidable + power of the Turks, and on the other, to repel the incursions of + the French and the Germans, both of whom were objects of terror to + the less warlike inhabitants of Italy, were the important ends + which Lorenzo proposed to accomplish. The effectual defence of the + Florentine dominions against the encroachments of their more + powerful neighbours, though perhaps his chief inducement for + engaging in so extensive a project, appeared, in the execution of + it, rather as a necessary part of his system than as the principal + object which he had in view. In these transactions, we may trace + the first decisive instance of that political arrangement, which + was more fully developed and more widely extended in the succeeding + century, and which has since been denominated the balance of power. + Casual alliances, arising from consanguinity, from personal + attachment, from vicinity, or from interest, had indeed frequently + subsisted among the Italian States; but these were only partial and + temporary engagements, and rather tended to divide the country into + two or more powerful parties, than to counterpoise the interests of + individual governments, so as to produce in the result the general + tranquillity.'[35] + + Before, however, Lorenzo could proceed to the execution of his + beneficent system, he had to thank his stars for a second escape + from a new conspiracy formed against his life, at the instigation + of his old and inveterate enemies, the Riarii, by Battista + Frescobaldi. This attempt, conducted with less prudence, had none + of the atrocious consequences of the first, but ended in the + immediate destruction of Frescobaldi and his Tuscan accomplices. + Cursorily however, as it is related by our author, it appears to + have made a deep impression on the mind of his hero, since he + adopted, in consequence of it, a measure of safety which even the + homicide Cesar had scorned, that of appearing in public guarded by + a select band of armed friends. + + The author now proceeds at length, and with equal perspicuity, + impartiality, and diligence, to detail the progress of Lorenzo's + measures to secure and establish the independence of Florence, and + to compose the jarring interests of Italy. Popes, kings, petty + princes, republics, appear in succession, poised, supported, + checked, advised, reconciled, to cement his generous plan. + Eloquence, military skill, caution, liberality, intrepidity, stamp + him by turns the soul of his own, and the arbiter of the + surrounding states, till at length the whole is composed and well + poised,--Italy enjoys security and peace. Such is the general + outline; a more minute detail, as it would exceed our limits, could + in a meagre summary serve only to weary the reader: the materials + vary, the contending parties are not equally important, the heroes + sometimes relax; conquests give way to a leader's indisposition, + and battles are fought which remind us of Virgil's winged + squadrons; + + "Hi motus animorum, atque haec certamina tanta, + Pulveris exigui jactu compressa quiescunt." + + Chap. VII. From politics, negotiations, and war, we follow our + author to his academic shades, to the improvements in classic + learning made under the fostering patronage of Lorenzo; to the + importation of Greek literature by Emanuel Chrysoloras, Joannes + Argyropylus, Demetrius Chalcondyles; to the introduction of + printing, the progress of the Laurentian library, and the + establishment of a Greek academy at Florence. We are made + acquainted with Politiano; his merits as a civilian, critic, + translator, controvertist, and poet: Giovanni Pico, Prince of + Mirandola, next excites our wonder; and after him, Linacer Landino, + and the two Verini might claim our attention, were they not + eclipsed by the female efforts of Alessandra Scala, and Cassandra + Fidelis. + + 'It might have been expected,' says our author, p. 55, after having + premised some observations on the seemingly unattainable excellence + of Dante, Petrarca, and Boccaccio, 'that the successful efforts of + these authors to improve their native tongue, would have been more + effectual than the weak, though laudable, attempts made by them to + revive the study of the ancient languages; but it must be + remembered, that they were all of them men of genius, and genius + assimilates not with the character of the age. Homer and Shakspeare + have no imitators, and are no models. The example of such talents + is perhaps, upon the whole, unfavourable to the general progress of + improvement; and the superlative abilities of a few, have more than + once damped the ardour of a nation. But if the great Italian + authors were inimitable in the productions of their native + language, in their Latin writings they appeared in a subordinate + character. Of the labours of the ancients, enough had been + discovered to mark the decided difference between their merits and + those of their modern imitators; and the applauses bestowed upon + the latter, were only in proportion to the degree in which they + approached the models of ancient eloquence. This competition was, + therefore, eagerly entered into; nor had the success of the first + revivers of these studies deprived their followers of the hope of + surpassing them. Even the early part of the fifteenth century + produced scholars as much superior to Petrarca, and his coadjutors, + as they were to the monkish compilers, and scholastic disputants, + who immediately preceded them; and the labours of Leonardo Aretino, + Gianozzo Manetti, Guarino Veronese, and Poggio Bracciolini, + prepared the way for the still more correct and classical + productions of Politiano, Sannazaro, Pontano, and Augurelli. The + declining state of Italian literature, so far then from being + inconsistent with, was rather a consequence of the proficiency made + in other pursuits, which, whilst they were distinguished by a + greater degree of celebrity, demanded a more continued attention, + and an almost absolute devotion both of talents and of time.' + + It would be injustice to suppose that, by this well turned and + energetic passage, our author could mean to depreciate the benign + influence of original genius, or to insinuate aught against the + necessity of it's periodical appearance: his aim is to assign their + proper place to the literati of the epoch he describes, to trace + the probable motives of their pursuits, and to show, that by a + judicious choice they supplied, in some degree, their want of + innate power, and even of discernment in their objects of + imitation. Who, better than our historian, knows, that, if Nature + be inexhaustible in her resources and productions, and genius be + merely a power, seizing and representing with clearness some of her + features, the appearance of one man of genius can no more check the + perceptions, than preclude the existence of another? He who takes + Homer or Michael Angelo for his model, adopts him merely as his + medium to see Nature more distinctly or on a grander scale; he + imitates without copying, like Virgil and Pelegrino Tibaldi, for + whom it will be difficult to find a name, if they be refused that + of imitators of the Ionian and the Tuscan genius. If the supposed + inaccessible excellence of Dante and his contemporaries dispirited + the Italians of the fifteenth century from the cultivation of the + higher Italian poetry, it proved not that they had exhausted + Nature, but that they were no longer understood; and that they were + not, almost every line of their pedantic commentators proves. + Machiavelli, Ariosto, Tasso, appeared after them, with the same + models before their eyes, and each produced works none would wish + to exchange for all the laboured lucubrations of Tuscan Latinists: + the fact is, it was easier to shine before a partial public formed + by themselves, with glittering compilations of classic lines, + almost always dishonoured by some clumsy or gothic addition of + their own, than to emulate the pace of their great predecessors + before the general eye. + + The domestic character of Lorenzo, the wit, the husband, father, + friend, appear in the eighth chapter. The author examines and + acquits him of the charge of having been addicted to licentious + amours, and exhibits him, if not as a tender, at least as a civil + husband: but "in no point of view," says he, "does the character of + this extraordinary man appear more engaging than in his affection + towards his children, in his care of their education, and in his + solicitude for their welfare." He accordingly, on each of these + particulars, enters into very interesting details: we are + introduced to the characters of his sons, Piero and Giovanni, the + first known as his successor, the second celebrated as supreme + pontiff under the assumed name of Leo X. From his children, we pass + on to Lorenzo's domestic concerns. His villas, Poggio Cajano, + Careggi, Fiesole, and other domains, pass in review. The visits of + Piero to Rome and Milan, his marriage with Alfonsina Orsini; the + exaltation of Giovanni to the dignity of cardinal at the age of + fourteen, his father's admirable admonitory letter to him on that + occasion; the death of Madonna Clarice, Lorenzo's wife; his + patronage of learned ecclesiastics; the assassination of G. Riario, + and the tragic death of Galeotto Manfredi, Prince of Faenza, occupy + the remainder. + + If the subject of the ninth chapter, the progress of the plastic + arts, under the patronage of the Medici, reflect a new lustre on + the beneficent grandeur of that family, the judgment, perspicuity, + elegance of taste, and 'amore,' with which it is treated by our + author, reflect almost equal honour on himself. From the obscure + dawn of Cimabue to the noonday splendour of M. Angelo, we are + gradually led to form our ideas of art with a precision and + distinctness, in vain looked for in the loquacious volumes and + indiscriminate panegyrics of Vasari. Among so many beauties, the + choice of selection is difficult; a short extract from one or two + passages will inform the reader what he is to expect from the + whole. After mentioning the successful efforts of Lorenzo, Ghiberti + and Donatello, the author continues: + + P. 189.--'Notwithstanding the exertions of these masters, which + were regarded with astonishment by their contemporaries, and are + yet entitled to attention and respect, it does not appear that they + had raised their views to the true end of the profession. Their + characters rarely excelled the daily prototypes of common life, and + their forms, although at times sufficiently accurate, were mostly + vulgar and heavy. In the pictures which remain of this period, the + limbs are not marked with that precision which characterizes a + well-informed artist. The hands and feet in particular appear soft, + enervated, and delicate, without distinction of sex or character. + Many practices yet remain that evince the imperfect state of the + art. Ghirlandajo and Baldovinetti continued to introduce the + portraits of their employers in historic composition, forgetful of + that _simplex duntaxat et unum_ with which a just taste can never + dispense. Cosimo Roselli, a painter of no inconsiderable + reputation, attempted, by the assistance of gold and ultramarine, + to give a factitious splendour to his performances. To every thing + great and elevated, the art was yet a stranger; even the celebrated + picture of Pollajuolo exhibits only a group of half-naked and + vulgar wretches, discharging their arrows at a miserable + fellow-creature, who by changing places with one of his murderers, + might with equal propriety become a murderer himself.[36] Nor was + it till the time of Michaelagnolo, that painting and sculpture rose + to their true object, and instead of exciting the wonder, began to + rouse the passions and interest the feelings of mankind.' + + Though indignant at the doating tradition which still presumes to + foist the bedlam trash of Titus Andronicus among Shakspeare's + pieces; and certainly as little partial to the rubric of + martyrologies as our author or Mr. Tenhove; we yet believe, that + their observation receives it's force rather from the + insensibility, perhaps brutality, of artists, than from the subject + itself. Let horror and loathsomeness be banished from the + instruments of art, and the martyrdom of Stephen or Sebastian, + Agnes or John, becomes as admissible as that of Marsyas or + Palamedes, Virginia, or Regulus. It is the artist's fault if the + right moment be missed. If you see only blood-tipt arrows, + brain-dashed stones, excoriating knives, the artist, not the + subject, is detestable; this furnished heroism, celestial + resignation, the features of calm fortitude and beauty, helpless, + but undismayed; the clown or brute alone, who handled it, pushed + you down among the assassins from the hero's side. Humanity may + avert our eyes with propriety from the murdered subjects of Pietro + Testa, Joseph Ribera, sometimes even of Domenicho himself; but + apathy, phlegm,[37] effeminacy, alone would prefer an Andromeda, an + Agave, or a Venus hanging over an expiring Adonis, to the "Madonna + del Spasmo" of Raffaello, or M. Angelo's Crucifixion of St. Peter. + + We next present the reader with the following passage on + Michaelagnolo. + + P. 208.--'The labours of the painter are necessarily transitory, + for so are the materials that compose them. In a few years + Michaelagnolo will be known like an ancient artist, only by his + works in marble. Already it is difficult to determine whether his + reputation be enhanced or diminished by the sombre representations + of his pencil in the Pauline and Sixtine chapels, or by the few + specimens of his cabinet pictures, now rarely to be met with, and + exhibiting only a shadow of their original excellence. But the + chief merit of this great man is not to be sought for in the + remains of his pencil, nor even in his sculptures, but in the + general improvement of the public taste which followed his + astonishing productions. If his labours had perished with himself, + the change which they effected in the opinions and the works of his + contemporaries would still have entitled him to the first honours + of the art. Those who from ignorance, or from envy, have + endeavoured to depreciate his productions, have represented them as + exceeding in their forms and attitudes the limits and the + possibilities of nature, as a race of beings, the mere creatures + of his own imagination; but such critics would do well to consider, + whether the great reform to which we have alluded could have been + effected by the most accurate representations of common life, and + whether any thing short of that ideal excellence which he only knew + to embody could have accomplished so important a purpose. The + genius of Michaelagnolo was a leaven which was to operate on an + immense and heterogeneous mass, the salt intended to give a relish + to insipidity itself; it was therefore active, penetrating, + energetic, so as not only effectually to resist the contagious + effects of a depraved taste, but to communicate a portion of its + spirit to all around.' + + The comprehensive conception and energy of this admirable passage + prove our author to have penetrated farther into the character of + Michaelagnolo, and to have found far more accurate ideas of his + real prerogative, than either of his favourite biographers.[38] + + Before we dismiss this chapter, we state it as matter of surprise, + that the accomplishments and gigantic powers of Lionardo da Vinci, + a man nearly of Lorenzo's own age, appear to have shared in none of + the favours which he showered on inferior artists. + + Chap. X. We approach with regret the concluding period of this + history, the last moments and death of Lorenzo. Our regret is + increased by the limits prescribed to our review, as our author, if + possible, rises here above the preceding chapters, in the + accumulation of interesting circumstances, delineation of + character, and pathetic scenery. The death of his hero involves + that of the most conspicuous characters around him, of Politiano, + Pico, Ermolao; the expulsion of his family, and the death of his + unfortunate son soon follow; and with the reinstatement of the + Medici, the extinction of the republic, after the unsuccessful + struggles of Lorenzino de' Medici, and Philippo Strozzi, under the + establishment of a tyranny, finishes the work. From so rich an + aggregate of materials, we must content ourselves with a single + extract, the character of Lorenzo and our author's review of his + conduct as a statesman. + + P. 239. 'In the height of his reputation, and at a premature period + of life, thus died Lorenzo de' Medici; a man who may be selected + from all the characters of ancient and modern history, as + exhibiting the most remarkable instance of depth of penetration, + versatility of talent, and comprehension of mind. Whether genius be + a predominating impulse, directing the mind to some particular + object, or whether it be an energy of intellect that arrives at + excellence in any department in which it may be employed, it is + certain that there are few instances in which a successful + exertion in any human pursuit has not occasioned a dereliction of + many other objects, the attainment of which might have conferred + immortality. If the powers of the mind are to bear down all + obstacles that oppose their progress, it seems necessary that they + should sweep along in some certain course, and in one collected + mass. What then shall we think of that rich fountain, which, whilst + it was poured out by so many different channels, flowed through + each with a full and equal stream? To be absorbed in one pursuit, + however important, is not the characteristic of the higher class of + genius, which, piercing through the various combinations and + relations of surrounding circumstances, sees all things in their + just dimensions, and attributes to each its due. Of the various + occupations in which Lorenzo engaged, there is not one in which he + was not eminently successful; but he was most particularly + distinguished in those which justly hold the first rank in human + estimation. The facility with which he turned from subjects of the + highest importance to those of amusement and levity, suggested to + his countrymen the idea that he had two distinct souls combined in + one body. Even his moral character seems to have partaken in some + degree of the same diversity, and his devotional poems are as + ardent as his lighter pieces are licentious. On all sides, he + touched the extremes of human character, and the powers of his mind + were only bounded by that impenetrable circle which prescribes the + limits of human nature. + + 'As a statesman, Lorenzo de' Medici appears to peculiar advantage. + Uniformly employed in securing the peace and promoting the + happiness of his country, by just regulations at home, and wise + precautions abroad, and teaching to the surrounding governments + those important lessons of political science, on which the + civilization and tranquillity of nations have since been found to + depend. Though possessed of undoubted talents for military + exploits, and of sagacity to avail himself of the imbecility of + neighbouring powers, he was superior to that avarice of dominion, + which, without improving what is already acquired, blindly aims at + more extensive possession. The wars in which he engaged were for + security, not for territory; and the riches produced by the + fertility of the soil, and the industry and ingenuity of the + inhabitants of the Florentine republic, instead of being dissipated + in imposing projects and ruinous expeditions, circulated in their + natural channels, giving happiness to the individual, and + respectability to the state. If he was not insensible to the charms + of ambition, it was the ambition to deserve rather than to enjoy; + and he was always cautious not to exact from the public favour more + than it might be voluntarily willing to bestow. The approximating + suppression of the liberties of Florence, under the influence of + his descendants, may induce suspicions unfavourable to his + patriotism; but it will be difficult, not to say impossible, to + discover, either in his conduct or his precepts, any thing that + ought to stigmatize him as an enemy to the freedom of his country. + The authority which he exercised was the same as that which his + ancestors had enjoyed, without injury to the republic, for nearly a + century, and had descended to him as inseparable from the wealth, + the respectability, and the powerful foreign connexions of his + family. The superiority of his talents enabled him to avail himself + of these advantages with irresistible effect; but history suggests + not an instance in which they were devoted to any other purpose + than that of promoting the honour and the independence of the + Tuscan state. It is not by the continuance, but by the dereliction + of the system that he had established, and to which he adhered to + the close of his life, that the Florentine republic sunk under the + degrading yoke of despotic power; and to his premature death we may + unquestionably attribute, not only the destruction of the + commonwealth, but all the calamities that Italy soon afterwards + sustained.' + + Though we admire the author's eloquence, and in a great measure + subscribe to this character, some doubts may be entertained, + whether Lorenzo had not to thank a premature death for having left + his political character, if not unsuspected, at least unimpeached + by direct proofs. Aggrandisement by enormous accumulation of + wealth, and that obtained, by cautious but unremitting grasps at + power, appears to have been the leading principle of the Medicean + family: hence those sacrifices of private attachments and + animosities; hence that ambition of connecting themselves by + intermarriage with the most powerful families of the surrounding + powers; hence the indecent, though successful attempt of raising a + boy to the dignity of Cardinal, against the qualms of an else + willing Pontiff; steps not easily accounted for from men who + professed the honour of being considered as the first citizens of + Florence, to be the height of their ambition. + + But let us return for a moment to our historian, whose work we + cannot dismiss without adding our feeble vote to the unbounded + applause which it has obtained from the best part of the public. + Mr. R., in our opinion, possesses a high rank among the historians + of his country. Notwithstanding the modesty of the title, the life + of Lorenzo de' Medici unites the general history of the times, and + the political system of the most memorable country in Europe, with + the characters of the most celebrated men, and the rise and + progress of science and arts. The greatest praise of the historian + and biographer, impartiality, might be called its most prominent + feature, were it not excelled by the humanity of the writer, who + touches with a hand often too gentle, those blemishes which he + scorns to disguise. It is impossible to read any part of his + performance without discovering that an ardent love for the true + interests of society, and a fervid attachment to virtue and real + liberty, have furnished his motives of choice, and every where + directed his pen. The diligence and correctness of judgment by + which the matter is selected and distributed, notwithstanding the + scantiness, obscurity, or partiality of the documents that were to + be consulted, are equalled only by the amenity with which he has + varied his subjects, and the surprising extent of his information. + Simplicity, perspicuity, and copiousness, are the leading features + of his style, often sententious without being abrupt, and decided + without an air of dogma; that it should have been sometimes + verbose, sometimes lax or minute, is less to be wondered at, than + that it should never be disgraced by affectation or pretence of + elegance. If we be not always led by the nearest road, our path is + always strewn with flowers; and, if it be the highest praise of + writing to have made delight the effectual vehicle of instruction, + our author has attained it. + + The Appendix, of upwards of forty documents relative to the text, + many highly interesting, is preceded by some original poems of + Lorenzo, copied by Mr. Clarke, from the MSS. preserved in the + Laurentian library, and now published for the first time. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + Fuseli's Marriage.--His inducements to associate himself with the + Royal Academy.--He translates Lavater's "Aphorisms on + Man."--Remarks on his own "Aphorisms on Art."--Particulars of + Fuseli's acquaintance with Mrs. Wollstonecraft. + + +On the 30th June, 1788, Fuseli married Miss Sophia Rawlins, of Bath +Easton, near Bath, a young lady of reputable parentage and of personal +attractions. She had been for some time on a visit to an aunt who +resided in London. In Mrs. Fuseli he found an excellent wife, and with +her he lived happily for thirty-five years. She now survives him. On his +marriage he removed from St. Martin's lane, and took a house, No. 72, +Queen Anne Street, East, now called Foley Street: where he painted most +of the pictures which subsequently composed "The Milton Gallery." + +This alteration in his condition effected, from prudential motives, some +change in his mode of acting, if not of thinking. Hitherto, he had a +distaste to all associated bodies for teaching the fine arts; and, in +consequence, refused to belong to some foreign academies during his +residence in Italy; nor would he attend to the repeated recommendations +of his friends (particularly of Sir Joshua Reynolds and Mr. Alderman +Boydell) to become a candidate for the Royal Academy. But being now a +married man, and far from opulent, the consideration of the pension +usually granted by the Royal Academy, under such circumstances, to the +widows of their members, overcame his reluctance; and having put down +his name, and forced himself to undergo the penance of solicitation, +which the members of this as well as several other self-elective bodies +expect from candidates as a right, he was elected an associate of the +Royal Academy on the 3d November, 1788. + +In the beginning of the year (1789), Fuseli published, in a small +duodecimo volume, a translation of Lavater's "Aphorisms on Man;" which +work, written in German, was dedicated to him by this early and esteemed +friend. The dedication is dated October, 1787. When Fuseli gave this +book in an English dress, it was with a promise, that a corresponding +volume of "aphorisms on art," (not, indeed, by the same author,) "should +appear in the course of the year." In conformity to this intention, one +sheet was worked off and corrected by him; but an accidental fire having +taken place in the premises of the printer, the whole impression was +destroyed, and Fuseli could never bring himself to undergo the task of +another revision. It is, however, so far fortunate, that the aphorisms +now appear not only in a more concise, correct, and, in point of number, +extended form, but they are also accompanied by many corollaries; for +adding the latter, he gave to me this reason,--"that an aphorism may be +discussed, but ought not to contain its own explication." These +aphorisms, which are not entirely confined to art, but embrace also life +and character, are certainly the master-work of Fuseli in literature: +many of them, it is true, he has used by amplification in his lectures, +and in the notes to "Pilkington's Dictionary of the Painters;" but what +he himself wrote as an advertisement to Lavater's Aphorisms, may be +fairly said of the work as a whole, that it "will be found to contain +what gives their value to maxims,--verdicts of wisdom on the reports of +experience. If some are truisms, let it be considered that Solomon and +Hippocrates wrote truisms: if some are not new, they are recommended by +an air of novelty." + +In the autumn of 1790, Fuseli became acquainted with the celebrated Mary +Wollstonecraft. Several publications having gone so far as totally to +misrepresent the nature of his intercourse with this highly-gifted lady, +it becomes the duty of his biographer to give a plain statement of +facts. + +The talents of Mrs. Wollstonecraft[39] were first brought into notice by +the Rev. John Hewlett, who, to forward her views in getting employment +by writing on literary subjects, introduced her to Mr. Joseph Johnson, +bookseller, in St. Paul's Church-yard. The house and purse of this +liberal man were always open to authors who possessed talents, and who +required pecuniary assistance; and such being the case with Mrs. +Wollstonecraft, she was a frequent visitor at Mr. Johnson's: there +Fuseli met her; but as he was not very ready to make new acquaintances, +and was not only a shy man, but had rather a repulsive manner to those +he did not know, so it was some time before they became intimately +acquainted. + +The eyes of all Europe were at this time fixed upon the passing events +in France. That spirit of liberty inherent in the Swiss, now burst forth +in Fuseli, and he considered, as did his friend and countryman Lavater, +that an opportunity was then offered to mankind to assert and secure +their liberties, which no previous period in the history of the world +had afforded. The same feelings animated the bosom of Mrs. +Wollstonecraft: this was kept up, and indeed heightened by her then +daily occupation, that of translating from the French the political +pamphlets of the day, which at this time met with a ready and rapid +sale; and in writing criticisms on them, as well as upon other subjects, +for the Analytical Review. + +Congruity of sentiments and feelings upon points which occupied the +thoughts, and engrossed the conversation of persons in all ranks and +stations of life, naturally brought about a closer intimacy between +Fuseli and Mrs. Wollstonecraft, the consequences of which were not +foreseen by the lady; for she little thought that the attachment on her +part, which proceeded from it, would be the cause of her leaving this +country, and thus becoming an eye-witness of the system of Gallic +liberty which she attempted to uphold, emanating, as it did, from +philosophers, being destroyed by murderers and madmen. + +Mrs. Wollstonecraft had the strongest desire to be useful to her +connexions and friends, and she began her career in life by sacrificing +her feelings and comforts to what she fancied purity of conduct, and the +benefit of others. It was a favourite consideration with her, that she +"was designed to rise superior to her earthly habitation," and that she +"always thought, with some degree of horror, of falling a sacrifice to a +passion which may have a mixture of dross in it."[40] + +Having a face and person which had some pretensions to beauty and +comeliness, Mrs. Wollstonecraft had been frequently solicited to marry; +but previously to her acquaintance with Mr. Fuseli, she had never known +any man "possessed of those noble qualities, that grandeur of soul, that +quickness of comprehension, and lively sympathy," which she fancied +would be essential to her happiness, if she entered into the marriage +state. These she found in him; but there was a bar to all her hopes in +this quarter; for he was already married to a woman whom he loved. + +For some years before their acquaintance, with the view of usefulness +which she had prescribed to herself, Mrs. Wollstonecraft "read no book +for mere amusement, not even poetry, but studied those works only which +are addressed to the understanding; she scarcely tasted animal food, or +allowed herself the necessaries of life, that she might be able to +pursue some romantic schemes of benevolence; seldom went to any +amusements (being resident chiefly at Bath, and in the midst of +pleasure), and her clothes were scarcely decent in her situation of +life." The notions of privation which some of the revolutionists in +France were now endeavouring to inculcate, rather encreased than +diminished this tendency in Mrs. Wollstonecraft, and Fuseli found in her +(what he most disliked in woman) a philosophical sloven: her usual dress +being a habit of coarse cloth, such as is now worn by milk-women, black +worsted stockings, and a beaver hat, with her hair hanging lank about +her shoulders. These notions had their influence also in regard to the +conveniences of life; for when the Prince Talleyrand was in this +country, in a low condition with regard to his pecuniary affairs, and +visited her, they drank their tea, and the little wine they took, +indiscriminately from tea-cups. + +Fuseli had a talent for conversation peculiar to himself, and his +knowledge of the classics, of literature in general, and of the fine +arts, was extensive, and his memory so retentive, that he seldom forgot +what he had read or seen; these, aided by a great power and fluency of +words, a poetical imagination and ready wit, enabled him at all times to +put even a known subject in a new light. Talents such as these, Mrs. +Wollstonecraft acknowledged she had never seen united in the same +person; and they accordingly made a strong impression on her mind. +"For," said she, "I always catch something from the rich torrent of his +conversation, worth treasuring up in my memory, to exercise my +understanding." She falsely reasoned with herself, and expressed to some +of her intimate friends, that although Mrs. Fuseli had a right to the +person of her husband, she, Mrs. Wollstonecraft, might claim, and, for +congeniality of sentiments and talents, hold a place in his heart; for +"she hoped," she said, "to unite herself to his mind." It was not to be +supposed that this delusion could last long. From an admiration of his +talents she became an admirer of his person, and then, wishing to +create similar feelings in Fuseli, moulded herself upon what she thought +would be most agreeable to him. Change of manners, of dress, and of +habitation were the consequences; for she now paid more than ordinary +attention to her person, dressed fashionably, and introduced furniture +somewhat elegant into commodious apartments, which she took for that +purpose. + +But these advances were not met with the affection which she had hoped +to inspire in Fuseli,--for he admired her chiefly for her talents; and +in the warmth of her disappointed feelings she constantly vented +complaints of being neglected. These availed so little, that sometimes +when Fuseli received letters from her, thinking they teemed only with +the usual effusions of regard, and the same complaints of neglect, he +would allow them to be some days unopened in his pocket. + +The tumult which was raised in her mind by conflicting feelings, having +love for the object, and yet the wish that her affection should be so +regulated as to be strictly within the bounds which she had assigned to +love, that of "strength of feeling unalloyed by passion," injured in a +degree her health, and unfitted her for those literary pursuits which +required a more than ordinary exertion of the mind. For more than +twelve months "she wrote nothing but criticisms for the Analytical +Review," and even these, which required but little exertion of the +talents which she possessed, would not have been written but for her +daily necessities. Fuseli reasoned with her, but without any effect, +upon the impropriety of indulging in a passion that took her out of +common life. Her answer was, "If I thought my passion criminal, I would +conquer it, or die in the attempt. For immodesty, in my eyes, is +ugliness; my soul turns with disgust from pleasure tricked out in charms +which shun the light of heaven." + +At length Mrs. Wollstonecraft appears to have grown desperate, for she +had the temerity to go to Mrs. Fuseli, and to tell her, that she wished +to become an inmate in her family; and she added, as I am above deceit, +it is right to say that this proposal "arises from the sincere affection +which I have for your husband, for I find that I cannot live without the +satisfaction of seeing and conversing with him daily." This frank avowal +immediately opened the eyes of Mrs. Fuseli, who being alarmed by the +declaration, not only refused her solicitation, but she instantly +forbade her the house. No resource was now left for Mrs. Wollstonecraft, +but to fly from the object which she regarded: her determination was +instantly fixed; she wrote a letter to Fuseli, in which she begged +pardon "for having disturbed the quiet tenour of his life," and on the +8th of December, 1792, left London for France. + +Shortly after her arrival in Paris, she again wrote to Fuseli, gave him +her opinion of the state of public feeling at that important period of +the revolution, and implored him to write to her occasionally. As this +letter was not answered, all communication on her part during her +residence abroad ceased. + +The cause of Mrs. Wollstonecraft's protracted stay in France;--for she +intended, prior to her departure from England, to have remained there +only six weeks,--and the attachment which she formed while in Paris, are +foreign to this memoir; besides, if they were not, it would be +unnecessary now to detail them, as they have been long before the public +from the able pen of him who afterwards became her husband.[41] + +After an absence of nearly two years and a half, Mrs. Wollstonecraft +returned to London, (in April 1795,) and on her arrival called upon +Fuseli: the reception which she met with, it is presumed, was not very +grateful to her feelings, for she shortly after wrote him the following +letter. + + "When I returned from France, I visited you, Sir, but finding + myself after my late journey in a very different situation, I + vainly imagined you would have called upon me. I simply tell you + what I thought, yet I write not, at present, to comment on your + conduct or expostulate. I have long ceased to expect kindness or + affection from any human creature, and would fain tear from my + heart its treacherous sympathies. I am alone. The injustice, + without alluding to hopes blasted in the bud, which I have endured, + wounding my bosom, have set my thoughts adrift into an ocean of + painful conjectures. I ask impatiently what--and where is truth? I + have been treated brutally; but I daily labour to remember that I + still have the duty of a mother to fulfil. + + "I have written more than I intended,--for I only meant to request + you to return my letters: I wish to have them, and it must be the + same to you. Adieu!" + + "Mary." + + "Monday Morning,--To Mr. Fuseli." + + +All communication ceased between the parties from this time until after +Mrs. Wollstonecraft's marriage with Mr. Godwin. Fuseli noticed this +occurrence in a letter to a friend, in the following terms: "You have +not, perhaps, heard that the assertrix of female rights has given her +hand to the _balancier_ of political justice." + +Fuseli saw Mrs. Godwin but seldom; he dined only once at her table. +Indeed, this lady did not live long to enjoy the happiness which she had +pictured to herself, in being the wife of a man of genius and talents; +for she died on the 10th September 1797, after having given birth to a +female child,[42] who has proved herself, by works of the imagination, +to be worthy of her parents. Fuseli could not but feel much regret on +the occasion; but as "grief does not give utterance to words," so he +barely noticed the catastrophe in the postscript of a letter to Mr. +Roscoe, in these terms,--"Poor Mary!" + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + Fuseli undertakes the Illustration of Cowper's Edition of + Milton.--First notion of the "Milton Gallery" hence + suggested.--Letter to Mr. Roscoe from Fuseli and Mr. + Johnson.--Curious circumstances attending Fuseli's Election as a + Royal Academician.--Sir Joshua Reynolds's temporary secession + connected with that event.--Fuseli's progress in the pictures for + the "Milton Gallery."--Controversy between Fuseli and the Rev. Mr. + Bromley.--Subjects painted for "Woodmason's Illustrations of + Shakspeare."--Subscription towards the completion of the Milton + Gallery.--Letter from Mr. Roscoe.--Fuseli contributes to "Seward's + Anecdotes."--His Visit to Windsor with Opie and + Bonnycastle.--Anecdotes connected with that Visit.--Letter from Mr. + Roscoe.--Mr. Johnson's Imprisonment, and Fuseli's adherence to + him.--Anecdote of Lord Erskine.--Exhibition of the "Milton + Gallery," and List of the Works composing it, with incidental + Comments, &c.--Letter to Fuseli from his brother Rodolph.--Letter + from Fuseli to Mr. Locke. + + +The Shakspeare Gallery was now (in 1790) nearly completed, and hence +Fuseli's commissions for this had ceased. The success which had attended +Boydell, in his edition of Shakspeare's works, induced Mr. Johnson to +issue proposals for publishing one of Milton, which should not only +rival this, but, in point of letterpress, designs, and engravings, +surpass any work which had previously appeared in England. Cowper had +long meditated giving an edition of Milton's poetical works, with +copious notes on his English poems, and translations into verse of those +in Latin and Italian; and, indeed, he had made some progress in the +undertaking. Johnson, who was his publisher, urged him to complete it; +to which he assented, and Fuseli was engaged to paint thirty pictures, +which were to be put into the hands of the ablest engravers of the time. +Cowper proceeded with his part, and Fuseli laboured in putting upon +canvass the sublime, the pathetic, and the playful scenes in Milton. +That of "The Contest of Satan, Sin, and Death," was soon finished, and +given to Sharpe to engrave. "Eve starting from seeing herself in the +Water" was put into the hands of Bartolozzi. "Satan taking his flight +from Chaos," and "Adam and Eve observed by Satan," were ready for the +graver of Blake. + +The serious mental indisposition of Cowper, which took place before he +had completed his part of the work, and the opposition which Mr. +Alderman Boydell offered to the progress of the scheme, thinking that it +would affect the sale of his edition of Milton, made Mr. Johnson resolve +to abandon it altogether. This undertaking of Fuseli's was, however, the +foundation of a stupendous work by him, "The Milton Gallery," of which +I shall have occasion hereafter to speak, and which he appears to have +meditated in August 1790, while at Ramsgate in company with Mr. Johnson; +shortly after he began to paint for Cowper's projected edition of +Milton's poetical works, as will be shewn by the following letter +written by him to Mr. Roscoe, and to which Johnson added a postscript. + + "Ramsgate, 17th August, 1790. + + "MY DEAR SIR, + + "I did indeed receive your letter, but had not the pleasure of + seeing Mr. Daulby. The first time he called upon me, I happened to + be at dinner with some company, and as it never entered my head the + stately figure which I observed dropping from the coach should be + our friend, I ordered myself to be denied. The letter was left, but + no time mentioned when he would call again, or any place assigned + where I might find him. Johnson knew nothing of his abode. In about + eight or ten days he called again, but I was at Woolwich: the next + morning, I understand, he left town. You both will easily believe + that I was extremely mortified, not to have had it in my power to + enjoy an hour or two in his company; but I console myself with the + thought, that he spent those hours with more satisfaction to + himself. + + "You may by this time have forgot the contents of your letter: it + contains a comparison between your pursuits and mine; and no doubt + I make the most advantageous figure on paper. I am on a road of + glory; you are only crawling about from the white to the brown bed. + I should, however, not be very uneasy if I could, without a total + change of situation, obtain a little of that "elbow-room" for my + mind, which it seems you get by moving from a large house to a + smaller one. Notwithstanding the success of my election at the + Academy, and of the pictures which I have painted for the + Shakspeare Gallery, my situation continues to be extremely + precarious. I have been and am contributing to make the public drop + their gold into purses not my own; and though I am, and probably + shall be, fully employed for some time to come, the scheme is + hastening with rapidity towards its conclusion. "There are," says + Mr. West, "but two ways of working successfully, that is, + lastingly, in this country, for an artist,--the one is, to paint + for the King; the other, to meditate a scheme of your own." The + first he has monopolized; in the second he is not idle: witness the + prints from English history, and the late advertisement of + allegorical prints to be published from his designs by Bartolozzi. + In imitation of _so great a man_, I am determined to lay, hatch, + and crack an egg for myself too, if I can. What it shall be, I am + not yet ready to tell with certainty; but the sum of it is, a + series of pictures for _exhibition_, such as Boydell's and + Macklin's. To obtain this, it will be necessary that I should have + it in my power to work without commission or any kind of + intermediate gain, for at least three years; in which time I am + _certain_ of producing at least twenty pictures of different + dimensions. The question is, what will enable me to live in the + mean time? With less than three hundred a-year _certain_, I cannot + do it. My idea is, to get a set of men (twenty, perhaps,--less if + possible, but not more,) to subscribe towards it. Suppose twenty + pounds each annually, to be repaid either by small pictures or + drawings, or the profits of the exhibition, should it succeed, of + which there can be no very great doubt. + + "Such is, at present, the rude outline of my scheme: it is in this + manner alone that I can exhibit that variety of picturesque ideas + of which, I flatter myself, you have seen specimens amongst my + productions on paper and canvass; and now, tell me your opinion + with your usual openness. I am in earnest, yours truly, + + "H. Fuseli." + + "W. Roscoe, Esq." + + + "The few pictures that have been painted for Boydell's scheme by + our friend,--and he has little more to expect, from the numbers + employed,--I need not say to you, are perfectly sufficient to + justify the warmest expectations from the scheme he has projected; + but they are trifling, when we consider what he is capable of were + he perfectly at his ease for a few years, and at perfect liberty to + choose his subjects. His plan has my hearty concurrence; and I have + gone so far as to say, that I would be one of six, or even of + three, to support him in it; but he prefers a larger number. You + are the only one to whom it has been mentioned, and it should be + spoken of with great delicacy, for it had better not be known until + it is nearly ripe: think of it, and tell me your sentiments. It may + be, and I am confident it is, unnecessary to tell _you_; but as + such things are common in your experience, I shall say, that this + is not the effort of a man whose circumstances are involved, to + save himself from sinking. Our friend, though not rich, is + perfectly free from incumbrances. We shall be in town in a few + days. + + "Yours, + "J. Johnson." + + +On the 10th of February, 1790, Fuseli was elected a Royal Academician. +As his election was accompanied by a circumstance which caused a great +sensation at that time, (I allude to the temporary secession of Sir +Joshua Reynolds from the Royal Academy,) it will not be uninteresting to +give Fuseli's account of the transaction, which I have heard him +frequently relate. + +The Earl of Aylesford, the intimate friend of Sir Joshua, had patronized +M. Bonomi, an Italian by birth, a native of Rome, and by profession an +architect; and, with the view of serving this gentleman, recommended him +strongly to the protection of the President of the Royal Academy. +Accordingly, in the early part of 1789, M. Bonomi became a candidate for +the preliminary step, an Associate of the Academy, in opposition to Mr. +Gilpin, well known as a landscape painter of merit, and who, for his +amiable disposition and manners, was a man much respected and esteemed. +Sir Joshua exerted his influence to secure success to M. Bonomi; but as +the number of votes for the two candidates, on the ballot, were found to +be equal, the President asserted his privilege of the casting-vote, +which he gave in favour of the architect, avowing, at the same time, +that he had done so with the intention of his being elected an +Academician when a vacancy should occur, and thus becoming eligible, +according to the laws of the Academy, to occupy the chair of Professor +of Perspective, which was then vacant; considering it, as he said, +highly desirable that this should be filled according to those laws, by +an Academician, and that, in his opinion, M. Bonomi was the person best +qualified for the situation. On the death of Mr. Meyer,[43] which took +place early in the year 1790, M. Bonomi was accordingly proposed to +succeed him as a Royal Academician. Fuseli, who had always been treated +with great kindness by Sir Joshua, called upon him to solicit his vote +for himself. The President received him with politeness, acknowledged +the claims which he had to the distinction of an Academician, from the +great talents which he possessed, and which no man appreciated more than +himself; but he said, "Were you my brother, I could not serve you on +this occasion; for I think it not only expedient, but highly necessary +for the good of the Academy, that M. Bonomi should be elected:" and he +added, "on another vacancy, you shall have my support." Fuseli, in +answer, thanked Sir Joshua for his candour, and hoped if he tried his +friends on _this_ occasion, he would not be offended. To this the +President said, "Certainly not." + +Sir Joshua was active in taking measures to favour the views of M. +Bonomi; and although he expected some opposition, from the spirit which +was manifested on the former occasion, yet he was nevertheless very +sanguine as to the ultimate success of this candidate. On the evening of +the election, an expedient was resorted to, no doubt with the sanction +of, but not acknowledged by, the President,--that of exhibiting on the +table of the Academy some neatly executed drawings of M. Bonomi; which +display had a contrary effect to what Sir Joshua expected. The friends +of Fuseli protested against this, which they deemed an innovation, and +urged with great propriety, that if drawings were to be shown, he should +have the same chance as his competitor; stating at the same time, that +his portfolio was as rich in these as any man's; "for the members," said +they, "must be aware, that no modern artist excels Mr. Fuseli in +design." + +The sense of the meeting was taken; and after a warm debate, M. Bonomi's +drawings were ordered to be removed. + +As it was considered that Fuseli's claims had not been fairly met, those +who were wavering in opinion before, now became fixed in his favour, and +when the numbers were declared, there were twenty-one votes for, and +only nine against him. This decision was evidently unexpected by Sir +Joshua, who, on leaving the chair, shewed some degree of mortification; +and on the 23d of February, 1790, thirteen days after the election had +taken place, he wrote a letter to the Academicians, in which were these +words: "I resign the Presidency of the Royal Academy, and also my seat +as an Academician." It is unnecessary, in this place, to detail the +means which the Academy took, and successfully, to recall him to the +chair: suffice it to say, that, notwithstanding the chagrin which he +experienced, in failing to carry the point for M. Bonomi, Sir Joshua was +unaltered in his kindness to Fuseli, during the remainder of his life. + +The employment which had been given to Fuseli by Mr. Alderman Boydell, +for the Shakspeare Gallery, enabled him to save some money; he therefore +proceeded with a degree of confidence in the great work which he had for +some years meditated, and on which he was now actively employed,--the +pictures which were to form the "Milton Gallery." In aid of these +means, however, he expected to be able to maintain himself, during the +execution of the work, by painting occasionally small pictures for the +printsellers and booksellers, on whom the historical painters of this +country have principally depended for support. But in this he was in a +great measure disappointed, for his competitors in the art raised a +report, that his time was so much occupied in a scheme of such magnitude +from Milton, that he had no leisure for any other subject,--hence their +usual commissions began to decline, and at length almost ceased. + +Fuseli felt this disappointment of his hopes, and in a letter to Mr. +Roscoe says, "I am convinced that of all the lies Nero told, that in +which he asserts art was supported by all the earth, was the most +atrocious; and although _laudatur et alget_ seems to be intended for my +motto, and though despondence often invades my pillow, yet my head and +hand still keep on steady in the prosecution of my great work. May the +hope which carries me on, not prove delusive." + +The monotony of painting from one author, however, was in a degree +broken by the variety of subjects which Milton's poetical works afford, +for he could at will turn "from grave to gay:" this transition, Fuseli +often acknowledged, afforded him considerable relief and pleasure. + +In the year 1793, the Rev. R. A. Bromley, rector of St. Mildred's in the +Poultry, issued proposals for publishing by subscription, two large +quarto volumes of "A Philosophical and Critical History of the Fine +Arts, more especially Painting;" and at the instance of Mr. West, the +Royal Academy subscribed for a copy. The first volume appeared early in +1794, and the author, after having discussed and criticised the works of +Michael Angelo and Raphael, thus expresses himself:--"The dignity of +moral instruction is degraded whenever the pencil is employed on +frivolous, whimsical, and unmeaning subjects. On this head, it is to be +feared, there ever will be too much cause for complaint, because there +ever will be persons incapable of solidity, although very capable of +executing this art with power: strength of understanding, and ability in +art or science, are very different things; they are derived from +different sources, and they are perfectly independent of each other. The +one can no more be instrumental to the communication of the other, than +either can communicate temper or disposition. The finest art in the +world may therefore be combined with the lightest and most superficial +mind. Books are written of a light and fantastic nature by those who +cannot write otherwise, and yet will write something. And so it is with +painting; the mind of the artist can but give such subjects as are +consecutaneous to its turn.--_The Nightmare_, _Little Red Ridinghood_, +_The Shepherd's Dream_, or any dream that is not marked in authentic +history as combined with the important dispensations of Providence, and +many other pieces of a visionary and fanciful nature, are speculations +of as exalted a stretch in the contemplation of such a mind, as the +finest lessons as were ever drawn from religion, or morals, or useful +history; and yet the painter who should employ his time on such +subjects, would certainly amuse the intelligent no more than the man who +should make those subjects the topics of a serious discourse. But what +good has the world, or what honour has the art, at any time derived from +such light and fantastical speculations? If it be right to follow +Nature, there is nothing of her here,--all that is presented to us is a +reverie of the brain. If it be allowable to cultivate fancy, that which +has little or nothing of nature in its composition becomes ridiculous. A +man may carry the flights of imagination even within the walks of the +chastest art or science, till they become mere waking dreams, as wild as +the conceits of a madman. The author of Observations on _Fresnoy de +Arte_ very properly calls these persons, 'Libertines of painting:' as +there are libertines of religion, who have no other law but the +vehemence of their own inclinations, so these have no other model, he +says, but a rodomontado genius, which shews us a wild or savage nature +that is not of our acquaintance, but of a new creation. + +"If not in subjects altogether, yet in manner, one of the first examples +of this kind, if not the very first, appeared about the latter end of +the sixteenth century, in a Neapolitan, who is commonly known by the +name of Giuseppe d'Arpino." + +After having thus openly condemned some of the subjects painted by Sir +Joshua Reynolds and Fuseli, the author shortly after launches out in +unqualified praise of the works of West, particularly his "Death of +Wolfe," of which he gives an elaborate description, and concludes by +considering it as "one of the most genuine models of historic painting +in the world." The series of pictures painted by Barry, which adorns the +great room of the Society of Arts in the Adelphi, are also eulogized by +him. + +It was generally known to the academicians, that Mr. Bromley had +assisted Mr. West in arranging and getting up the discourses which the +latter delivered to the Royal Academy; and it was conjectured that Mr. +West had given his friend some of the observations on modern art, even +those in praise of his own works. These circumstances, and Mr. Bromley's +strictures upon a living artist (Fuseli), disgusted many of the members +of the Royal Academy, and they requested Fuseli not only to animadvert +upon them, but to prove (what he broadly asserted) that Mr. Bromley did +not understand the subject, and that he was equally ignorant of the +classical authorities which he quoted in his Dissertation upon Ancient +Art. Fuseli immediately undertook the task, and published in a journal, +a letter addressed to Mr. Bromley, pointing out a variety of errors in +his work. I regret, after having employed much industry to find this, +that I have not succeeded. Mr. Bromley answered it by publishing two +letters in the Morning Herald of the 12th and 18th of March 1794, in +which he deeply complains of the injury he sustained, as an author, by +the observations of Fuseli; admits that several of these are correct +which regard classical quotations, but shields himself by stating that +his manuscript was right, and that the errors are to be attributed to +the printer. + +Fuseli's letter, however, made so deep an impression, that the Academy +were about to reject the book altogether, as unworthy a place in their +library; but after some debate, they came to the resolution to allow the +first volume to remain there, but to withdraw the subscription for the +second. And on the 20th of February, 1794, at a general meeting of +Academicians, they came to this resolution, "That Mr. Fuseli has +conducted himself properly in his remarks on Mr. Bromley's book." In +consequence of the opposition of Fuseli, the second volume was never +published. + + +In 1794, Fuseli painted for Mr. Seward "The Conspiracy of Catiline." +This gentleman was so much pleased with the picture, that he wrote the +following verses, which were published in the "Whitehall Evening Post," +in the December that year, and copied into the "European Magazine, for +January 1795." + + TO HENRY FUSELI, ESQ. R.A. + + ON HIS LATE PICTURE OF THE CONSPIRACY OF CATILINE. + + Artist sublime! with every talent blest, + That Buonarroti's great and awful mind confest; + Whose magic colours, and whose varying line + Embody things, or human or divine; + Behold the effort of thy mastering hand, + See Catilina's parricidal band, + By the lamp's tremulous, sepulchral light, + Profane the sacred silence of the night; + To Hell's stern King their curs'd libations pour, + While the rich goblet foams with human gore. + See how, in full and terrible array, + Their fatal poignards they at once display, + Direly resolving, at their Chief's behest, + To sheath them only in their Country's breast. + Too well pourtray'd, the scene affects our sight + With indignation, horror, and affright. + Then quit these orgies, and with ardent view + Fam'd Angelo's advent'rous track pursue; + Let him extend thy[44] terrible career + Beyond the visible diurnal sphere, + Burst Earth's strong barrier, seek th' abyss of Hell, + Where sad Despair and Anguish ever dwell; + In glowing colours to our eyes disclose + The monster Sin, the cause of all our woes; + To our appall'd and tortur'd senses bring + Death's horrid image, Terror's baneful King; + And at the last, the solemn, dreadful hour, + We all may bless thy pencil's saving power; + Our danger from thy pious colours see, + And owe eternity of bliss to thee. + Then to the Heaven of heavens ascend, pourtray + The wonders of th' effulgent realms of day; + Around thy pallet glorious tints diffuse, + Mix'd from th' ethereal arch's vivid hues; + With every grace of beauty and of form, + Inspire thy mind, and thy rich fancy warm. + Cherub and seraph, now, in "burning row," + Before the throne of Heaven's high Monarch bow, + And, tun'd to golden wires, their voices raise + In everlasting strains of rapt'rous praise. + Blest[45] commentator of our Nation's Bard, + Long lov'd with every reverence of regard, + Whose matchless Muse dares sing in strains sublime, + Things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme! + The critic's painful efforts, cold and dead, + Merely inform the slow and cautious head; + Whilst thy effusions, like Heaven's rapid fire, + Dart through the heart, and kindred flames inspire, + And at one flash, to our astonish'd eyes, + Objects of horror or delight arise. + Proceed, my friend; a Nation safely trust, + To merit splendidly and quickly just; + She the due tribute to thy toils shall pay, + And lavishly her gratitude display; + The Bard himself, from his Elysium bowers + Contemplating thy pencil's plastic powers, + Well pleas'd, shall see his fame extend with thine, + And gladly hail thee, as himself, divine. S. + +In the years 1793 and 1794, Fuseli painted four pictures for +"Woodmason's Illustrations of Shakspeare,"--two from subjects in the +Midsummer Night's Dream, and the other two from Macbeth. Three of these +are known by engravings, namely, Oberon squeezing the juice of the +flowers into Titania's eyes while she sleeps,--Titania awake, attended +by fairies, and in raptures with Bottom wearing the ass's head,--and +Macbeth meeting the Witches on the heath.--The fourth, Macbeth with the +Witches at the cauldron, was chosen by Sharpe, and some progress made by +him in the engraving of it, when the scheme was abandoned. Fuseli was +much gratified by my having subsequently purchased this picture, and +remarked, "You have another of my best poetical conceptions. When +Macbeth meets with the witches on the heath, it is terrible, because he +did not expect the supernatural visitation; but when he goes to the cave +to ascertain his fate, it is no longer a subject of terror: hence I have +endeavoured to supply what is deficient in the poetry. To say nothing of +the general arrangement of my picture, which in composition is +altogether triangular, (and the triangle is a mystical figure,) I have +endeavoured to shew a colossal head rising out of the abyss, and that +head Macbeth's likeness. What, I would ask, would be a greater object +of terror to you, if, some night on going home, you were to find +yourself sitting at your own table, either writing, reading, or +otherwise employed? would not this make a powerful impression on your +mind?" Fuseli always complained of not being able to effect all he +wished in these pictures, in consequence of being limited to shape and +size, as it was stipulated by Woodmason, that those painted for his +gallery should be 5 feet 6 inches high, by 4 feet 6 inches broad. + +It was not until his own means were exhausted that Fuseli could bring +himself to solicit pecuniary assistance from others for the +accomplishment of his plan of the "Milton Gallery." As soon, however, as +it was understood that he must either give it up, or be supported in it, +six of his intimate friends (in 1797) immediately came forward, and each +agreed to advance him fifty pounds per annum, until the task was +completed. It gives me pleasure to place the names of these gentlemen on +record. Messrs. Coutts, Lock, Roscoe, G. Steevens, Seward, and Johnson. +It was stipulated that they were to be paid out of the proceeds of the +exhibition of the Milton Gallery, or take pictures or drawings to the +value of their contributions. Mr. Coutts, in addition to his annuity, +with that characteristic spirit of true liberality which ever marked his +conduct, and with that modesty which generally accompanies such +feelings, made a donation of a hundred pounds, under the injunction that +his name should not appear in the transaction; and Mr. Roscoe gave +proofs of the sincere friendship which he entertained for the artist, by +not only buying pictures to a considerable amount, but also by inducing +his friends and connexions at Liverpool to make purchases. The interest +which Mr. Roscoe took in Fuseli's labours is shown in the following +letter:-- + + "MY DEAR FRIEND, + + "I am much mortified that I shall not have the pleasure of seeing + you in Liverpool; but, at the same time, if your bringing your + works before the public next Spring depends on your close attention + to them at present, it will, I confess, in a great degree reconcile + me to my disappointment. I look upon this as the period which will + shew you to the public in your true light, and obtain for you that + universal suffrage which will secure you a great and lasting + reputation. Inclosed is a bill from Clarke's for a second hundred + pounds, of which you will be pleased to acknowledge the receipt by + a line, when it comes to hand. I consider you as connected in + London with friends of more liberality than are generally met with, + and I esteem you as a cautious and provident man, for an artist; + notwithstanding which, I may be excused in suggesting to you, that + this exhibition should be wholly on your own account, and should + not be connected with any subsequent plan that may be proposed for + publication of prints from the pictures, &c. With respect to the + mode of exhibiting the pictures, I still think the least expensive + will be to stucco the room with pannels, with broad mouldings, in + imitation of frames, which may be painted in a bold style, to suit + the pictures. If this could be done in imitation of bronze, it + would have a grave and better effect for such subjects, than if you + even went to the expense of gilding, which would be enormous. I + mention this, because, if you think the plan likely to answer, the + work should be done some time before, that it may be sufficiently + dry. Perhaps all this may be unnecessary, and you have already + decided on a better plan; but I know you will attribute it to its + proper motive. + + "My wife has been unwell for some time past, owing, I believe, to + nursing too long. Apropos--I have just translated a poem on this + subject, in two capitoli from the Italian of Luigi Tansillo, in + which he endeavours to prevail on the ladies to undertake that + important duty to their children. Tansillo was contemporary with + Ariosto, &c., and for purity of style is excelled by few of his + countrymen. I have sent my version to Shepherd, to revise, &c.; but + am yet undecided whether I should publish it.[46]--Adieu, my dear + friend, and believe me very truly and affectionately yours, + + "W. Roscoe." + + "Liverpool, 12th Dec. 1797." + + +The assistance afforded by these friends enabled Fuseli to carry on +steadily the grand work on which he was engaged, and to this, most +probably, the public owe many of the pictures of which the Milton +Gallery was composed. After acknowledging his gratitude to one of them +(Mr. Roscoe), he thus expresses himself, "I shall now endeavour to carry +through a work which I consider a monument of myself; whatever I may be, +_magnis tamen excido ausis_, if I do not succeed to give it excellence." + +In 1795, Fuseli assisted his friend Mr. Seward by contributing several +articles to an amusing and instructive work known by the appellation of +"Seward's Anecdotes." + +In 1796, he painted a picture for Macklin's Gallery, "The Vision of the +Candlesticks," from the Revelations of St. John. For this he chose what +may be considered the most sublime moment, the sudden appearance of the +apparition and the trance of the saint; but he always regretted that he +was limited to size, and tied too much to biblical precision by Mr. +Macklin, instead of being allowed to exercise the full range of his +fancy on a canvass of larger dimensions. + +In the autumn of this year (1796), Mr. and Mrs. Fuseli, with Messrs. +Opie and Bonnycastle, passed a few days at Windsor; the object of the +two artists was not only to have some relaxation and to see the +pictures, but to examine critically the cartoons of Raphael, which were +at this time in the Castle. An anecdote or two will show the disposition +of the three men. In their journey down by the stage-coach, they were +much annoyed by an outside passenger placing his legs over one of the +windows. Opie at first gently remonstrated with him; this, however, not +producing the desired effect, he pinched his legs, but yet the nuisance +continued; at length the coach stopped at an inn. Opie, being enraged, +exerted his Herculean strength, and pulled the person to the ground; but +this did not produce any rencontre.--When at Windsor, the two painters +endeavoured to palm the Scriptural subjects of West upon Bonnycastle for +the cartoons of Raphael; but although he was not a competent judge of +works of art, yet he was too well read not to detect their intentions. +Bonnycastle, however, wished to show his critical knowledge, and +ventured upon the observation usually made on the cartoon of "The +Miraculous Draught of Fishes," that the boat was not sufficiently large +for the men, much less for the lading. Fuseli instantly answered, "By +G--d, Bonnycastle, that is a part of the miracle." Being at Windsor, +they went to Eton College: here the youths assembled about them, asking +the usual questions; "Do you wish to see the Library, Gentlemen," and +such like. Fuseli amused himself by answering them in Latin; but Opie, +in his usual gruff manner, said to the most prominent among them, "What +do you want? I cannot make out to what class of beings you belong, being +too little for a man, and too large for a monkey." This was resented as +an insult by the mass; and it was only by the great physical powers of +Bonnycastle and Opie, that they disengaged themselves and their +companion from the crowd of boys who surrounded them. Fuseli was highly +provoked, and was apprehensive also of personal violence; and when he +got without the barrier, almost breathless with rage, he sat on a large +stone by the side of the road and exclaimed, "I now wish I was the Grand +Sultan, for I would order my vizier to cut off the heads of these +urchins from the rising of the sun until the going down thereof." + +By indefatigable industry, Fuseli had now made considerable progress in +the pictures which were to compose the "Milton Gallery," and those +friends, as well as many of the artists who had been allowed to see them +as he proceeded, felt confident of the ultimate success of the +exhibition. With such feelings his intimate friend Sir Thomas Lawrence +offered to contribute a picture gratuitously, and Mr. Opie tendered his +services, not only to paint some pictures, but to manage the concern; +under the condition, however, that he was to be a sharer in the profits. +These offers Fuseli politely but prudently declined, being determined +not to have any assistance whatever in a work, which he wished should be +a monument of himself, and feeling, perhaps, that contrarieties of style +would not be beneficial to the exhibition as a whole; for his aim was +more to give the sublime, quiescent, and playful imagery of the poet in +his own powerful manner, than to engage attention by colour or a +brilliant execution of the pictures. These observations are not however +intended to depreciate the merits of the splendid picture painted from +Milton by Sir Thomas Lawrence, of "Satan calling up his Legions," which +for a long period was a prominent feature in the collection of his Grace +the late Duke of Norfolk, at his house in St. James's Square, and which, +by the style of drawing as well as its tone of colour, abundantly prove, +that this artist would have been equally distinguished for his powers in +treating epic subjects as in portraits, if he had employed his pencil +exclusively thereon. + +As soon as the intended exhibition was announced by the daily prints, +but before the doors of the "Milton Gallery" were opened, the public +mind was attempted to be biassed very unfairly by paragraphs in the +newspapers calumniating the subjects as well as the execution of the +pictures. These critics considered that he had attempted to represent on +canvass scenes adapted only to poetic imagery, and thus transgressed the +limits of the imitative art, and that his figures were distorted, and +his colouring wanting both in force and brilliancy. As it was evident +that these observations could have proceeded only from some persons who +had seen the pictures through the kindness of the painter, Fuseli +considered his confidence betrayed and interests injured by those who +came under the mask of friendship; and he always held the opinion that +the paragraphs in question were written by or at the instance of one or +more of the then members of the Royal Academy. + +As the mass of the public form their judgment of works of art more by +what they are told by the diurnal prints, than by what they feel or +know, there is no doubt that these unwarrantable criticisms had their +effect in checking the desire of many persons to visit the exhibition. +Fuseli, however, was sanguine as to the ultimate success of the "Milton +Gallery," for he had yet to learn that he who had delineated the sublime +and playful imagery of the poet, was like the poet himself to accomplish +his design under every discountenance, and in the end to gain little or +nothing by his performance. For, with feelings strongly in opposition to +the opinion of Dr. Johnson, that "we read Milton for instruction, retire +harassed and overburthened, and look elsewhere for recreation; we +desert our master and seek for companions;" Fuseli wrote in large +letters in the margin of a copy of the "Lives of the Poets," now in my +possession, in allusion to the passage in question, "I DO NOT." Some of +the judicious friends of Fuseli formed a more correct notion of the +feelings of the public than himself, and were not therefore so sanguine +as to the success of his exhibition; this is manifest by the following +letter from Mr. Roscoe. + + "Allerton, 24th May, 1799. + + "MY DEAR FRIEND, + + "My friend and neighbour Mr. Shepherd, who is already known to you, + being about to take his departure with Mrs. Shepherd and her sister + on a journey to London, I avail myself of the opportunity it + affords of informing you, without being questioned on the subject, + that I am yet in existence, and, what I know you will be glad to + hear, in better health, and consequently better spirits, than when + I last wrote to you. From the experience I have hitherto had of my + new residence, it promises to be productive of every advantage + which I expected to find from it:--good air, opportunity or rather + necessity of exercise, and a degree of retirement which is + indispensably necessary to my peace of mind. The latter you will + perhaps believe when I tell you that I am a mile and a half from + any neighbour; but, at that distance, I have on every side of me + some of my most intimate and valuable friends. Such being the + advantage I enjoy here, you will not wonder that I am exerting + myself to secure the means of remaining here, without the necessity + of further interference in the tumult of the town, which I hope in + a short time I shall be able to do. I consider it as one great + secret in the art of living, especially at a time when all the + necessaries of life are so high, to obtain subsistence immediately + from the earth, and, accordingly, I am surrounded with cows, hogs, + turkies, geese, cocks, hens, and pigeons, which, according to the + good old maxim, (take, Peter, kill and eat,) I plunder and + slaughter without mercy; and shall be very angry with you if you + tell me (as is not unlikely) that I am keeping up my paltry + existence at the expense of the lives of a number of beings, each + of which is ten times happier than myself. + + "I was struck with the sight of an advertisement in the Courier, + which announced to me, in common with all the world, that the + Exhibition of the Pictures of Milton would be opened in a few + days. I rejoice to find your exertions so nearly brought to a + conclusion, and I hope I may say, so nearly crowned with success. I + have sometimes regretted that your intention of painting a series + of pictures from Shakspeare was frustrated; but, after what I have + seen of Milton, I am convinced that it was he alone could have + afforded sufficient scope for your powers. I will not pretend to + prophesy, _nor, to say the truth, have I any very high opinion of + the taste of the present day_; but if the public are insensible to + the feast which will now be spread before them, I shall be wholly + hopeless of their amendment. That they will see with indifference + is impossible; and this circumstance alone is favourable, however + they may be induced to decide. + + "Believe me, my dear friend, I do not turn a deaf ear to the claims + you have on my friendship and affection; and if I should be able to + produce a few lines worthy of the subject, there is nothing I + should do with so much pleasure as to express the opinion I have of + your talents. + + "I am affectionately your's, + + "W. Roscoe." + + +In 1798, Mr. Johnson was brought to trial for selling the Reverend +Gilbert Wakefield's political works, and being found guilty was +sentenced by the Court to pay a fine to the King of L50, and to be +imprisoned in the King's Bench for nine months. Johnson employed Mr. +Erskine (afterwards Lord Erskine) as his counsel; and Fuseli, in common +with most of Mr. Johnson's friends, considered that the prosecution was +an arbitrary act on the part of the Government, because every bookseller +sold the works in question, and all with impunity, except Johnson; and +that Erskine, in his defence, lost sight of the interest of his client, +in the wish to shew his own political opinions, and to make a display of +his oratorical powers. + +Mr. Johnson, on his removal to the King's Bench, occupied the Marshal's +house, and gave there his usual weekly dinners to literary and +scientific men. Fuseli was warned by his friends of the existence of the +Alien act, and advised not to visit a man in the King's Bench Prison who +had been so marked by the Government. But his friendship for Johnson was +greater than any prudential motives of this nature; and he therefore +visited him as frequently as he had previously done in his own house. + +The following anecdote respecting Lord Erskine, who subsequently was +intimate with Fuseli, was told me by Mr. Bonnycastle. He and Johnson +were, just previously to the trial, walking through Lincoln's Inn on +their way to dine with Fuseli, and met Erskine there accidentally, who +had several dogs with him, animals of which he was particularly fond. As +soon as he saw them, he cried out, "Johnson, I have something particular +to say to you," and then occupied him in close conversation, apart from +Bonnycastle, for nearly a quarter of an hour. + +At length Mr. Johnson took his leave; and when he joined Bonnycastle, +said, "You cannot even guess the topic of our conversation." +"Doubtless," said the latter, "your forthcoming trial." "Not a bit," +said Johnson; "he never even alluded to it, and the time was wholly +occupied with his opinions about Brothers the Prophet, and in asking +questions respecting a book 'on the Revelations,' lately offered me for +publication." + +When Johnson was liberated, he, Fuseli, and Mr. Sturch, went to +Liverpool together to enjoy, for three or four weeks, that relaxation +which was considered necessary for Johnson's health. + +On the 20th of May, 1799, the rooms in Pall Mall, formerly occupied by +the Royal Academy, were opened for the exhibition of the "Milton +Gallery:" these Fuseli rented at 210_l._ per annum. This exhibition +consisted of forty pictures of different sizes; but, to give an idea of +the extent of the undertaking, the following are the dimensions of some +of the principal ones. "Satan starting from the touch of Ithuriel's +spear," and "Satan calling up his Legions," each 13ft. by 12.--"Satan +encountering Death, Sin interposing;" "Adam and Eve first discovered by +Satan;" "Satan flying up from Sin and Death in his enterprise;" and "The +Vision of Noah:" each 13ft. by 10. "Death and Sin bridging the waste of +Chaos," and "The Vision of the Lazar House," each 11ft. by 10. "The +Creation of Eve;" "Christ on the Pinnacle of the Temple;" "The Fall of +Satan;" "Adam resolved to share the Fate of Eve;" and "Eve at the Tree +of Knowledge:" each 10ft. by 7. + +To those who had a feeling for the highest class of art, epic subjects, +treated with dramatic power, this exhibition afforded a high treat. But, +that some judgment may be formed of its extent and variety, the +following descriptive catalogue of the pictures drawn up by Fuseli +himself, is here given, to which is added, as far as I can ascertain +them, the names of the persons in whose possession these pictures now +are. + + + A CATALOGUE + + OF THE + + MILTON GALLERY, + + AS IT WAS OPENED THE 20TH OF MAY, 1799. + + + PARADISE LOST. + + + PICTURE I.--A SKETCH. + + SATAN risen from the Flood, BEELZEBUB rising. + + Forthwith upright he rears from off the pool + His mighty stature; on each hand the flames + Driv'n backward slope their pointing spires, and roll'd + In billows, leave i' th' midst a horrid vale. + ----Him follow'd his next mate, + Both glorying to have 'scap'd the Stygian flood + As Gods---- + Book I. v. 221, 238. + + In the possession of Sir Thomas Lawrence. + + + PICTURE II. + + SATAN calling up his Legions. + + ----On the beach + Of that enflamed sea he stood, and call'd + His legions, Angel forms, who lay entranc'd + Thick as autumnal leaves, that strow the brooks + In Vallombrosa.---- + He call'd so loud, that all the hollow deep + Of Hell resounded.---- + Awake, arise, or be for ever fall'n. + They heard, and were abash'd, and up they sprung---- + Book I. v. 299, 314, 330. + + In the possession of His Grace the Duke of Wellington. + + + PICTURE III.--A SKETCH. + + SATAN haranguing his Host. + + He spake: and to confirm his words, out flew + Millions of flaming swords, drawn from the thighs + Of mighty Cherubim.---- + Book I. v. 663. + + + PICTURE IV. + + Figures from a simile in allusion to the contracted form of the + Spirits assembled in the new-raised Hall of PANDAEMONIUM, + illustrated by a simile from + + ----Fairy elves, + Whose midnight revels by a forest side + Or fountain some belated peasant sees, + Or dreams he sees, while over head the moon + Sits arbitress, and nearer to the earth + Wheels her pale course, they on their mirth and dance + Intent, with jocund music charm his ear; + At once with joy and fear his heart rebounds. + Book I. v. 781. + + + PICTURE V. + + SATAN encount'ring DEATH, SIN interposing. + + ----And now great deeds + Had been achiev'd, whereof all Hell had rung, + Had not the snaky Sorceress that sat + Fast by Hell gate, and kept the fatal key, + Ris'n, and with hideous outcry rush'd between. + ----She finish'd, and the subtle Fiend his lore + Soon learn'd, now milder.---- + Book II. v. 722, 815. + + In the possession of Sir Thomas Lawrence. + + + PICTURE VI. + + The Birth of SIN. + + All on a sudden miserable pain + Surpris'd thee, dim thine eyes, and dizzy swam + In darkness, while thy head flames thick and fast + Threw forth, till on the left side opening wide, + Likest to thee in shape and count'nance bright, + Then shining heav'nly fair, a Goddess arm'd + Out of thy head I sprung.---- + Book II. v. 752. + + In the possession of Samuel Cartwright, Esq. + + + PICTURE VII. + + SIN pursued by DEATH. + + ----I fled, and cry'd out Death; + I fled, but he pursued---- + ----And swifter far + Me overtook.---- + Book II. v. 787. + + In the possession of John Knowles, Esq. + + + PICTURE VIII. + + LAPLAND ORGIES, the Hell-hounds round SIN compared to those that + + ----follow the night-hag, when call'd + In secret, riding through the air she comes, + Lur'd with the smell of infant blood, to dance + With Lapland witches, while the lab'ring moon + Eclipses at their charms.---- + Book II. v. 662. + + In the possession of John Knowles, Esq. + + + PICTURE IX. + + SATAN'S ascent from Hell. + + ----At last his sail-broad vans + He spreads for flight, and in the surging smoke + Uplifted spurns the ground.---- + Book II. v. 927. + + In the possession of Sir Thomas Lawrence. + + + PICTURE X. + + A GRYPHON pursuing an ARIMASPIAN. A comparison of SATAN'S exertions + to force his way through the realm of CHAOS. + + As when a Gryphon through the wilderness + With winged course, o'er hill or moory dale, + Pursues the Arimaspian, who by stealth + Had from his wakeful custody purloin'd + The guarded gold: so eagerly the Fiend---- + Book II. v. 943. + + In the possession of John Knowles, Esq. + + + PICTURE XI. + + SATAN bursts from CHAOS. + + He ceas'd; and Satan stay'd not to reply, + But---- + Springs upward like a pyramid of fire. + Book II. v. 1010. + + In the possession of the Countess of Guilford. + + + PICTURE XII. + + ULYSSES between SCYLLA and CHARYBDIS. An exemplification of SATAN + straitened in his passage to Light. + + ----Harder beset + Than when Ulysses on the larboard shunn'd + Charybdis, and by th' other whirlpool steer'd + So he with difficulty and labour hard + Mov'd on, with difficulty and labour he. + Book II. v. 1019. + + In the possession of the Countess of Guilford. + + + PICTURE XIII. + + ADAM and EVE first discovered by SATAN. + + Under a tuft of shade that on a green + Stood whisp'ring soft, by a fresh fountain side + They sat them down. + Nor gentle purpose, nor endearing smiles + Wanted, nor youthful dalliance as beseems + Fair couple, link'd in happy nuptial league, + Alone as they---- + ----aside the 'Spirit' turn'd + For envy, yet with jealous leer malign + Ey'd them askance.---- + Book IV. v. 325, 337, 502. + + + PICTURE XIV. + + SATAN surprised at the ear of EVE, starting from the touch of + ITHURIEL'S Spear. + + Him thus intent Ithuriel with his spear + Touch'd lightly;---- + ----up he starts + Discovered and surpris'd. As when a spark + Lights on a heap of nitrous powder,---- + ----the smutty grain + With sudden blaze diffus'd inflames the air: + So started up in his own shape the Fiend. + Back stept those two fair Angels half amaz'd + So sudden to behold the grisly king. + Book IV. v. 810. + + In the possession of John Angerstein, Esq. + + + PICTURE XV.--A SKETCH. + + SATAN discovering his fate in the Scale aloft, flying from GABRIEL + and the Angelic Squadron. + + ----On th' other side Satan alarm'd + Collecting all his might dilated stood.---- + ----The Fiend look'd up, and knew + His mounted scale aloft: nor more; but fled + Murm'ring, and with him fled the shades of night. + Book IV. v. 985, 1013. + + + PICTURE XVI. + + The Dream of EVE, fancying to have tasted the fruit from the Tree + of interdicted Knowledge, with + + One shap'd and wing'd like one of those from Heaven. + ----Forthwith up to the clouds + With him I flew, and underneath beheld + The earth outstretch'd immense---- + ----Suddenly + My guide was gone, and I, methought, sunk down, + And fell asleep;---- + Book V. v. 55, 86, 90. + + In the possession of Wm. Young Ottley, Esq. + + + PICTURE XVII. + + The creation of EVE, as related by ADAM. + + Abstract as in a trance methought I saw, + Though sleeping, where I lay, and saw the shape + Still glorious before whom awake I stood; + Who stooping open'd my left side, and took + From thence a rib---- + Under his forming hands a creature grew, + ----So lovely fair, + That what seem'd fair in all the world, seem'd now + Mean, or in her summ'd up.---- + Book VIII. v. 462, 470. + + + PICTURE XVIII. + + EVE, new created, led to ADAM. + + ----On she came, + Led by her heav'nly Maker,---- + And guided by his voice,---- + Grace was in all her steps, Heav'n in her eye, + I overjoy'd could not forbear aloud. + This turn has made amends.---- + Book VIII. v. 484. + + In the possession of John Angerstein, Esq. + + + PICTURE XIX. + + EVE at the forbidden Tree. + + ----Her rash hand in evil hour + Forth reaching to the fruit, she pluck'd, she eat; + ----Back to the thicket slunk + The guilty serpent.---- + Book IX. v. 780. + + + PICTURE XX. + + ADAM resolved to share the fate of Eve; the Guardian Angels leaving + the Garden. + + ----if death + Consort with thee, death is to me as life; + Our state cannot be sever'd, we are one, + One flesh; to lose thee were to lose myself. + So Adam, and thus Eve to him reply'd. + O glorious trial of exceeding love, + Illustrious evidence, example high! + So saying, she embrac'd him, and for joy + Tenderly wept---- + Up into Heav'n from Paradise in haste + Th' angelic guards ascended, mute and sad + For Man---- + Book IX. v. 953, 958, 990.--Book X. v. 17. + + + PICTURE XXI. + + EVE, after the Sentence and departure of the Judge, despairing, + supported by ADAM. + + ----With swift ascent he up return'd. + She ended here, or vehement despair + Broke off the rest; so much of death her thoughts + Had entertain'd, as dy'd her cheeks with pale. + But Adam with such counsel nothing sway'd, + To better hopes his more attentive mind + Lab'ring had raised.---- + Book X. v. 224, 1007. + + + PICTURE XXII. + + DEATH and SIN bridging the 'waste' of CHAOS, and met by SATAN on + his return from Earth. + + ----The aggregated soil + Death with his mace petrific, cold and dry, + As with a trident smote,---- + ----and the mole immense wrought on + Over the foaming deep high arch'd, a bridge + Of length prodigious.---- + ----when behold + Satan in likeness of an Angel bright---- + ----Sin, his fair + Enchanting daughter, thus the silence broke: + O Parent, these are thy magnific deeds. + Book X. v. 293, 300, 326, 352. + + In the possession of the Countess of Guilford. + + + PICTURE XXIII. + + SATAN discovered on his Throne, after his return from Earth. + + ----Down a while + He sat, and round about him saw unseen: + At last as from a cloud his fulgent head + And shape star-bright appear'd---- + ----all amaz'd + At that so sudden blaze the Stygian throng + Bent their aspect---- + ----loud was th' acclaim: + Forth rush'd in haste the great consulting peers, + Rais'd from their dark Divan.---- + Book X. v. 447, 452, 455. + + + PICTURE XXIV. + + The Vision of the Lazar-house. + + ----Immediately a place + Before his eyes appear'd, sad, noisome, dark, + A lazar-house it seem'd, wherein were laid + Numbers of all diseas'd, all maladies. + Demoniac phrenzy, moping melancholy, + And moon-struck madness, pining atrophy. + Marasmus---- + Dire was the tossing, deep the groans; + And over them triumphant Death his dart + Shook, but delay'd to strike, though oft invok'd. + Book XI. v. 477, 485. + + In the possession of the Countess of Guilford. + + + PICTURE XXV. + + The Vision of the Deluge. + + ----the thicken'd sky + Like a dark ceiling stood; down rush'd the rain + Impetuous---- + ----Sea cover'd sea, + Sea without shore---- + How didst thou grieve then, Adam, to behold + The end of all thy offspring---- + Depopulation! + Book XI. v. 742, 754. + + In the possession of John Angerstein, Esq. + + + PICTURE XXVI. + + The Vision of Noah. + + ----from his ark + The ancient sire descends with all his train; + Then with uplifted hands, and eyes devout, + Grateful to Heav'n, over his head beholds + A dewy cloud, and in the cloud a bow. + Book XI. v. 861. + + In the Church at Luton, Bedfordshire. + + + PICTURE XXVII. + + The dismission of ADAM and EVE from Paradise. + + In either hand the hast'ning Angel caught + Our ling'ring parents, and to th' eastern gate + Led them direct, and down the cliff as fast + To the subjected plain; then disappear'd. + They looking back, all th' eastern side beheld + Of Paradise, so late their happy seat, + Wav'd over by that flaming brand, the gate + With dreadful faces throng'd and fiery arms: + Some natural tears they dropt.---- + Book XII. v. 637. + + + * * * * * + + + PARADISE REGAINED. + + PICTURE XXVIII. + + JESUS on the pinnacle of the Temple. + + There on the highest pinnacle he set + The Son of God, and added thus in scorn. + There stand, if thou wilt stand; to stand upright + Will ask thee skill.---- + To whom thus Jesus; also it is written, + Tempt not the Lord thy God: he said and stood: + But Satan smitten with amazement fell. + Book IV. v. 549, 560. + + + * * * * * + + + HYMN ON THE NATIVITY. + + PICTURE XXIX. + + MARY and JESUS. The ruin of Paganism. + + The Oracles are dumb, + No voice or hideous hum + Runs through the arched roof in words deceiving. + Apollo from his shrine + Can no more divine, &c. + The Libyc Hammon shrinks his horn; + The brutish Gods of Nile as fast, + Isis and Orus, and the dog Anubis haste. + Stanza xix. xxii-iii. + + In the possession of John Knowles, Esq. + + + * * * * * + + + L'ALLEGRO. + + PICTURE XXX. + + Faery Mab. + + In the possession of the Countess of Guilford. + + + PICTURE XXXI. + + The Friar's Lanthorn. + + In the possession of Watts Russell, Esq. + + + PICTURE XXXII. + + The Lubbar Fiend. + + With stories told of many a feat, + How faery Mab the junkets eat, + She was pinch'd, and pull'd she said, + And he by friar's lanthorn led + Tells how the drudging Goblin swet, + To earn his cream-bowl duly set, + When in one night, ere glimpse of morn, + His shadowy flail hath thresh'd the corn, + That ten day-lab'rers could not end; + Then lies him down the lubbar fiend, + And stretch'd out all the chimney's length, + Basks at the fire his hairy strength. V. 101. + + + Picture XXXI. receives still better light from the following lines + in Paradise Lost, Book IX. v. 634, &c. + + ----as when a wand'ring fire, + Which oft, they say, some evil Sp'rit attends, + Hovering and blazing with delusive light, + Misleads th' amaz'd night-wand'rer from his way + To bogs and mires, and oft through pond or pool, + There swallow'd up and lost, from succour far. + + + * * * * * + + + IL PENSIEROSO. + + PICTURE XXXIII. + + Silence. + + Some still removed place---- + Where glowing embers through the room + Teach light to counterfeit a gloom. V. 78. + + In the possession of the Countess of Guilford. + + + PICTURE XXXIV. + + CHREMHILD meditating revenge over the Sword of SIGFRID. + + Or call up him that left half told + The story of Cambuscan bold---- + And if _aught else_ great bards beside + In sage and solemn tunes have sung---- + V. 109, 116. + + + * * * * * + + + COMUS. + + PICTURE XXXV. + + The Palace and the Rout of COMUS; the LADY set in the enchanted + Chair, to whom he offered his Glass; the Brothers rushing in with + Swords drawn, wrest the Glass out of his hand; his Rout flying. + + + PICTURE XXXVI. + + Orgies of COTYTTO. BAPTAE preparing a Philtrum. See the Vth Epode of + Horace. + + Venus now wakes, and wakens Love. + Come let us our rites begin---- + Hail Goddess of nocturnal sport, + Dark-veil'd Cotytto---- + Stay thy cloudy ebon chair, + Wherein thou rid'st with Hecat', and befriend + Us thy vow'd priests, till utmost end + Of all thy dues be done.---- + V. 124, 128, 134. + + + * * * * * + + + LYCIDAS. + + PICTURE XXXVII. + + Solitude. Twilight. + + Under the opening eyelids of the morn, + What time the gray-fly winds her sultry horn. + V. 26-8. + + In the possession of the Countess of Guilford. + + + * * * * * + + + PICTURE XXXVIII. + + MILTON, as a Boy with his Mother. + + In the possession of Sir Francis Burdett, Bart. + + + PICTURE XXXIX. + + MILTON, when a Youth. + + + PICTURE XL. + + MILTON, dictating to his Daughter. + + In the possession of the Marquis of Bute. + + +The Vision of the Lazar-house was justly considered by the best judges +in the art, to be the _chef-d'oeuvre_ of the Gallery. It is a +composition of seventeen figures, and parts of figures, in which the +painter creates both terror and pity in the spectator, by judiciously +excluding most of those objects represented by the poet as suffering +under bodily diseases calculated to create disgust, and confining +himself chiefly to the representation of the maladies of the mind, which +are so forcibly described by the passage, + + "Demoniac Phrensy, moping Melancholy, + "And moon-struck Madness----" + +It would be a vain attempt, by words, to describe this Gallery, so as to +do justice to the grandeur of the ideas and of the drawing, more +particularly in the pictures of 'Satan calling up his Legions;' 'Satan +encountering Death, and Sin interposing;' 'Satan surprised at the ear of +Eve;' 'Death and Sin bridging of Chaos,' or, in that of 'Sin pursued by +Death;'--they must be seen to be appreciated. But Fuseli shone not only +in the grand, the sublime, and pathetic scenes, but also in the playful +ones. How rare a quality it is for the same mind to direct its efforts +to the _Pensieroso_, and, at command, to divert its attention to the +_Allegro_, and succeed in both!--But such were the powers of the +painter in question, as well as of the poet. + +Unfortunately for Fuseli, some of the newspapers of the day were so +inimical to this exhibition that it was difficult for him to get an +advertisement inserted, and even money would not induce the editors to +give a place to any paragraph which his friends wished to insert in its +favour. The beautiful lines (which will be found in the Appendix) from +the pen of William Roscoe, Esquire, lay in the hands of the editor of a +popular paper for some weeks before he gave them insertion. + +The sum charged the public for viewing this Gallery was one shilling, +and for the descriptive catalogue, sixpence. The receipts of the +exhibition during the first month amounted only to one hundred and +seventeen pounds, and the two succeeding ones were each even less than +this sum; so that when it was closed, at the end of July, the whole of +the money taken at the doors was not adequate to the payment of the rent +of the premises and the expenses incurred for advertisements and +attendants. Fuseli was somewhat dismayed by this, and thus expressed +himself: "I have dreamt of a golden land, and solicit in vain for the +barge which is to carry me to its shore." But the consciousness of his +own merit did not allow him to sink under the disappointment; he +determined to try the effect of another season, and laboured diligently +upon pictures to be then added to the Gallery. + +Barry, who was at this time professor of painting to the Royal Academy, +had for a long period made himself obnoxious to the members, first by +his undeserved attacks upon the works of his earliest and best friend in +the art, Sir Joshua Reynolds, and afterwards by occasionally delivering +in his lectures the most severe criticisms upon the works of living +artists, and among others upon those of West, the then President, and +Fuseli. The latter were, however, in some degree provoked by the +frequent although just sallies of wit, which Fuseli employed on Barry's +pretensions to learning. The President and Council of the Academy +pointed out the impolicy of such proceedings, and indeed reprimanded +Barry; but this, instead of checking, had the effect of increasing the +violence of his abuse. A meeting of the whole body of the Academicians +was consequently summoned, and they not only dispossessed him of the +Chair as Professor, but expelled him the Academy. The Chair of the +Professor of Painting being by this resolution vacant, Opie intimated +an intention of offering himself as a candidate; but, upon being told +that Fuseli intended to do the same thing, he immediately withdrew his +name, paying at the same time this merited compliment to his genius and +talents: "I would not," said he, "have surrendered my pretensions to any +other artist but Fuseli," who was therefore elected on the 29th of June +1799. The powers which he had displayed in the pictures of "The Milton +Gallery," his learning and well-known critical knowledge, were the +causes which influenced the Academicians in their choice. + +It has been insidiously asserted, that after Fuseli left Zurich in 1779, +he was not on friendly terms with the members of his family; and that +they took little or no interest in the success of his efforts in the +Fine Arts. The following translation of a letter from his eldest +brother, Rodolph, proves the assertion to be unfounded. + + "Vienna, May 7th, 1799. + + "DEAREST BROTHER, + + "Benedetti, the engraver, brought me last year, (in _September_,) a + letter from you, in which you assured me of your unchanged, + brotherly affection, and invited me to write to you sometimes, and + to acquaint you with an opportunity of sending over to me some + works of art. In October I answered your letter, and named at the + same time two London printsellers, with whom the printsellers here, + (Artaria and Co., and Mollo and Co.) are in correspondence. Half a + year, however, has already elapsed, without my having heard from + you. I can well understand that, pending the great work which you + have undertaken, and will, I now hope, soon have finished, you may + have had but little time for letter-writing; but I do not ask a + formal letter of you, but only a line or two, to assure me you are + well, and have not quite forgotten me. If, therefore, your + fraternal love is not chilled, I hope to be gratified in this + respect, before the scythe overtakes me, of which, at my time of + life, when we are continually fancying we hear it behind us, one + cannot be too distrustful. + + "Much as I value your works of art, you must not think that what + you promised me is the occasion of my now writing. No, my dear + brother, I am not so selfish; your good health, and the success of + your great undertaking, are to me matters of far greater concern + than any works of art you could send me; and upon these two points + I beseech you to set my mind at ease, be your letter ever so short. + + "The affairs of our country wear a lamentably gloomy aspect; and I + much fear that our fellow-countrymen will act as imprudently, and + as awkwardly in the sequel, as they did at the commencement of the + _Swiss Revolution_, thereby drawing a foreign power into the + country. They then played a wretched part, and I only hope they + will not do the same again. I do not know whether the new German + books upon matters of art are to be had in London, or not; if you + should meet with the first part of my Critical Catalogue of + Engravings after classical masters, peruse it with indulgence. The + second part will be better managed. In characterising Rafael, + Correggio, and Titian, I have made use of the writings of Mengs; + because I know that he has studied all his life after these three + masters, and (in my opinion) writes philosophically on their styles + of art; but for the rest, I confess, I do not consider Mengs to be + that great artist which the world makes him, as laborious study is + too evident in his works, and (according to my feeling) there is a + _something_ in them of an undecided and timid character. + + "We have materials here for the advancement of art, which are no + where to be had better--the Court spends (even now in war-time) + twenty-six thousand florins yearly on the Academy; we have casts of + all ancient statues of importance, which were to be seen in Rome, + Florence, or Portici; also of more than a hundred of the most + beautiful busts; models of individuals distinguished for beauty of + person, taken from the life; skeletons; moveable anatomical + figures. The great rooms, like halls, are filled with collections + of these kinds; stipends, premiums are given; and, in short, every + thing that can be desired for the encouragement of a school of art + is here; and, nevertheless, hitherto without having produced any + apparent advantage; for, where there is no susceptibility for the + beautiful, every thing is to no purpose, and will probably be + always to no purpose. + + "Your London publications are every where held in the highest + esteem, especially on account of the elegance of their execution, + and the typographical splendour of the impressions. But they are + all so high in price, that a private individual of moderate means + cannot buy any of them, and must content himself with looking at + the best in the collections of the great and rich. + + "_Fueger_, whom you may perhaps have known in Rome, is now director + of the Academy of Arts here. He has exhibited a series of twenty + designs from Klopstock's 'Messiah;' amongst which, some of + particular interest. Our engravers, with the exception of + Schmuezer, who has published four good prints from Rubens, are of no + importance, and are for the most part to be looked upon as mere + mechanics; and even if some of them have talent, they are obliged + to engrave from insignificant things, in order to earn their bread. + + "The other day, I found many people collected before the shop of my + printseller, and staring at something in the window. I pressed + through the crowd, and found your representation of "Hamlet's + Ghost" was exposed in the window, of which all present, each in his + way, were expressing their admiration. Now that I have prosed on to + you of different things, I will spare you any more + prosing.--Farewell, and be happy, and think sometimes, when in a + good humour, of your ever-loving brother, + + "Rodolph." + + "If it should ever come into your head to write me a line, direct, + Fueessli, on the Nienn Laurenzer-House, No. 34, on the first floor, + in _Vienna_. + + "N. B.--The _Nienn_ is a little river which flows by my house." + + +The "Milton Gallery" was re-opened on the 21st of March 1800; but as it +did not attract the public, and as many of the members of the Royal +Academy lamented deeply the ill success which attended it, and +considered the apathy which was shown towards these grand specimens of +art would in the end be fatal to the progress of history painting in +this country, so they induced the Academy to which they belonged to come +to the resolution of patronizing the undertaking, which caused the +following circular to be issued:-- + + "Royal Academy, May 2, 1800. + + "Messrs. Dance, Banks, and Opie, the Stewards, request the favour + of your company to dine with the President, Council, and the rest + of the Members of the Royal Academy, at the 'Milton Gallery,' on + Saturday, the 17th of May, at five o'clock. + + "Tickets, price fifteen shillings, to be had at the 'Milton + Gallery,' and at the 'Freemasons' Tavern,' till Saturday, the 10th + of August. Any Member desirous of introducing a friend, may be + accommodated with a ticket for that purpose. + + "The favour of an answer is desired as soon as possible." + + +This dinner was numerously attended; the seven pictures which had been +added to those of the last exhibition were much admired; but all that +Fuseli got on the occasion, to use his own terms, was "mouth honour." +The following are the subjects of the pictures which were not in the +exhibition of the former year:-- + + + PARADISE LOST. + + PICTURE XLI. + + SIN receiving the Key of Hell. + + ----Down they fell, + Driven headlong from the pitch of heav'n, down + Into this deep, and in the general fall + I also: at which time this powerful key + Into my hand was giv'n. + Book II. v. 771. + + In the possession of Samuel Cartwright, Esq. + + + PICTURE XLII. + + SATAN'S first Address to EVE. + + ----Eve separate he spies, + Veil'd in a cloud of fragrance, where she stood, + Half spy'd, so thick the roses blushing round + About her glow'd, oft stooping to support + Each flower of tender stalk, &c. + He bolder now, uncall'd, before her stood, + But as in gaze admiring-- + His gentle dumb expression turn'd at length + The eye of Eve---- + Book IX. v. 424, 523. + + + PICTURE XLIII. + + ADAM and EVE meeting after her Seduction. + + ----By the tree + Of knowledge he must pass, there he her met, + Scarce from the tree returning; in her hand + A bough of fairest fruit---- + ----in her face excuse + Came prologue, and apology too prompt, + Which with bland words at will she thus addressed. + + ----The Serpent wise + Hath eaten of the fruit, and is become + Endued with human voice, and human sense. + ----I + Have also tasted, and have also found + ----opener mine eyes, + Dim erst, dilated spirits, ampler heart, + And growing up to Godhead---- + + On the other side, Adam + Astonied stood and blank---- + From his slack hand the garland wreath'd for Eve + Down dropt---- + Book IX. v. 848. + + + * * * * * + + + ELEGY ON THE DEATH OF A FAIR INFANT. + + PICTURE XLIV. + + WINTER carrying off a Maid. + + O fairest flow'r, no sooner blown but blasted! + Soft silken primrose, fading timelessly! + Summer's chief honour, if thou hadst out-lasted + Bleak Winter's force that made thy blossom dry; + For he, being amorous, on that lovely dye + That did thy cheek envermeil, thought to kiss; + But kill'd, alas! and then bewail'd his fatal bliss. + + + * * * * * + + + L'ALLEGRO. + + PICTURE XLV. + + EUPHROSYNE, or Mirth, with FANCY and MODERATION hovering over her, + tripping forward-- + + On the light fantastic toe; + + accompanied by + + Wanton Wiles; + Sport, that wrinkled Care derides; + And Laughter, holding both his sides, + + with the Group of FALSTAFF and DOLL in the fore-ground: the + distance exhibits the Meeting of ZEPHYRUS and AURORA, allusive to + the Birth of EUPHROSYNE, in the words-- + + Zephyr with Aurora playing, + As he met her once a maying, &c. + + In the possession of the Duchess of St. Alban's. + + + * * * * * + + + IL PENSIEROSO. + + PICTURE XLVI. + + MELANCHOLY, + + Reclining on her throne-- + + Her rapt soul sitting in her eyes, + + with the attendant GENII of TERROR and GRIEF at her Feet, and + behind her the Shadow of UGOLINO and his dead Son.--The whole dimly + illuminated by a Moon-beam. + + This picture was destroyed accidentally. + + + * * * * * + + + 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 L300; +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. + Ti gar moi kai makrois aulois,[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. + + "Tuesday, March 17, 1801. + + "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. + + + JULIO ROMANO--THE CIRCUMCISION. + + This picture, which is known from the print published in Crozat, + deserves rather to be considered as a curiosity than as the work of + a great master; its composition bears some resemblance to the + cartoon of "Peter and John healing the Lame Man," of Raphael; but + the simplicity and dignity of the master are lost in the crowd with + which the pupil surrounded the ceremony. Though the columns occupy + full as much space, and are as prominent and as full of ornament in + the cartoon as in the picture, and although the principal actors + are placed in both between them, they are not perceived in the work + of Raphael, till we have witnessed the miracle, whilst in that of + Julio, they lead us to the ceremony, which eclipses the actors in + its turn. + + + PAOLO VERONESE. + + 1. The Nuptials of Cana. + 2. The Feast of Levi the Publican. + 3. The Madonna, St. Jerome, &c. + 4. The Martyrdom of St. George. + 5. Jupiter launching his Thunder on the Crimes. + 6. Christ carrying his Cross. + 7. The Crucifixion. + 8. The Pilgrims of Emaus. + + The two first, the third, and last of these pictures, are perhaps + the fullest models of that ornamental style by which a great critic + has discriminated the Venetian from the rest of Italian + styles,--"monsters to the man of native taste, who looks for the + story, for propriety, for national, unartificial costume,--mines of + information to the student and the masters of art." The most + technic comprehension of a magnificent whole, and supreme command + over the infinite variety of its parts, equal suavity, energy, and + ease of execution, go hand in hand with the most chaotic caprice in + the disposition and the most callous tyranny over the character of + the subject. Whatever relates to the theory of colours, of solid, + middle, and aerial tints, to the opposition of hues warm or cold, + and the contrast of light and dark masses, is poised here with + prismatic truth; the whole is a scale of music. It is more by + following the order of nature and of light in the disposition of + the whole, that Paolo attained that illusion, which approaches to + deception, than by the attempt of making _fac similes_ of the + parts. He knew that dark, juicy, and absorbent colours come + forward, that white recedes, and that the middle parts partake of + both, and hence, uniting the two extremes by the intermediate tint, + he obtained that superior harmony on which the Venetian school + rests its superiority of colour, and which Rubens sought with + unequal success in the capricious disposition of a nosegay or a + bunch of flowers. + + + THE MADONNA OF FOLIGNO--RAPHAEL. + + None who has seen this picture at Foligno, will recognize it here. + Whatever praise the ingenious and complicated process of + restoration may deserve, that of having restored to the picture its + original and primitive tone makes certainly no part of it: as well + might the ingredients of a dish ready-dressed by a _restaurateur_ + of the _Palais Royal_, be said to resemble the unprepared viands of + which it is composed. I am far from ascribing the want of + resemblance to the restoration; it could only give what + remained--the bleak crudity of its aspect. The comparative + imbecility of some of its parts accuse another hand that + succeeded.[52] Pictures _ex voto_ can claim little merit from + composition. "The Madonna" of Foligno, and the "St. Cecilia" of + Raphael; the "St. Sebastian" of Titian, &c. are discriminated from + each other by little else than by a more or less picturesque + conception of the ground on, or before which the figures are + placed: it is expression, therefore, which makes their chief merit, + and this is the great loss which we have suffered in the "Madonna + of Foligno." Neither the "St. John," the "St. Jerome," nor the head + of "St. Francis," acknowledge the hand, the eye, or the feelings of + Raphael. The "St. John," though perhaps not even in its original + state sufficiently dignified, is become a savage, and what is + worse, a French one. The "St. Francis," and "St. Jerome," have been + tinted into insipidity; but the head of "Sigismond Conti," the + "Madonna and Child," appear to have suffered less, and the angelic + countenance of "The Cherub with the Tablet," beams with its + primitive radiance the impasto of Raphael. + + + RAPHAEL WITH HIS MAITRE D'ARMES. + + Tradition has persevered to give this admirable picture, known from + the print in Crozat, to Raphael. It does not, however, require more + than a comparison with his other portraits, from the first to that + of Leo the Tenth, to see that the donation is gratuitous; if it + were to be given to any other master, Giorgione has undoubtedly the + first claim upon it, and there is no known work of his which can + dispute its precedence, though it agrees with them in style. That + conscious purity of touch which, exclusively, scorns all + repetition, visible chiefly in the nose and nostrils of the Maitre + d'Armes, the unity of tone in the whole of the colour, and that + breadth, which, without impairing the peculiarity of character or + the detail, presents the whole at once,--dualities never attained + by the dry and punctiliory Roman principles, speak a Venetian + pencil. The forefinger of the right arm is perhaps not designed, or + foreshortened, with the energy or correctness which might be + expected from the boldness of the conception, or from the power of + either Raphael or Giorgione: but the character of the hand as well + as its colour, is in unison with the head. Why the principal + figure should be called a Maitre d'Armes is not easily conceived; + it is certainly the most important of the two, and the leading + figure of the picture. The second, although full-faced, is + subordinate, and can by no courtesy of physiognomy be construed + into the head of Raphael, unless the heads in the Tribuna at + Florence, in this gallery, in Vasari, in the school of Athens, &c.; + as well as the head of the figure wrapped in a _Ferrajuolo_, and + sitting in a painter's study, as meditating, by M. Antonio, be + spurious. It bears indeed some resemblance to a head etched by W. + Hollar, and subscribed with his name; but the authority on which + that appellation rests, is too futile to be admitted. + + + JOHN AB EYCK. + + If these be the works of John ab Eyck, there is not only an + additional proof, that he could not be the inventor of + oil-painting, but likewise that, for near a century after him, the + colour of the Flemings continued in the same retrograde taste which + checked the Italian design, from the time of Lorenzo Ghiberti to + that of Leonardo da Vinci. The pictures here exhibited as the works + of Hemelinck, Metsis, Lucas of Holland, Albert Durer, and even + Holbein, are inferior to those which are ascribed to Eyck, in + colour, execution, and taste. Compared with their composition, the + pictures of Andrea Mantegna are nearly reduced to apposition; and + the draperies of the three figures on a gold ground, especially + that of the middle figure, could not be improved in simplicity or + elegance by the taste of Raphael himself. These three figures, + indeed, are in a style far superior to the rest; but even these, + whether we consider each figure individually, or relatively with + each other, their masses, depth, and relief, cannot be surpassed by + those which are ascribed to the German, Dutch, and Flemish masters + of the succeeding century. The three heads of God the Father, the + Virgin, and St. John the Baptist, are not inferior in roundness, + force, or sweetness, to the heads of Leonardo da Vinci, and possess + a more positive principle of colour; the harmony of _chiar' oscuro_, + at which Leonardo aimed, admitted of no variety of tints than what + might be obtained by the gradation of two colours. His carnations + appear to have been added by glazing; such is the head of Mona Lisa. + + + PHILIPP DE CAMPAGNE--THE VISION OF ST. AMBROSE. + + The title of this picture is not accurate. It is an intermediate + figure of Apostolic gait, and in garments of legendary colours, + that shews the saints arrayed in white, who themselves seem less + occupied by the errand for which they came, than by the place which + they had left. Whatever in this picture is not vision is admirably + toned, solemn, dim, and yet rich, the colours of a sacred place, + and cloistered, devout meditation. Of these, St. Ambrose himself + partakes; but the Apostle who addresses the Bishop, and the two + Saints themselves, are by far too ponderous, and their outlines far + too much defined for celestial beings, and for the clouds on which + they are placed: their drapery, although admirably folded, recalls + in the saints too strongly marble, and in the Apostle too palpably + reality. + + + A DEAD CHRIST. + + This figure, which has much of the genuine stern Italian colour, + resembles the Dead Christ, as he is called, in the library at Basle + by Holbein, in attitude perhaps,--is inferior to it in truth, but + certainly much superior in style: it has much of Carravaggio; the + head in shade has a mysterious effect, but the fore-part of the arm + with the hand wants the rigid truth of the Italian master whom he + seems to have imitated. + + + LE BRUN--THE DEATH OF CATO. + + The countenance of this figure is as unlike Cato, as the style of + colour is to all other works of Le Brun: it is a common man with a + beard, powerfully drawn, and painted in an austere Italian tone. + + + NICHOLAS POUSSIN. + + From the extensive list exhibited, we shall select four to make a + few characteristic observations--"The Martyrdom of St. Erasmus," + formerly an altar-piece at St. Peter's in Rome; "The Philistines + struck by the Plague;" "The Death of Saphira;" and "Winter, or the + Deluge." + + The actual martyrdom of St. Erasmus is one of those subjects which + ought not to be told to the eye--because it is equally loathsome + and horrible; we can neither pity nor shudder; we are seized by + qualms, and detest. Poussin and Pietro Testa are here more or less + objects of aversion, in proportion to the greater or less energy + they exerted. This is the only picture of Poussin in which he has + attempted to rival his Italian competitors on a scale of equal + magnitude in figures of the size of life; and here he was no + longer in his sphere; his drawing has no longer its usual precision + of form, it is loose and Cortonesque; his colour on this scale has + neither the breadth of fresco, nor the glow, finish, or impasto of + oil. + + In "The Plague of the Philistines," he has again laid too great a + stress on objects of aversion;--instead of the effects of + infection, he has personified the effluvia of putrefaction; he has + indeed discriminated his story from all others of the same species, + by the introduction of the mice, the temple of Dagon, the arch, and + the fall and fragments of the Idol: and the variegated bustle of + the colours is covered by that frowning tone, which ought to + preside where "Jove hangs his planetary plague into the murky air." + + In "The Death of Saphira" it is unnecessary to treat here what has + been observed in another place,[53] that it is neither told with + perspicuity nor adequate dignity. We shall only observe, that if + the drawing and drapery of his figures be in his best style, the + colour is in his worst. It presents to the eye neither light nor + shade, and might furnish a definition of tints that never ought to + approach each other. That austerity of unbroken colour which has + been considered as a characteristic of the Roman school to which + Poussin properly belonged, and of which the best specimen is given + in the Transfiguration, admits of an euphony unattainable by the + dim crudity adopted by Poussin in this picture. + + For all the aforegoing defects, the last picture to be noticed, + "The Winter, or Deluge," makes up twenty degrees, which, in every + requisite of real painting, places Poussin in the first rank of + art. It is easier to feel than to describe its powers; it is, + compared with the former, the most palpable part of the astonishing + difference of effect between the works of the same man when + inspired by sentiment or suggested by cold reasoning. What we see + before us is the element itself, and not its image; its reign is + established, and by calm degrees ingulphs the whole; it "mocks the + food it feeds on." Its lucid haze has shorn the sun of his beams; + Hope is shut out, and Nature expires. + + + A. VANDYCK.--LA MERE DE PITIE.--ST. MARTIN, &c. + + "The Mother of Pity" appears to me the most impressive of Vandyck's + pictures in point of expression. The face of the mother, though + not ideal, has elegance, and grief tempered by dignity. The Christ, + extended from her lap, has less of attitude than his other Christs, + and a truer colour. The bodies of the dead Christs of Vandyck, in + general, appear rather transparent, silver leaf over some dark + substance, and sometimes, especially in the legs, resemble some + stained marble more than a body: but here we see real substance, a + frame of flesh forsaken by circulation: it seems an imitation of + the Christ of Caravagio, but handled with greater delicacy. The + whole would, in my opinion, have possessed greater pathos, and + perhaps produced a stronger effect, had he sacrificed the Angel and + St. John to the solitary group of the Mother and Son. + + The composition of St. Martin resembles that of Albert Durer. The + countenance of St. Martin is not that of a man who will readily + part with his own comforts to alleviate the sufferings of others. + That of his companion has more mind, more dignity, and better + forms. The paupers are excrescences of deformity; but in colouring, + the picture unites every power of Vandyck and of Rubens, in a very + high degree. + + "Charles the First, &c." This picture may be considered in two + different lights; as a picturesque composition, and as a + representation of character. In the first, there cannot perhaps be + conceived a more happy combination of the different materials, + whose concurrence is required to constitute a harmonious whole. + Nothing can surpass the comprehension which balances its masses of + light and shade, equally lucid and juicy, deep and aerial, various + and united; its colour at once soothes and invigorates our eye; but + when we recover from the enamoured trance of technic enjoyment, we + look for the character and the sentiment embodied by such art; we + find, instead of Charles, a cold, flimsy, shuffling figure, with + pretension to importance, but without dignity,--a man absorbed by + his garment. + + "La Kermesse, ou fete de Village--Kermis, or Village + Gambols."--Rubens. + + This is rustic mirth personified. Rapidity of conception and + equality of execution equally surprise in this composition; variety + and unity separate and combine its numerous groups; the canvass + reels; the satiated eye might perhaps wish for a little more + subordination, for a mass more eminently distinguished by white or + black, to give a zest to the clogging sweetness of the general + form. But Rubens worked under influence, and his pencil roamed + through the whole without predilection: he was not here a painter; + he was the instrument of untameable mirth. There is a group in this + picture which seems to have been suggested by the struggling group + of two soldiers in the cartoon of the horsemen, by Leonardo da + Vinci. This may be judged a cold observation; but artists must + judge coldly. + + Zustris.--"Venus on her bed waiting for Mars, playing with Cupid + and her Doves." + + This wanton conceit is a singular phaenomenon on the Dutch horizon + of art. We know no more of Zustris than what the catalogue chooses + to inform us; but his work proves, that if he could conceive + amorously, or what might be better styled, libidinously, he grew + cold in the progress of execution. The face of Venus does not + assist her action. The picture wants shade, and glow, and keeping; + but there is an idea of elegance in the lines, and the flesh wants + only shade to become Venetian. + + + TITIAN--PORTRAIT OF TITIAN AND HIS MISTRESS. + + The full value of this picture cannot perhaps be appreciated better + than when it is considered after the examination of a portrait by + Rubens. The unaffected breadth, the modest, unambitious reflexes, + an air of suffusion rather than penciling, a certain resignation + even in the touch, shew us Nature, rather than its image. This + charming female displays a mind superior to the cares of the toilet + she is engaged with, sees beyond the mirror which her lover holds, + and at which her lover, if it be her lover, assists. The great + merit of Titian, and perhaps his exclusive merit as to execution, + is to be totally free from all pretence, from all affectation. His + vehicle conveys the idea of the thing, and passes unobserved. To + Tintoret, to Paolo--the thing in general served to convey the + vehicle. The Miracle of St. Marc derives all its merit from that + whirlpool of execution, which sweeps undistinguished all individual + merit into one mighty mass. As a whole, of equal comprehension, + energy, and suavity, it astonishes the common man of organs, and + the artist who enters into the process of this amalgama, equally; + but when the first charm is over, and we begin to examine the + parts, we shall not find they were drawn forward, distanced, or + excluded by propriety and character." + + +The intimacy which commenced in Paris, in the year 1801, between Fuseli +and Mr. Robert Smirke, the celebrated architect, was kept up; and when +he left England for Italy, the former gave him letters of introduction +for Rome, which he found very useful. This kindness on the part of +Fuseli, was acknowledged by Mr. R. Smirke in the following letter: + + "Rome, March 20, 1803. + + "DEAR SIR, + + "I have, you see, a second time availed myself of your permission + to write to you; but as it is now above two months since I sent my + last letter, you will not find the intrusion, I hope, troublesome. + There is, I always feel, a sort of pleasure in communications of + this kind with a distant friend, which is extremely agreeable; when + writing, at the moment, I forget the distance of 1500 miles, and am + talking with him. You desired I would endeavour to write to you in + Italian; I must confess, however, that as yet I feel such a + deficiency in my knowledge of that language as to make me afraid of + venturing upon so bold a task; and as I have been so neglectful as + not to attend regularly to instructions in it, I am afraid it will + be yet some time before I can venture. In justification, + nevertheless, I have to say that I never avoid the opportunity of + being obliged to make use of it; and in the house I live, no + language but Italian is spoken. + + "It was a considerable time after my arrival in Rome that I + succeeded in finding Signor Ven. Gambini, though doubtless only + from want of more proper application. I found that his memory of + you and your friendship with him had not failed in the slightest + degree; he enquired with much kindness after you, and showed me + immediately a book, in which he has preserved with care a sketch + you made upon one of the leaves; the only memorial, he told me, + that he had of your work. He has a bust of you, which he has placed + in his principal room, between those of Clio and Melpomene; it gave + me really much pleasure to see the remembrance of a friend, absent + between twenty and thirty years, so warmly preserved. His reception + of me was, as you may suppose, extremely kind and civil; but as I + find him surrounded with books, probably in a busy employment, and + that so different to mine, I have not seen much of him, nor cannot + but be afraid always of being troublesome. + + "It is now nearly two months since I arrived in Rome, having + scarcely stopt on the road after leaving Pisa, whence my last + letter to you was dated, except for two or three days at Sienna. + Florence pleased me very much, from the slight view I had of it. I + was there but a day, as I purpose spending a month there, at least, + on my return from the southern parts of the country. The Gallery, I + suppose, must be much less interesting since the French have taken + so much from it; but as it is, it struck me particularly. I was + much pleased with the arrangement; for though it has nothing of the + astonishing _coup d'oeil_ of the Louvre, I should think it was + better calculated to shew the statues and pictures, and still more, + to assist the artist who studies from them. + + "I have been very highly gratified with what I have seen in Rome. + The numerous remains of excellent Roman art, both in sculpture and + architecture; the magnificent appearance of many of the modern + buildings; the splendour of the churches, and many collections of + paintings, cannot fail to make it always a most interesting place + even to those who at other times have felt but slightly the + excellencies of art. It has, I imagine, suffered a good deal during + the last eight years. What the French have taken, (though perhaps + the finest works,) is not the only loss, for the distress and + poverty attending the confusions of the country have caused the + sale of the best pictures in many of the collections, and a sad + neglect in general of their palaces. St. Peter's did not quite + equal my expectations. I never anticipated _much_ from the + architecture; but it was in the general appearance to the eye that + I was in some degree disappointed. The grandeur of the approach + (the circular portico, fountains, and vestibule) is certainly most + striking; but in the interior particularly, there appears to me a + great want of proportion, and from the colossal boys and + decorations crowding about it, the just scale much destroyed; + neither do I think the richness of the finishings, or the strong + glare of light admitted into the building, quite appropriate to the + solemnity of its character. In the Vatican adjoining, I believe but + little alteration has taken place since you were here, except in + the rooms containing the statues. They are chiefly small, but have + been fitted up with much elegance. The wonderful picture of Michael + Angelo in the Capella Sistina is quite uninjured. Those in the + ceiling will not, I am afraid, (as they ought,) resist for ever the + injuries of weather. One small piece affected by damp on the + outside has fallen. What a pity it is they did not observe the + precaution made use of by the ancients, by which many of their + fresco works remain as perfect as when first painted! A space of + two or three inches was left between the wall and tile on which the + stucco was laid, so that it was completely defended from all + exterior damps. I was disappointed in the Arabesque paintings of + Raphael in the Galleries; of course not in the design, but in the + present condition; they are so injured by being exposed to the open + air, as to be much obliterated. His fresco paintings in the same + palace are in good preservation. Of Michael Angelo and Raphael, + though I had seen but very few of their works, and certainly among + the least able to appreciate their merits till I came here; I had + no idea of what painters they were, nor how they could so represent + Nature in all its actions. + + "I have seen most of the modern artists of Rome--they are chiefly + young. They have many large, bold undertakings in hand; several + subjects I have seen, twenty-five feet long, either for churches, + or for the Earl of Bristol, an old nobleman here of singular + character, who gives sometimes much encouragement, and often + beyond, I believe, even his power. The manner of painting is very + like what I think I have observed among the French: much attention + and minuteness in detail, while the great principal object of the + story is perhaps failed in. There is not however, I think, so much + extravagance in the representation of action, as I often observed + in the modern French pictures. Among the best historical painters + here are Camuccini, Landi, and Benvenuti. Of the sculptors, Canova, + of course, holds by far the highest rank; many of his works are + certainly very beautifully designed and executed. Next to him, one + of the name of Maximilian is placed as the best. With respect to + the modern architecture, both in its churches and palaces, I must + confess myself somewhat surprised that the excellent models of + ancient art constantly before them have not been more successfully + studied. In general, I think the taste is of rather a heavy, + disagreeable kind, but often a sort of magnificence in the whole + effect which is imposing. I purpose now leaving Rome for a time, + intending on my return to devote some time to more attentive and + diligent study. My time hitherto has been employed, for a great + part, in seeing all the different antiquities and buildings + contained within the extensive walls of the city and in its + suburbs. You may not perhaps have heard of my intention of spending + two or three months in Greece, as it is within so short a time that + I have determined upon it, and consequently since I communicated + it to my family at home. I have been making many inquiries here, + and find it a journey practicable, and as little subject to + difficulties as one can expect; I think too that one may derive + more advantage from a study of the ancient works there, which are + less known, and which have perhaps been the models of the finest + here, than from any in this country. When writing my last letter + home, in which I mentioned my intention, I thought of going by way + of Ancona, where I should embark in a vessel that went to any part + of Greece; since then, I have somewhat changed my plan, purposing + now to go by way of Naples and Otranto, and there embarking for + Corfu. It may still be nearly a fortnight before I set out, as some + preparation is necessary. Greece, it appears, does not afford the + little conveniences found in this country for travellers. I am very + well provided with letters there from the kindness of some English + I have met with here. There is one family from whom I have received + much kindness, (the Earl of Mount Cashell's,) with whom I believe + you are acquainted, as I have often heard you spoken of in it. + + "My paper leaves me no more room than to say, if you should ever + have leisure to write me a few lines, they will be received with + the greatest pleasure; and wishing you the best health, + + "Believe me, your very sincere friend, + + "Robert Smirke." + + "Henry Fuseli, Esq. R.A." + + "My direction will be at Mr. Fagan's, Piazza Colonna, Rome." + + +In the year 1803, Fuseli left Queen-Anne-Street, and took the lease of a +commodious house, No. 13, Berners' Street, which had been built by Sir +William Chambers for his own residence; here he remained until December +1804, when he was elected Keeper of the Royal Academy, Mr. Rigaud being +then his competitor. The salary and commodious apartments allotted to +this office placed him in such circumstances as to render him, in a +degree, independent of fortuitous commissions. Although now in his +sixty-fourth year, he retained great mental and bodily activity, and +from his taste and extensive knowledge in the higher branches of the +fine arts, a more judicious choice could not have been made by the +Members of the Royal Academy; this opinion was expressed by his late +Majesty, George the Third, when the President, Mr. West, laid before +him the resolution of the Academicians for his approval. + +The following anecdote connected with his election has been told, but +not correctly. When Fuseli tendered himself for the office of Keeper of +the Royal Academy, Northcote and Opie voted against him; but being +conscience-stricken, not only on account of his abilities, but from +having received favours at his hands, they considered it right to call +upon him the day after the election to explain their motives. After +having heard them, and in their explanation they in some degree blamed +each other; he answered, in his usual sarcastic manner, "I am sorry you +have taken this trouble, because I shall lose my character in the +neighbourhood. When you entered my house, the one must have been taken +for a little Jew creditor, the other for a bum-bailiff; so, good +morning." + +This year (1804) Fuseli visited Liverpool for the last time, and passed +a great deal of his time while there with Mr. Roscoe: on his return to +London, he wrote the following letter to Mr. Joseph Johnson, the nephew +of his much respected friend of that name:-- + + "London, June 21, 1804. + + "DEAR SIR, + + "Give me leave to return you my warmest thanks for your kindness. + Though my circumstances did not permit me to spend as many hours as + I could have wished under your hospitable roof, every moment I + passed with you and Mrs. Johnson, added some new obligation to + those which you had already heaped on me and mine, and it will be + one of my warmest wishes to be able to shew, at some time or other, + that my gratitude lies deeper than my lips. + + "I have spent a day or two at Purser's Cross, which is the name of + your Uncle's place; though in the neighbourhood of London, it is a + sweet retired and healthful spot, and if he could be persuaded to + spend more of his time at it, must be eminently conducive to his + health. I hope Mrs. Johnson has not forgot her promise, to come and + reside and nurse him there, as soon as it is in her power. + + * * * * * + + "Please to present my best compliments to all the friends I saw at + your house, or in your company. + + "I am, dear sir, + + "Your obedient friend and servant, + + "Henry Fuseli." + + "Joseph Johnson, Esq." + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + The Biographer's Introduction to Fuseli.--New Edition of + Pilkington's Dictionary of Painters, superintended by + Fuseli.--Establishment of the British Institution, and Fuseli's + limited Contributions to the Exhibition there.--Subject from + Dante.--Fuseli's Remarks on Blake's Designs.--His Lectures on + Painting renewed.--Tribute of esteem from the Students of the + Academy.--Letter.--Death of Mr. Johnson, and Fuseli's sympathy on + the occasion.--Fuseli re-elected to the Professorship of Painting + at the Royal Academy. + + +In June 1825, Mr. Bonnycastle, late Professor of Mathematics to the +Royal Military College at Woolwich, who had then been the intimate +friend of Fuseli for twenty-five years, introduced me to him, having +observed previously to this introduction, that I should find him a man +of the most extensive knowledge, quickness of perception, ready wit, and +acuteness of remark, that I had ever met with. This introduction was +soon followed by daily intercourse between Fuseli and myself, which +ripened into the sincerest friendship, and was the cause of my passing +with him many of the happiest hours of my life. + +In the year 1805, some of the booksellers wishing to publish an improved +edition of Pilkington's Dictionary of Painters, applied to Fuseli, +through Mr. Johnson, to be the editor. In consequence of the +solicitation of this friend, he accepted the task, but with reluctance, +as he had a mean opinion of the work, and constantly designated its +author a driveller. To the original he added a great number of names, +and either re-wrote the lives, or inserted in notes the characters of +most of the principal painters of the several schools. + +At this period, a number of noblemen and gentlemen, zealous for the +encouragement of the fine arts in England, especially historical +painting, established the British Institution, and Fuseli was solicited +to send thither some pictures for exhibition and sale. He, however, had +no high opinion of the scheme; for although, in common with other +artists, he wished it to succeed--for he held that "the man who +purchases one picture from a living artist, which may have some +pretensions to the highest class of art, does more real service to the +fine arts than he who spends thousands upon the works of the old +masters;" yet he thought, to use his own words, "from the colour of the +egg, it was more likely to produce an ichneumon than a sphynx;" and +expressed reluctance to be a contributor. Mr. Coutts, who used every +endeavour to promote the establishment and the prosperity of the British +Institution, advised him to become an exhibitor, and to send, among +other pictures, "The Lazar-house," observing, "I never intended to +deprive you of this, it is yours, and therefore sell it, if you can." In +addition to this picture, the price of which was fixed at 300 guineas, +Fuseli sent "The Nursery of Shakspeare," for which he asked 150 guineas; +and "Christ disappearing at Emaus:" the price he put upon this was 100 +guineas. The leading members of the Institution hesitated to admit that +admirable production of his pencil, "The Lazar-house," considering the +subject too terrible for the public eye; and they had three meetings +before they came to the resolution of exhibiting it. This hesitation on +their part, a slight degree of damage which "The Nursery of Shakspeare" +sustained in its removal from the rooms, and the not finding a purchaser +for either of the pictures, made Fuseli resolve never to exhibit there +again, to which resolution he pertinaciously adhered.[54] + +In 1806, he painted from Dante, Count Ugolino being starved to death +with his four sons in the Tower, which, from that circumstance, was +afterwards called, "Torre della Fame;" this picture, as it came in +competition with that well known subject from the pencil of Sir Joshua +Reynolds, was admired and censured more than any other he had previously +produced. Fuseli took the moment when Ugolino is petrified by his +situation,--"bereft of tears, his heart is turned to stone;" he has +represented him in a sitting posture with his youngest son stretched +dead over his knees, while the other three are either writhing under the +agonies of hunger, dying, or given up to despair. This picture (now in +my possession) is as superior in drawing, in truth to nature placed +under such circumstances, and to the story, as Sir Joshua's soars above +it in colour, in manual dexterity, and in chiaroscuro. + +Mr. Blake, who was not only a celebrated engraver, but known also for +his original designs, distributed this year (1805) a prospectus for +publishing an edition of the poem of "The Grave" of William Blair, to be +illustrated with fifteen plates designed and engraved by himself. This +work was patronized by the names of the principal artists of the day; +but before he entered upon its publication, he submitted his drawings +to the judgment of the then President of the Royal Academy (Mr. West), +and also to Fuseli. The latter, in particular, being pleased with the +wildness of the invention, wrote his opinion thereon in the following +words: + +"The moral series here submitted to the public, from its object and +method of execution, has a double claim on general attention. + +"In an age of equal refinement and corruption of manners, when systems +of education and seduction go hand in hand; when Religion itself +compounds with fashion; when, in the pursuit of present enjoyment, all +consideration of futurity vanishes, and the real object of life is +lost--in such an age, every exertion confers a benefit on society which +tends to impress Man with his destiny, to hold the mirror up to life, +less indeed to discriminate its characters, than those situations which +shew what all are born for, what all ought to act for, and what all must +inevitably come to. + +"The importance of this object has been so well understood at every +period of time, from the earliest and most innocent to the latest and +most depraved, that reason and fancy have exhausted their stores of +argument and imagery, to impress it on the mind: animate and inanimate +Nature, the seasons, the forest and the field, the bee and ant, the +larva, chrysalis and moth, have lent their real or supposed analogies +with the origin, pursuits, and end, of the human race, so often to +emblematical purposes, that instruction is become stale, and attention +callous. The Serpent with its tail in its mouth, from a type of +Eternity, is become an infant's bauble; even the nobler idea of Hercules +pausing between virtue and vice, and the varied imagery of Death leading +his patients to the Grave, owe their effect upon us more to technic +excellence than allegoric utility. + +"Aware of this, but conscious that affectation of originality and trite +repetition would equally impede his success, the Author of the moral +series before us has endeavoured to wake sensibility by touching our +sympathies with nearer, less ambiguous, and less ludicrous imagery, than +what mythology, Gothic superstition, or symbols as far-fetched as +inadequate could supply. His invention has been chiefly employed to +spread a familiar and domestic atmosphere round the most important of +all subjects, to connect the visible and the invisible World, without +provoking probability, and to lead the eye from the milder light of +time to the radiations of Eternity. + +"Such is the plan and the moral part of the Author's invention; the +technic part, and the execution of the artist, though to be examined by +other principles, and addressed to a narrower circle, equally claim +approbation, sometimes excite our wonder, and not seldom our fears, when +we see him play on the very verge of legitimate invention; but wildness +so picturesque in itself, so often redeemed by taste, simplicity, and +elegance, what child of fancy, what artist would wish to discharge? The +groups and single figures on their own bases, abstracted from the +general composition, and considered without attention to the plan, +frequently exhibit those genuine and unaffected attitudes, those simple +graces which Nature and the heart alone can dictate, and only an eye +inspired by both, discover. Every class of artists, in every stage of +their progress or attainments, from the student to the finished master, +and from the contriver of ornament to the painter of history, will find +here materials of art and hints of improvement!" + +This opinion he allowed Blake to publish as recommendatory of his work. + +In the early part of the year 1806, the Council of the Royal Academy +requested that Fuseli would again deliver a course of lectures on +painting, which he accordingly did, as Mr. Opie had not prepared his. +This course he prefaced by the following address: + + "Gentlemen, + + "I once more have the unexpected honour of addressing you in this + place, at the request of the President and Council, with the + concurrence, and at the express desire of the Gentleman whom the + Academy has appointed my successor, and whose superior ability, + whenever he shall think proper to lay his materials before you, + will, I trust, make ample amends for the defects which your + indulgence has, for several years, connived at in my recital of + these fragments on our art." + + +Fuseli had now been more than two years Keeper of the Academy, which had +afforded the students sufficient time to appreciate the value of his +instructions, particularly in the antique school. And in order to mark +their sense of the advantages which they had derived from his talents, +they presented him, by the hands of Mr. Haydon, then a student, with an +elegant silver Vase, the design for which, at their solicitation, was +given by that eminent artist Flaxman; it bears the following +inscription:-- + +TO +HENRY FUSELI, ESQ. R.A. +KEEPER OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY, +FROM +THE STUDENTS. +1807. + +The Vase, by the desire of Fuseli and the kindness of his widow, is now +in my possession; and I not only value it as a beautiful work of art, +but regard it as a tribute paid to the genius and talents of my honoured +friend, whose memory will ever be held most dear in my recollection. + +In the summer of 1809, Fuseli wished me to accompany him into the +country for a short time; but as I had promised to pass three or four +weeks with a relation and friend (who was much esteemed by him), the +Reverend Thomas Rackett, at Spettisbury, in Dorsetshire, I could not +accede to his solicitations. The following letter written to me while +there, as it shews the disposition of his mind, and gives some account +of his pursuits, may not be uninteresting in this place. + + "Somerset House, 31st August, 1809. + + "DEAR SIR, + + "Your letter of the 26th, which I found on my desk at my return + from Fulham, gave me equal surprise and pleasure; nothing but + yourself could have been more welcome, and I should not have waited + till now, to present you in answer with a scrawl of mine, had I not + been desirous of obliging Mr. Cavallo by adding a specimen of + Lavater's hand-writing: several old parcels of letters did I turn + over, but that which contains the chirognomic characters of my + departed friend, I have not yet been able to light on, and am + afraid it is in some bundle of papers at Purser's Cross, to which + place I shall probably return on Saturday, and on finding what I + want, take care to remit it to you for Don Tiberio.[55] + + "The spirit in which you wrote your letter, makes me happy; a mind + like yours, fraught with all the requisites for genuine pleasure, + is sure to find it or to make it in every place; how much must you + enjoy then in the friendly mansion which separates you from me and + those real friends you have left here! + + "Your account of the Nunneries you have visited, confirms Hamlets + verdict: 'Frailty, thy name is woman!' How self-contradictory, that + the 'animal of beauty,' as Dante calls woman, should exchange her + claims to social admiration and pleasure, and the substantial + charms of life, for the sterile embraces of a crucifix or some + withered sister, by the dim glimmer of cloistered light,--lost to + hope, and marked by oblivion for her own! Tyranny, deception, and + most of all, that substitute for every other want, 'the + undistinguished space of woman's will,' can alone account for such + phenomena. + + * * * * * + + "September 1st. + + "So far I went yesterday, when luckily some one prevented the + process of my letter, and opening to-day a parcel I had not thought + of before, I found some letters, &c. of Lavater's: what I have + enclosed, is the address of one written to me when I lived in St. + Martin's Lane; be so kind to present it to your friend. + + "What you say of Mr. Rackett's politeness, is extremely flattering, + and I beg you will return my respects and best wishes to him and + the ladies. As the weather has been so unpropitious, I do not + expect to hear of many entomological captures or discoveries: I beg + to inform him, that of some pupae of _Sphinx euphorbiae_, found on + the spurge of the Devonshire sands, I have reared, perhaps for the + first time in England, two beautiful moths. + + "My wife is still at Woolwich. Mr. Haughton's respects attend you: + and I, + + "My dear Sir, remain + + "Affectionately and sincerely yours, + + "Henry Fuseli." + + "To John Knowles, Esq." + + +I have already noticed the social intimacy which subsisted for so long a +time between Fuseli and Mr. Johnson the bookseller; the latter had been +afflicted with an asthma for many years. In the month of December, 1809, +he had an alarming attack of this disorder, which increasing rapidly, a +message was sent to Fuseli, intimating that if he wished again to see +Mr. Johnson, he must come without delay. A carriage was instantly +ordered, and as it drew up, Mr. Carrick Moore the Surgeon, of whose +abilities, Fuseli had the highest opinion, accidently arrived at the +Academy. Fuseli, who was in tears and in violent agitation, cried out, +"Come with me, I beseech you, Moore, and save, if possible, my valued +friend, Johnson." On their arrival at Mr. Johnson's house, in St. Paul's +Church-yard, they found him breathing with difficulty, his countenance +ghastly, his limbs cold, and his quivering pulse hardly perceptible; he, +however, recognised Fuseli, and expressed pleasure at seeing him. But no +means which were tried could restore the sinking energies of the vital +functions, and the patient in a short time ceased to live. + +As Fuseli had been on terms of intimacy and of the strictest friendship +with Johnson for nearly forty years, this sad event shocked his +sensitive heart. He wrote the day after to Mr. Joseph Johnson, the +nephew, in the following terms:-- + + "London, Somerset House, 21st Dec. 1829. + + "MY DEAR SIR, + + "As the present melancholy occasion must bring you, and perhaps + Mrs. Johnson, to London, permit me to request the favour of your + remaining with us, and taking a bed at our house during your stay. + + "If my grief for the loss of my first and best friend were less + excessive, I might endeavour to moderate your's; but I want + consolation too much myself to offer it to others. + + "My wife joins in my request to you and Mrs. Johnson, and we both + remain ever your faithful but disconsolate friends, + + "Sophia and Henry Fuseli." + + "Joseph Johnson, Esq." + + +Mr. Johnson was regretted not only by a numerous circle of private +friends, but by the literary world in general. Many authors now living, +and others who have paid the debt of nature, were fostered by his +bounty, and but for his encouragement the world would have been deprived +of most of the beautiful poems of Cowper; for, when "The Task," not +being appreciated by the public, met with a very tardy sale, its author +had made up his mind to write no more. Mr. Johnson, who was well aware +of the merits of this poem, urged him to proceed, stating, that he had +no doubt it would finally receive that favour from the public which it +so justly merited. This expectation was afterwards realized to its +utmost extent, and the author received from his publisher a handsome but +unexpected gratuity.[56] + +Mr. Johnson was a man of probity, liberality, and sound sense, with an +acute judgment. The author of this memoir, who witnessed the urbanity of +his manners, and partook of the hospitality of his table at least once +a-week for some years, can bear testimony to these, as well as to the +good sense which he exercised, and the prudence with which he allayed +the occasional contests of his irritable guests, many of whom were +distinguished men of letters, of various characters, and conflicting +opinions. And although the conversation took a free range, yet the +placid equanimity of their host regulated in some degree its freedom, +and kept it within due bounds. Fuseli was always a favoured guest at +this table; when absent, which rarely happened, a gloom for the time +pervaded the company: but, when present, his acute taste in poetry, +oratory, and the fine arts; his original opinions, singular ideas, and +poignant wit, enlivened the conversation, and rendered him a delightful +companion. On these occasions, however, Johnson was rather a listener +than a contributor; but he enjoyed the animated remarks and retorts of +his amusing friend, and in his will left him a handsome legacy. + +Fuseli wrote the following epitaph, which gives a just and unvarnished +character of this amiable man, and which is placed on his tomb in the +church-yard of Fulham:-- + + HERE LIE THE REMAINS OF + JOSEPH JOHNSON, LATE OF ST. PAUL'S, LONDON, + WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE ON THE 20TH DAY OF + DECEMBER, 1809, AGED 72 YEARS. + A MAN + EQUALLY DISTINGUISHED BY PROBITY, INDUSTRY, + AND DISINTERESTEDNESS IN HIS INTERCOURSE + WITH THE PUBLIC, AND EVERY DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL + VIRTUE IN LIFE; BENEFICENT WITHOUT + OSTENTATION, EVER READY TO PRODUCE MERIT + AND TO RELIEVE DISTRESS; UNASSUMING IN PROSPERITY, + NOT APPALLED BY MISFORTUNE; INEXORABLE + TO HIS OWN, INDULGENT TO THE WANTS + OF OTHERS; RESIGNED AND CHEERFUL UNDER THE + TORTURE OF A MALADY WHICH HE SAW GRADUALLY + DESTROY HIS LIFE. + +The death of Opie, which took place rather unexpectedly, in 1807, after +he had delivered only four lectures at the Royal Academy, in which he +availed himself of several remarks of Fuseli in his unpublished +discourses, caused a vacancy in the Professorship, which was filled by +the election of Mr. Tresham. This appointment he held until the early +part of the year 1810, and then tendered his resignation, declining to +lecture under the plea of indisposition. The Academicians met for the +purpose of electing a Professor of Painting; but no one offering +himself, all being aware of the great talents of Fuseli in this +particular, they came to a resolution, that a law which forbids the same +person to hold two situations, should be dormant in his case; he was +therefore re-elected Professor of Painting on the 10th of February, +1810, and was allowed to retain the joint offices of Keeper of the +Academy and Professor of Painting during the remainder of his life. A +higher compliment than this could not have been paid to any man, and it +marked in an extraordinary manner the estimation in which his talents +were held. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + Fuseli's prefatory Address to his resumed Lectures.--His second + Edition of Pilkington.--He suffers from a nervous fever, and visits + Hastings in company with the Biographer.--His Picture of Marcus + Curius, and Letter relative to it.--Letter from Mr. + Roscoe.--Canova's Intercourse with Fuseli.--Anecdotes of Fuseli and + Harlow.--Letters from Fuseli to the Biographer.--Republication of + his Lectures, with additions.--Death of Professor Bonnycastle, and + Anecdote concerning him.--Death of Fuseli's friend and patron, Mr. + Coutts.--An agreeable party at Fuseli's house. + + +On the 26th of February 1810, Fuseli resumed his course of lectures, and +prefaced them by the following address:-- + + "Mr. President, and Gentlemen, + + "Sincere as my gratitude and pleasing as my emotions must be on + being, by the indulgence of the Academy, appointed to address you + again, I should feel myself unworthy of this honour were I not to + regret the infirm state of health, the unfortunate cause which + occasioned the resignation of the Professor of Painting, and + disappointed the expectation you had a right to form from the + display of his brilliant talents. Severely, however, as this + disappointment may be felt by you, it is a consolation to reflect + that we still possess him, and that the Academy may still profit by + his advice and practical abilities: but what can I offer to + mitigate our grief on the awful decree which snatched from us his + predecessor, your late lecturer, my departed friend? In him society + has lost one of its best members, our Art one of its firmest + supporters, the Academy one of its brightest ornaments, and you a + solid, experienced, forcible, and lucid instructor. The innate + vigour of his mind supplied every want of education; his + persevering energy ruled circumstances, and made necessity the + handmaid of the art; his judgment, at a very early period, + discriminated the art itself from those vehicles of which he + possessed, in a very high degree, the most splendid; add to these, + that insatiable curiosity, which not only stimulated him to examine + every system, and to collect every observation on art, but to court + all relative knowledge, and whatever, though more distant, might + tend to illustrate his argument, enforce his proofs, or assist his + researches; and you have an aggregate of qualities, which, if he + had been suffered to complete his course, would have enabled him to + present you with a more connected series of instructions for your + studies than perhaps ever fell to the lot of any other school, and + might have conferred on England the honour of having produced the + best combined, least prejudiced, if not the most lofty or extensive + system of art. + + "Such was your teacher:--to expatiate on the artist before his + companions, admirers, rivals, and scholars, within these walls, + which have so often borne testimony to the splendour and + versatility of his powers, would be equally presumption and waste + of time: that characteristic truth, that unaffected simplicity and + air of life which discriminate his portraits; the decision, the + passion, the colour, the effects that animate his history; the + solidity of his method, his breadth and mellowness of touch, now + fresh before us, with his writings, will survive and consecrate to + memory the name of OPIE." + + +Fuseli, this year (1810), gave a second edition of his "Pilkington's +Dictionary of the Painters;" to this he added more than three hundred +names and characters of artists, chiefly of the Spanish school, enlarged +the notes given in the previous edition, corrected some mistakes in +dates, and gave in an appendix a few names which had been omitted in the +alphabetical order, and also many particulars of the great masters of +the Italian school; the last he considered as too prolix for the body of +the work. + +In the summer of 1813, Fuseli was attacked with a considerable degree of +fever on the nerves, attended with great depression of spirits: this he +considered a similar disease, but much milder in its effects than that +with which he had been afflicted in 1772, at Rome. This indisposition he +felt the more, from having enjoyed for the last forty-three years, an +uninterrupted state of good health. His medical friends advised change +of air, and more particularly for that of the sea-side. He accordingly +determined to pass a month at Hastings, and prevailed upon the writer of +this memoir to accompany him thither. The frequenters of this salubrious +bathing-place, called by some the _Montpelier_ of England, will hardly +recognise, from its present improved state, the description given of it +by Fuseli in a letter to a friend; but it was a true picture of the town +at that time. "Hastings appears to me to have been constructed by a +conspiracy of bone-setters, surgeons, and dissectors, as the most +commodious theatre of all possible accidents in contusions, falls, +dislocations, sprains, and fractures. The houses of one side of the +High-street, _i.e._ the most inhabited part of the town, are built on +what they misname a terrace; but, in fact, it is a mass of stony +fragments gathered from the shore, without any other polish than what +the wave had left behind; raised four or five feet above the road, +unguarded on the edge, and consequently, without the perpetual +interference of miracles, fatal to every stranger who approaches them at +night, in winter thaws, when spangled with ice, or flooded from the +tremendous ridge that beetles o'er the house-tops." + +To form an adequate and correct opinion of the extent of Fuseli's +talents and information, and a proper notion of his feelings, it was +necessary to be an inmate of the same house: from the experience of this +and a subsequent opportunity, I can, with truth, assert, that he was not +only a most intellectual, but a pleasant and accommodating companion. +After a month had been spent at this pleasant watering-place, I had the +satisfaction of returning to London with him, he being restored to +perfect health. + +This year (1813) he painted a picture for Mr. Joseph Johnson, of +Liverpool, "Marcus Curius preparing his frugal repast." When Mr. +Johnson gave the commission, he said, "I wish the subject to be some +mentally heroic action, taken either from the English or Roman History." +When this picture was finished, Fuseli addressed the following letter to +his friend:-- + + "London, Oct. 8, 1813. + + "DEAR SIR, + + "I have not been unmindful of what you so kindly commissioned me to + undertake for you, and the picture which I have painted now only + waits your commands. The _subject_, though not English, is + congenial with your own mind, and selected from the most virtuous + period of Rome. If I remember rightly, you approved of it when we + discussed the subjects here; but as you may not perhaps have since + had leisure to reconsider it, you will permit me to repeat it as + concisely to you as I can, and nearly in the words of Valerius + Maximus. 'Marcus Curius, who had repeatedly smitten the Samnites, + seated in his rustic chair, preparing his simple meal in a wooden + bowl, exhibited to the admiring Legates of the Samnites at once, + with the proof of the most rigid frugality, his own superiority. + Commissioned by the state, they spread before him treasure, and + humbly solicited his acceptance. With a smile of disdain, scarcely + deigning to look at it, Curius replied--Take back these baubles to + those who sent you, and tell them that Marcus Curius prefers + subduing the rich to being rich himself, and that you found him as + impregnable by bribes as irresistible in arms.' + + "Such is the subject, my dear Sir, which I have endeavoured to + compose and execute for you, as well as my capacity and practice + permitted; I wish they had been greater. I remain, with my wife's + and my own warmest wishes for your own, dear Mrs. Johnson's, and + son's health and happiness, dear Sir, + + "Your obliged and sincere friend, + + "Henry Fuseli." + + "Joseph Johnson, Esq." + + +Fuseli kept up a constant intercourse with his friends at Liverpool, and +particularly with Mr. Roscoe. The correspondence which passed between +this gentleman and him sometimes had relation to literature, but more +frequently to the fine arts; the following is a specimen of the +latter:-- + + "Liverpool, 24th May, 1814. + + "MY DEAR FRIEND, + + "When my son Robert left us, about ten days since, I sent by him a + slight outline of a frieze, under a picture of a Holy Family, by + Ghirlandajo, desiring him to give it you, and to enquire whether + you agree with me in thinking it likely to be the production of + Michelagnolo, who is said to have painted in the pictures of + Ghirlandajo, whilst a student with him. Slight as it is, being, in + fact, only the copy of a copy, you will be able to form an opinion + of it at first sight. The picture is in distemper as well as the + frieze, which is executed in chiar' oscuro, in a sort of oblong + broken touches, producing on the whole a good effect. The + superiority of the style of the frieze to that of the picture is + evident, and demonstrates to a certainty that they are the work of + different hands. + + "I think I also told you, some time since, that I had a picture of + Leo X., with the Cardinals de' Medici and Rossi, which I have + reason to believe is the copy made by Andrea del Sarto, from that + of Raffaelle, and which was first sent to Mantua, afterwards went + to Parma, and thence to Capo di Monte, where it is now no longer to + be found. Many persons who had seen it there, assure me this is + undoubtedly the same picture. I have had it some years, and having + been frequently asked whether I had taken it out of the frame to + look for the mark mentioned by Vasari, I determined, a few months + since, to examine it, and sending for two or three friends, we took + it out, and on the _edge of the pannel_, near the shoulder of the + Cardinal de' Medici, found the remains of an inscription, in large + letters, which I conjecture to mean, "_Andrea Florentinus Pinxit_," + with the date, which is so far obliterated as to be wholly + illegible. At all events, there undoubtedly has been an inscription + on the edge of the pannel, a circumstance in itself highly + favourable to its being the very picture which Vasari has + described. This picture is most highly finished, has an + indescribable force of colouring, and is in as fine a state of + preservation as the day it was painted. Those who have seen the + picture of Raffaelle in the Louvre, assure me that this is in every + respect equal to it. I long to have your decision on these two + pictures, but hope it will be on the spot. + + "I lately got a fine picture by Bernardino Lovini, which confirms + in every point the account which Lanzi and you have given of him. + It is a Holy Family, with two attendant pilgrims, saints, small + life. I think you will admire it for its simplicity, pathos, and + beautiful colouring. + + "I have a friend in Liverpool, who is a good chymist, and prepares + colours, which I believe to be of a superior quality. His name is + Strahan, and his agent for the sale of them in London, is _Mr. + Thos. Clay, No. 18, Ludgate-hill_. I shall esteem it a favour if + you will make a trial of them, and if they should be found to + answer better than those you are already supplied with, would + recommend them to your friends. I believe they are already in some + degree known amongst the artists; but Mr. Strahan is very desirous + that you should make a trial of them; and I have promised him _all + my interest with you_ for the accomplishment of his wishes. + + "I hope Robert will have called on you before you receive this: for + your kindness and friendship both to him and Richard accept my best + thanks, and believe me, my dear friend, unalterably yours, + + "W. Roscoe." + + +Canova visited England in the summer of 1816, and was then very much +struck with the pictures, as well as pleased with Fuseli's society. This +eminent sculptor remarked, that he not only showed the brilliancy of +genius in his conversation, but that he spoke Italian with the purity of +a well-educated native of Rome. And on his return, the Academy of St. +Luke, at Rome, at his request, sent a diploma, constituting Fuseli a +member of the first class, an honour which was conferred also, by the +like recommendation, upon Sir Thomas Lawrence and Mr. Flaxman. + +In the year 1817, Fuseli sat, at my request, to Harlow for his portrait, +which is on pannel, of a cabinet size. This eminent painter was highly +gratified by the compliment, and exerted every faculty to do his best. +Fuseli obliged him and me by giving for this picture twelve sittings of +two hours each; and a more perfect resemblance, or characteristic +portrait, has seldom been painted. I attended Fuseli at each sitting, +and during the progress of this portrait. Harlow commenced and finished +his best and most esteemed work, "The trial of Queen Katherine," in +which he has introduced many portraits; but more particularly those of +the Kemble family; in the performance of this work, he owed many +obligations to Fuseli for his critical remarks; for when he first saw +the picture (chiefly in dead colouring), he said, "I do not disapprove +of the general arrangement of your work, and I see you will give it a +powerful effect of light and shadow; but you have here a composition of +more than twenty figures, or I should rather say parts of figures; +because you have not shewn one leg or foot, which makes it very +defective. Now, if you do not know how to draw legs and feet, I will +shew you;" and taking up a crayon, drew two on the wainscot of the room. +Harlow profited by these remarks, and the next time we saw the picture, +the whole arrangement in the foreground was changed. Fuseli then said, +"So far you have done well; but now you have not introduced a back +figure, to throw the eye of the spectator into the picture;" and then +pointed out by what means he might improve it in this particular. +Accordingly Harlow introduced the two boys who are taking up the +cushion; that which shews the back, is altogether due to Fuseli, and is +certainly the best drawn figure in the picture. Fuseli afterwards +attempted to get him to improve the drawing of the arms of the principal +object (Mrs. Siddons), who is represented as Queen Katherine, but +without much effect, particularly the left; and after having witnessed +many ineffectual attempts of the painter to accomplish this, he +desisted, and remarked, "It is pity that you never attended the Antique +Academy." + +Harlow proved himself, on many occasions, to be among the vainest of +men, and generally wished it to be believed that he possessed +information to which he was a stranger. On one occasion he said to me, +"It is extraordinary that Fuseli, who is so fine a scholar, should +suffer engravers to place translations under the plates taken from the +classical subjects painted by him;" and remarked, "I was educated a +scholar, having been at Westminster school, and therefore wish to see +the subjects given in the original languages," and then imprudently +instanced the print taken from his picture of the death of Oedipus. +When Fuseli appointed the next sitting, on our way to Harlow's house, I +mentioned this conversation to him, and added, I really think he does +not understand one word of Greek or Latin, to which he gave his assent, +and remarked, "He has made, I think, an unfortunate choice; for, if I +recollect rightly, the Greek passage, as well as my translation of it, +are scratched in under the mezzotinto. But before we part, I will bring +his knowledge to the test." After he had sat the usual time, he asked +for a piece of chalk, and wrote in large letters, on the wainscot, the +following passage:-- + + "ktupese men zeus chthonios, hai de parthenoi + rhigesan hos ekousan; es de gounata + patros pesousai, klaion."[57] + +After having done so, he said to Harlow, "Read that," and finding by his +hesitation that he did not understand a letter, he resumed, "On our way +hither, Knowles told me you had said that I ought not to permit +engravers to put translations under the prints taken from me, and that +you had instanced the Oedipus; now that is the Greek quotation whence +the subject is taken, and I find you cannot read a letter of it. Let me +give you this advice: you are undoubtedly a good portrait painter, and I +think in small pictures, such as you are painting of me, stand +unrivalled; this is sufficient merit; do not then pretend to be that +which you are not, and probably from your avocations never can be--a +scholar." + +Unfortunately for Harlow, he was very unpopular with the Royal +Academicians, and when he offered himself as a candidate for an +Associate of the Academy, there was but one vote in his favour. On the +evening of the election, Fuseli was taxed by some of his friends with +having given it, and he answered, "It is true, I did,--I voted for the +talent, and not for the man." This was not a solitary instance in which +Fuseli exercised his judgment as to the fitness of men to fill offices +in the Academy; and accordingly voted for them, distinct from any +private consideration. On a vacancy happening for the Professorship of +Anatomy, Mr. Charles Bell was among the candidates: this gentleman was +unknown to Fuseli, except by his works: his vote was requested by one of +his best and most intimate of friends (Mr. Coutts) for another person: +"I cannot," said he, "oblige you; I know of no man in England who is a +better demonstrator than Bell; and for a surgeon, he is a good artist; +such a man therefore the Academy wants for their Professor, and, as +such, I _must_ vote for him." + +The month of September 1817, I passed with my relation and friend, +Richard Wilson, Esq. of the Cliff-house, at Scarborough; on this +occasion, as was always the case when out of London, Fuseli corresponded +with me; two of his letters are preserved, and I cannot refrain from +giving them to the public, as they shew the kindness of his disposition, +and the terms of friendship which subsisted between us. Understanding +that my apartments were about to be repainted, he wrote as follows:-- + + "To any other person an apology might be necessary; to you, whose + friendship can neither be heated or cooled by correspondence or + silence, I despise offering any: if by remaining mute, I have + deprived myself of one source of pleasure, it has reserved to me + another, when we meet: your letter made _me_ happy, because you + could not have written it, had you not been so _yourself_. + + "Hammond has perhaps told you that I went to Luton with him and + Roscoe: I spent some happy hours there; and, of course, but few. + Since my return, I have been riding or crawling in a kind of + daylight-somnambulism between this place, Brompton, and + Putney-hill. Whether I shall continue so to do the remainder of the + month, or go to snuff in some sea air, will depend upon my wife's + success or disappointment at Cheltenham. + + "The chief reason why I send you this scrawl, is to offer you a bed + here at your return, on the same floor with myself, and a chamber + as pleasant and as well furnished as my own, viz. with demigods and + beauties. I earnestly request you to accept of it, and not to + persist in the foolhardy resolution of sleeping in a newly painted + room. If Hammond is obliged to have his house painted, pray oblige + me with your compliance, and, in giving me the preference, you will + be at home, and your brother can surely not except against it, + considering the distance at which he lives. I will not take a + refusal. + + "I feel my head so stupid, my hand so disobedient, my pen so + execrable, my ink such a mudpond, that I ought in mercy to save you + the trouble of deciphering more. Adieu, love me as I do you, + neither more nor less, and hasten your return. + + "Ever, + "Henry Fuseli." + + "Somerset House, September 12, 1817. + To John Knowles, Esq." + + +I accepted of his kind offer, and in my letter doing this, gave him a +transcript of an epitaph in Latin, inscribed on a brass plate which is +affixed to a pillar in the north aisle of Scarborough Church, and which +is not only admired there for the expression of feeling which it +contains, but for its Latinity. This epitaph is as follows:-- + + + "Dum te, chara Uxor, gelido sub marmore pono, + Illustret vigili lampade funus amor; + Heu! periit pietas dulcissima, casta cupido, + Teque omnis virtus quae negat esse meam.-- + Oh! quam felicem nuperrima Sponsa beasti! + Nunc pariter miserum reddis amata Virum. + Iste dolor levis est charos ubi casus amicos, + Mors ubi disjungit, sola tremenda venit." + + "In piam Memoriam Annae charissimae Uxoris, haec dedicavit + maestissimus Maritus J. North: Obiit die Xmo 4to Augusti, Anno + Dom. 1695, AEtatis suae 22." + + +In answer to this letter, he wrote to me as follows:-- + + "Putney-hill, September 20, 1817. + + "MY DEAR SIR, + + "You have given me the greatest pleasure in accepting the offer + which I took the freedom of making to you; and my wife, the moment + she hears of it, will as much be flattered by your kindness as + myself,--for, before she went off, she earnestly desired me to make + the request. + + "Thanks for the epitaph,--but with all possible respect for Mr. J. + North's Latinity and feelings, and notwithstanding the very free, + correct, and scholastic manner in which you have transcribed his + effusion; bowing likewise to the taste and discrimination of the + "Learned" where you are; I must own that the sense of the fourth, + and construction of the seventh and eighth lines are not very clear + to me. + + "I am rambling about here in the charming thickets of this villa, + deliciously asleep, if fancy wake me not now and then with the + thunder of the wave beneath your feet. You cannot now stay long + from + + "Yours, ever, + "Henry Fuseli." + + "John Knowles, Esq." + + +The month of September 1818, was passed by me with Fuseli and Mrs. +Fuseli at Ramsgate; he was then in excellent health and spirits, and +although in his seventy-eighth year, had considerable bodily strength +and activity. Our constant practice was, to leave the house about five +o'clock in the morning, and sometimes earlier, to walk until eight, +breakfast, and employ ourselves during the middle of the day in reading +or writing. We walked for an hour before dinner, and did the same in +the evening before we retired to rest, the usual hour for which was +about ten o'clock. It was at this place that I collated his aphorisms in +their present form, under his inspection, and then made a fair copy of +them for the press. + +In the year 1820, he published a quarto volume, containing three +additional lectures, reprinted the three which appeared in the year +1801, with some alterations and additions, and wrote an introduction, +which he called "A Characteristic Sketch of the Principal Technic +Instruction, Ancient and Modern, which we possess." This work was +purchased by Mr. Cadell the bookseller, for three hundred pounds. + +Mr. Bonnycastle, the Professor of Mathematics to the Royal Military +College at Woolwich, died this year (1821), in the seventieth year of +his age;[58] he had been for more than forty years the intimate friend, +occasional companion, and always a great admirer of the talents of +Fuseli. Bonnycastle was a mathematician of celebrity, independently of +which he had a fine taste for poetry and English literature in general; +his memory was retentive, his knowledge extensive, and he was ever ready +to communicate what he knew. His conversational talents were of the +first order, and he occasionally enlivened his remarks with apposite +anecdotes. As he was the friend of my youth, I feel much satisfaction in +recording here my gratitude for instruction and many acts of kindness +received from this amiable man. + +The following anecdote will afford a proof of the delicacy and feeling +of Bonnycastle's mind, and also of his excellent disposition. When his +"Introduction to Astronomy" was published, it was reviewed with a +considerable degree of asperity in a popular work of the day. Several of +his scientific friends, and Reuben Burrow in particular, considered that +it had not been fairly dealt with by the reviewer, and they determined +to discover the writer: they at length found out that it was Mr. Wales, +Mathematical Master of the School of Christ's Church Hospital. Burrow, +who was a man of quick sensibility, and an excellent mathematician, was +determined to avenge the cause of his friend, and constantly expressed +anxiety for the appearance of some new book by Wales; at length one was +published, upon "The Method of Finding the Longitude at Sea by +Chronometers." Burrow procured a copy of this work, had it interleaved, +and wrote numerous remarks on, and confutations of many parts of it, +which he carried to Bonnycastle, and said, "As you have a more polished +pen than myself, use these observations of mine, and make up a sharp +review of this paltry book for the public." Bonnycastle lost no time in +doing this, and was on his road to London, with the review in his pocket +for publication, when he accidentally met Wales, who was then in so bad +a state of health that he appeared to be in the last stage of a +consumption. This affected the mind of Bonnycastle so strongly that, on +his arrival in London, he immediately burnt the manuscript review, being +determined not to hurt the feelings of a man labouring under disease, +and thus perhaps to accelerate his death. + +In the year 1822, Fuseli was bereft of another old and valued friend, +Mr. Coutts, the opulent banker, with whom he had been acquainted nearly +sixty years. This gentleman had on many occasions afforded him valuable +proofs of his sincere friendship. With him, and with his family during +the latter period of his life, in particular, Fuseli was almost +domesticated. By them, his very wishes were anticipated, and he received +from their hands, such attentions as can arise only from feelings of +respect and regard, accompanied by those comforts and elegancies which +wealth alone can bestow. And I cannot refrain from expressing my +conviction, that these attentions, which were afforded without the least +ostentation, not only contributed to make the winter of his life +pleasant, but really prolonged the existence of a man to whom the public +are so much indebted as an artist, critic, and teacher of the Fine Arts. + +It has been often remarked, that old men do not feel so acutely the loss +of relations and friends, as those who are of a less advanced age. But +this was not the case with Fuseli; for, although now in his eighty-first +year, his faculties were unimpaired, and he still possessed a great +degree of sensibility. As one friend dropped into the grave after +another, he felt the loss of each, and constantly exclaimed, "It is my +turn next," advising me at the same time, as I advanced in life, to +cultivate the friendship of men younger than myself, that I might not be +left without friends in old age. Although when a younger man he appeared +to his acquaintances to cling much to life, yet now when he spoke of +death, it was without fearful forebodings. "Death," he used to say, "is +nothing; it is the pain and feebleness of body under a lingering +disease, which often precedes death, that I dread; for, at my time of +life, I can look forward but to a day, and that passes quickly." The +following extract of a letter to the Countess of Guilford, dated the +17th of November 1821, and written on his return to London with Mrs. +Fuseli, after they had passed some time at Brighton, will further show +his feelings on this subject. + + + "Taciti, soli, e senza compagnia. + + "We jogged on, though at a swifter pace than Dante and his guides, + sympathising (one at least,) with autumn's deciduous beauty, and + whispering to every leaf the eye caught falling, _Soon_ shall I + follow thee! + + "Indeed, were it not for those I should leave behind, I would not + care _if now_." + + +Mr. Roscoe this year (1821) visited London. From Fuseli's advanced age, +and Mr. Roscoe's weakness of body, the former anticipated that it would +be the last time they should meet--which anticipation, I believe, was +realized. A day or two after Mr. Roscoe's arrival, I received the +following note from Fuseli. + + "Sunday, 11th February, 1821. + + "MY DEAR SIR, + + "Old Mr. Roscoe is in town for a few days at his son Robert's + house, No. 6, Dyer's Buildings, Holborn: I am to dine with them on + _Tuesday_, at five: Robert came to invite you to the party, but + finding you were out of town to-day, requested me to do it for him. + You cannot do a thing more agreeable to them or me than comply with + our request, if disengaged; and as it probably may be the last time + you will see Mr. Roscoe in London, I hope you will suffer no + trifling engagement to deprive us of you. + + "Ever, + "Henry Fuseli." + + "We may go together." + + "To John Knowles, Esq." + + +A few days afterwards I had again the pleasure to meet Mr. Roscoe at +Fuseli's table; there were also present, Sir Thomas Lawrence, Mr. Lock, +Mr. Howard, R.A., Mr. J. Symmons, and Mr. Robert Roscoe. The +conversation was desultory, sometimes upon literature, at others upon +art; and at two more intellectual dinner-parties I have seldom been +present. Fuseli was animated and energetic, and shewed that he then +possessed a mind of the greatest vigour, with an unimpaired memory. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + Decline of Fuseli's Health.--Letter from Mr. James C. + Moore.--Fuseli's Bust by Baily, and Portrait by Sir Thomas + Lawrence.--His last Academical Lectures.--Particulars of his + Illness and Death.--Proceedings relative to his interment, with an + account of the ceremony.--Copy of his Will. + + +The intimates of Fuseli had observed, with much concern, that for two or +three years, although his general health did not appear to be materially +affected by age, yet there was a predisposition to water in the chest, +which usually manifested itself when he took cold, by his being +occasionally affected with some difficulty in breathing, irregularity of +pulse, and also by the swelling, in a slight degree, of his feet and +ancles. These symptoms were repeatedly removed, in a few days, by the +appropriate remedies, but after intervals they recurred. On the 23d +August, 1823, he sent a note to my house, early in the morning, +expressing a wish to see me immediately, which summons I promptly +obeyed. On my arrival, he said, that although when we parted at ten +o'clock the preceding evening, he did not feel at all indisposed; yet, +shortly after he had retired to bed, he found a difficulty in breathing, +such as he had never before experienced, and that his legs were much +swollen, and wished therefore to consult a friend of mine, Dr. Maton. I +told him that the Doctor was absent from London, and therefore advised +him to send for a physician with whom he and I were well acquainted, +(Sir Alexander Crichton,) to meet his friend and usual medical adviser, +Mr. Richard Cartwright; to which proposal he assented. Mrs. Fuseli was +at this time at Brighton, for the benefit of her health; and he gave me +strict injunctions not to inform her of his indisposition. But as his +medical advisers told me the disease was water in the chest, and that +the symptoms were alarming, I wrote to Mrs. Fuseli, informing her in +some degree of the facts; and, although much indisposed herself, she +came immediately to London. + +His case, for some time, was considered to be almost hopeless; and Sir +Thomas Lawrence, in anxious solicitude for the safety of his friend, +advised that Dr. Holland should also be consulted. This gentleman was +fully aware of his danger, but coincided in every respect in the +propriety of the previous treatment, and said that nothing more could be +done. After three weeks of suffering, which Fuseli bore with patience +and fortitude, his spirits never having forsaken him, nature made a +great effort, and he, contrary to the expectations of his medical +attendants, rallied, and in a few weeks more was restored to a state of +comparative health. + +During this illness, he received the visits of his particular friends in +the evening, and conversed with his usual energy; and it must have been +highly gratifying to his feelings to see the anxiety which they +manifested for his safety; more particularly the Countess of Guilford +and her two amiable daughters, the Ladies North, and also Sir Thomas +Lawrence,[59] who, with the writer of this account, allowed no +engagement to interfere, and were his constant companions every +evening. His friends who were absent from London amused him with their +letters, one of which is here transcribed. + + "Stranraer, Aug. 10, 1823. + + "DEAR FUSELI, + + "I wrote you a few days ago; but as you've got a new doctor, I'll + scribble again. Dr. Holland seems to be Lady Guilford's,[60] and + every Lady thinks her's the best. Besides, she may deduce from high + authority, 'that when two or three are gathered together,' the + curer may be amongst them. Independently of their instructions, + communicate to her Ladyship, that, from my knowledge of your + constitution, I am sure that a glass of hock and soda will be both + salutary and agreeable. Half a dozen of the best from Hochheim will + then be transmitted to you. + + "I say nothing of physic, of which plenty will be prescribed: but, + however nauseous, swallow it all. Pour out execrations on the d--d + drugs, rail with wit and spleen on the ignorance of your doctors, + and obey them implicitly; by all which you will obtain all the + relief from physic and physicians that is possible. + + "Mr. Knowles sends us frequent bulletins, for which we are most + grateful. He acts like your warm and constant friend. + + "Friendship was a quality you often extolled: the affection of + relations you used to hold cheap, as a mere instinctive sensation; + whereas friendship is a rational selection. It was that quality + which humanised Achilles, who without it would have been a brute. + Bestow some of it, then, upon me, and dictate a few words of + comfort; for I have long been, before you knew Knowles, your + faithful friend, + + "James Carrick Moore." + + +After his recovery, it was evident that this severe illness had made an +inroad on his constitution; for, although it had no apparent effect upon +his mental energies, yet it was apparent that his bodily exertions were +enfeebled; for, when he was enabled to resume his accustomed exercise of +walking, it was not performed with that long stride and firm step for +which he had been before remarkable. + +In the year 1824, Fuseli sat to Mr. Baily for a bust, which was +executed in marble: he had always a high opinion of the talents of the +sculptor, and on this occasion said to me, "I assure you, as an artist, +that there is much more of truth, expression, and feeling, in Baily's +work than in that of his competitors, however much they may enjoy the +public favour." On this bust he had the following line chiselled:-- + + HYPERIDON HA NYN EINAI PHAMEN. + +Sir Thomas Lawrence also entertained a high opinion of Mr. Baily's +talents as a sculptor; and, in addition to the bust of Fuseli, had those +of Flaxman, Smirke, and Stothard chiselled by him. These were placed +among the exquisite specimens of ancient and modern art which adorned +his dining-room. + +In the early part of 1825, he sat for a half-length portrait to Sir +Thomas Lawrence, which this great artist executed admirably. At this +time the Earl of Eldon was also sitting for his likeness, and Fuseli, +not recognizing the countenance, asked Sir Thomas who it was? who +answered, "It is the Chancellor." Fuseli took a piece of chalk, and +immediately wrote on the picture-- + + ----[61]"Quia me vestigia terrent + Omnia te adversum spectantia, nulla retrorsum." + +When Lord Eldon saw this, he was much amused; and on being told that it +was written by Fuseli, laughed heartily. + +In the spring of 1824, I persuaded him not to lecture, which it was his +intention then to do, being apprehensive that the exertion which he must +employ would be too great for his diminished strength; in the early part +of 1825, he however delivered his last course of lectures, with +certainly less of energy of manner, but without much apparent fatigue: +he had also prepared some pictures for the ensuing exhibition at the +Royal Academy. + +Notwithstanding these proofs of remaining powers, on Sunday, the 10th of +April 1825, Fuseli, being then on a visit to the Countess of Guilford +at Putney Hill, complained of indisposition, while walking in the +pleasure-grounds. He was engaged on that day to dine in St. James's +Place, with Mr. Samuel Rogers; and Lady Guilford had ordered her +carriage to convey him thither; but as his illness continued, Mrs. +Fuseli prevailed upon him (with difficulty) to remain in the house, and +he gave up the engagement. It was an affecting coincidence, that on the +evening before, being out on the lawn with the Ladies North, and looking +at the stars, which shone with great brightness, he said, (possibly from +the consciousness of symptoms which he considered dangerous,) "I shall +soon be amongst them." On the Monday, it was evident to all about him +that he was much worse, and he expressed a strong desire to see me; +being informed of his illness, I immediately went to Putney, and from +his altered appearance had great fears of what would be the issue. The +opinions of Sir Alexander Crichton and Dr. Holland, who arrived there +shortly after, confirmed my apprehensions, for they said, when +questioned by me, that "they could not give any specific name to the +complaint; for it appeared to them, that all the functions of nature +had given way, and, in their opinion, he could not last many days." + +The attentions of the Countess of Guilford and her family to Fuseli were +unremitting; every thing was done by them to promote his comfort, and +even to anticipate his wishes; the question constantly asked was, "Can +nothing further be done to keep him a little longer with us?" but it was +too apparent, notwithstanding these kindnesses, and the skill and +attention of his physicians, that life was fast ebbing. I saw him every +day, and I have reason to believe that, from the commencement of his +illness, he did not expect to recover; for, on the Wednesday, he put his +hand into mine, and said, "My friend, I am fast going to that bourne +whence no traveller returns." But he neither expressed regret at his +state, nor, during his illness, shewed any despondency or impatience. I +left him at a late hour on the Friday (the evening before he died); he +was then perfectly collected, and his mind apparently not at all +impaired, but his articulation was feeble, and the last words which he +addressed to his physicians, the death guggles being then in his throat, +were in Latin: so perfect was his mind at this time, that he said to me, +"What can this mean? when I attempt to speak, I croak like a toad." + +On Saturday morning, at seven o'clock, he was told that Mr. Cartwright +was in the house: as he knew two gentlemen of that name, he was +uncertain which it was. On Mr. Cartwright approaching his bedside, he +put out his hand, and exclaimed, "Is it you, Samuel?" This gentleman +raised him in his bed, and moistened his mouth and lips with liquid, by +means of a feather, for which he feebly thanked him.[62] + +On Mr. Cartwright's arrival in London, he immediately wrote to me, +saying, "he feared ere I received his communication that Fuseli would be +no more;" this apprehension of his was shortly afterwards confirmed by a +letter from Lady Guilford, informing me that he had breathed his last +that morning, (Saturday, the 16th of April, 1825,) at half-past ten +o'clock, without much apparent pain, and in complete possession of his +faculties; and that, in consequence, my presence, as an intimate friend +and executor, being immediately required, both by Mrs. Fuseli and +herself, at Putney, she had sent her carriage to enable me to come down +without delay. + +On my arrival at Putney Hill, I found the Countess of Guilford and the +Ladies Susan and Georgina North in deep grief. Fuseli was highly +esteemed by these ladies, and reciprocally felt towards them the warmest +friendship. He entertained for Lady Susan great regard; but he had for +Lady Georgina, that affection which a master usually feels towards an +amiable, accomplished, and highly promising pupil. This young lady had +devoted much time to the study of the Fine Arts, and, assisted by the +occasional hints and instructions of Fuseli, has arrived at eminence in +the highest branch, that of historical design. After some preliminary +observations, Lady Guilford observed, that she considered it a duty to +act upon this melancholy occasion as she was sure her father (Mr. +Coutts) would have acted were he alive; and she said, "As to +arrangements, I give you, Mr. Knowles, a _carte blanche_; but observe, +it is my wish, as Mr. Fuseli has died here, that his remains should be +so placed as will not disgrace a public funeral; for I feel convinced +that the Royal Academy will pay that tribute to his memory." Her +Ladyship added, (with her usual feelings of generosity,) "but if they +fail to do so, then I request you will order such a funeral as is due to +the high merits of the deceased; and any additional expense which may be +incurred by my wishes, I will gladly reimburse. Remember, my desire is, +to have every respect shewn to his remains." A few hours after I had +returned to London, Lady Guilford sent me in writing her instructions to +the above effect; and said in her note, that "she was induced to do so, +that her wishes and intentions might not be misunderstood." + +Early on the Sunday morning, I called upon Sir Thomas Lawrence, not only +as a friend of the deceased, but in his official capacity as President +of the Royal Academy, to inform him of Fuseli's death, and to ask what +he considered would be the notions of the Members of the Academy with +respect to his funeral. Sir Thomas, who had been for many years the +friend and companion of Fuseli, and an admirer of his talents, met this +question with feeling and great candour, and remarked that, he knew of +no precedent for any public honours being paid to the remains of a +Keeper of the Royal Academy. I urged that there could not be a precedent +to operate in this case, for, on account of the great talents of the +deceased, the Royal Academy had rendered an existing law of theirs +nugatory, by allowing him to hold the situation not only of Keeper, but +also of Professor of Painting, a compliment which had fallen to the lot +of no other man, nor was such an occurrence likely again to take place. +Sir Thomas acknowledged that he had strong claims to some distinguished +attention being paid to his remains, and promised, under this view of +the case, to convene a meeting of the Council immediately, to take the +matter into consideration. + +After this interview, I went to Putney Hill, for the purpose of removing +the corpse to Somerset House; and in the evening, followed the remains +of Fuseli there, where Mr. Balmanno, the other executor named in the +will, was ready to receive the body. It was, at our desire, placed in a +room, around the walls of which were arranged "The Lazar-house," "The +Bridging of Chaos," and other sublime productions of his pencil, the +subjects being chiefly from Milton. + +The Council of the Royal Academy met, in conformity to the summons of +their President, and came to the resolution,--to "recommend to the +Academicians, at their general assembly about to be called for the +purpose, that the President, the Secretary, and Council, should be +desired to attend the funeral of Mr. Fuseli." The feeling, however, of +many of the Academicians at this general meeting is said to have been, +that this recommendation was not a sufficient honour to the memory of so +distinguished an artist and professor; for "the remembrance of his gibes +and his quillets," which had annoyed many while he lived, was now sunk +in death. But as the Members did not wish to disturb the resolution of +their Council, it was confirmed. + +A curious coincidence took place at this meeting, with that convened in +the year 1792 for the purpose of considering how the funeral of Sir +Joshua Reynolds should be conducted. I allude to an objection of one +member only, in each case, to the honours proposed. With respect to the +funeral of Sir Joshua, an architect of considerable abilities and great +celebrity, (Sir William Chambers) considered it a _matter of duty_ to +object to the body lying in state, and a public funeral taking place +from Somerset House, without the sanction of the King; for, said he, "My +instructions, as surveyor of the building, are, that the Academy cannot +let or lend any part thereof, for any other purpose than that for which +it is appropriated." This objection, it is well known, was referred to +and overruled by the King. In the case of Fuseli, an Academician, a +portrait painter, objected both in the council and at the general +assembly to any honour being paid by the Academy, as a body, to the +remains of Fuseli. But the observations of this person, I have been +credibly informed, created feelings little short of disgust in many of +the Academicians present. + +As the funeral was, by this resolution, to be considered a private one, +measures were immediately taken by the executors, to meet the wishes of +the relative and a friend of the deceased, by ordering such preparations +to be made at their expense as they considered due to his merits; and +invitations were accordingly sent, by their desire, to the President, +Secretary, and other members of the Council of the Academy, and to +several of his private friends, to attend the solemnity. + +The funeral of Fuseli took place on Monday the 25th of April: it moved +from Somerset House at eleven o'clock in the morning, for St. Paul's +Cathedral, in the following order:-- + + Pages bearing funeral feathers, with attendants. + + Four Porters in silk dresses. + + THE HEARSE, + + (Drawn by six horses decorated with velvet + and feathers) + +Containing the Body enclosed in a leaden coffin; the outer wooden one +was covered with black velvet, ornamented with gilt furniture, and bore +the following inscription: + + HENRY FUSELI, ESQ. + A.M. R.A. + KEEPER AND PROFESSOR OF PAINTING TO + THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF LONDON, + DIED THE 16TH APRIL, 1825, + AGED 86 YEARS.[63] + +The hearse was followed by eight mourning coaches drawn each by four +horses, the first with the two Executors, Mr. Knowles and Mr. Balmanno. +In the others were the President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Council of +the Academy, and the private friends of the deceased, in the following +order:--Sir Thomas Lawrence, President; Henry Howard, Esq. Secretary; +Robert Smirke, Jun. Esq. Treasurer. Sir William Beechy, R.A.; T. +Phillips, Esq. R.A.; A. Chalon, Esq. R.A.; William Mulready, Esq. R.A.; +G. Jones, Esq. R.A.; R.R. Reinagle, Esq. R.A.; J. Wyatville, Esq. R.A. + +Lord James Stuart, M.P.; Vice Admiral Sir Graham Moore, K.C.B.; The Hon. +Colonel Howard, M.P.; Sir E. Antrobus, Bart.; The Very Reverend Dr. +Charles Symmons; William Lock; Samuel Cartwright; Samuel Rogers; Henry +Rogers; William Young Ottley; William Roscoe, Jun.; Henry Roscoe; M. +Haughton; T. G. Wainewright, and R. B. Haydon, Esqrs. + +The procession was closed by the private carriages of the following +persons, the intimate friends of the deceased. Mrs. Coutts (now Duchess +of St. Alban's), Marquis of Bute, Countess of Guilford; each drawn by +four horses, with the servants in state liveries. Lord Rivers; Lord +James Stuart; Honorable Colonel Howard; Sir Edmond Antrobus, Bart.; Rear +Admiral Sir Graham Moore; Sir Thomas Lawrence; Dr. Symmons; Mr. Lock; +Mr. Richard Cartwright; Mr. Smirke, and Mr. Wyatville. + +The body was deposited in a small vault formed for the purpose, in the +crypt of St. Paul's Cathedral, between those which contain the remains +of his friends, Sir Joshua Reynolds and Opie. + +On our return to the Royal Academy, the will was opened, with the +contents of which I was previously acquainted, as Fuseli consulted me +when he made it; and the following is a copy:-- + + "I, Henry Fuseli, Keeper of the Royal Academy, of London, being in + health and of sound mind, do make this my last will and testament. + I do hereby leave and bequeath unto my wife, Sophia Fuseli, all + money and every other description of property that I may be + possessed of at the time of my decease, to be for her own and sole + use. And I do hereby constitute and I appoint, John Knowles of the + Navy Office, and Robert Balmanno, of Mornington Place, Hampstead + Road, Esquires, as Executors to this my last Will and Testament, + revoking all other Wills and Testaments. Given under my hand and + seal, this twenty-first day of November, in the year of our Lord + One thousand eight hundred and twenty-two. + + "Henry Fuseli," (L.S.) + + "James Jones, } + William Church, } Witnesses." + + +In carrying this Will into execution, a difference of opinion arose +between Mr. Balmanno and myself respecting the propriety of disposing of +some of the property by private contract; and the matter was accordingly +referred to Mrs. Fuseli. As this lady gave her assent to the view which +I had taken of the affair, Mr. Balmanno, in consequence, renounced the +trust. The Will was therefore proved by me, solely, in the Prerogative +Court of Canterbury, on the 7th September 1825. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + + Fuseli's personal appearance and habits.--Existing Memorials of him + in Pictures and Busts.--His method of dividing his time.--Anecdotes + exemplifying his irritability.--His attainments in classical and in + modern Languages.--Instances of his Powers of Memory.--His intimate + knowledge of English Poetry and Literature.--His admiration of + Dante.--His Passion for Entomology.--His opinions of some + contemporary Artists.--His conversational powers.--Anecdotes.--His + deficient acquaintance with the pure Physical Sciences. + + +It may now be proper to give some description of Fuseli's person and +habits. He was rather short in stature, about five feet two inches in +height, his limbs were well proportioned, his shoulders broad, and his +chest capacious. His complexion was fair; his forehead broad; his eyes +were large, blue, and peculiarly expressive and penetrating; his nose +large, and somewhat aquiline; his mouth was rather wide; and although +his features were not strictly regular, yet his countenance was, in the +highest degree, intelligent and energetic; the expression of his face +varied in a remarkable manner with the quick impressions of his mind. He +was clean and neat in his person and dress, and very particular with his +hair, which was carefully dressed every day with powder. + +In youth, Fuseli was exceedingly temperate in all his habits: until the +age of twenty-one years he had never tasted fermented liquors; and in +more advanced age, his usual beverage was Port wine, in a moderate +quantity, or Port wine mixed with water; and during the whole of his +life he had never even tasted beer. He was habitually an early riser. In +London, during the summer months, he usually left his bed-room between +six and seven o'clock; but when in the country, he arose between four +and five. To these, and to the practice of standing while he painted, he +attributed the more than usual good state of health which he had +enjoyed. He possessed his faculties in an extraordinary degree to the +last period of his life: his fancy was vivid, his memory unimpaired, and +his eye-sight so good, that he could read the smallest print without the +aid of glasses: if any one of them had failed, it was his hearing; but +this, if impaired at all, was only so in a slight degree; and, in my +opinion, his complaint of this proceeded rather from inattention, on +his part, to any discourse which did not interest him, than from a +defect in the organ; for, when his attention was drawn to a subject, or +excited, this was in no degree apparent. + +Although Fuseli had a great dislike to sit for his portrait, there are +the following busts and pictures of him:--A bust in marble, chiselled +when he was in Italy; of the merits of this he always spoke in high +terms, and it is supposed to be now in Rome. A portrait in profile, by +Northcote, taken at Rome in 1778, in the possession of James Carrick +Moore, Esq. A drawing by Sir Thomas Lawrence, in 1787, made for the +translation of Lavater's physiognomy. A portrait by Williamson, of +Liverpool, in 1789, in the possession of William Roscoe, Esq. A picture +by Opie, in 1800, which Mrs. Fuseli now has. A very characteristic +miniature, by Haughton, taken in 1808, in the collection of the Countess +of Guilford; and there are two or three subsequent miniatures by the +same artist. An elaborate portrait in oil colours, by Harlow, painted in +1817, in the possession of the writer of this memoir; and one less +wrought, by the same artist, for Mr. Balmanno. A bust in marble, +executed by Baily, in 1824, for Sir Thomas Lawrence. A portrait by Sir +Thomas Lawrence, taken in 1825, a few weeks before Fuseli's death, is +now in the possession of that gentleman's executor. And a bust in clay, +modelled from a cast of the face, taken after death, by Mr. Baily, for +the Countess of Guilford. + +Notwithstanding some eccentricities, Fuseli was a man of method: his +daily occupations, which were almost unalterable, will give some notion +of this. If the weather were favourable, he usually walked for an hour +or two before breakfast; if otherwise, he read some classic author. At +breakfast (which generally occupied an hour), he was engaged in looking +over drawings of entomology, or in reading some book on that science. +After he had breakfasted, and while under the hands of the hair-dresser, +he read Homer in Greek. At half-past ten o'clock he went to his study, +and engaged himself in painting until four; then dressed, and walked +till the time appointed for dinner. In the evening, if not in society, +he amused himself in examining prints, executing drawings, or reading +the popular works of the time. When out of London, the middle of each +day was spent either in drawing, writing, or reading. + +From infancy, Fuseli possessed very impetuous passions, which required, +when a boy, some degree of coercion, on the part of his parents, to +control. This irritability, in one instance, nearly cost him his life. +At Lyons, when a young man, he had a dispute with a person, which +aroused his feelings to such a height, that in a momentary fit of +passion he made use of that agility which he possessed in a considerable +degree, and kicked his antagonist in the face. The man coolly drew his +sword, and immediately inflicted a very severe wound upon the offending +leg. Notwithstanding this violence of disposition, when his anger was +aroused even to a high pitch, a kind word or look appeased him in a +moment. In the several relations of husband, friend, and master, he was +most affectionate and kind; but he required to be sought: if neglected, +he ceased to think of the objects whom he had before loved or esteemed; +and his constant theme was on such occasions, "I can live without them +who can do without me." + +He possessed such a degree of pride and self-love in this particular, +that if he thought himself slighted, he would resent it, whatever might +be the rank or condition of the man: this has been witnessed on several +occasions, one of which now recurs to my memory. I accompanied him to a +private view of a picture, "The Trial of Queen Caroline;" after we had +been in the room a few minutes, he pointed out a clergyman, and said, +"That is Howley, the Bishop of London; he and I were very intimate. +Before he became a dignitary of the church, he used to come to my house +frequently, and sit there for hours together; but for some years he +seems to forget even my person." Shortly after, Lord Rivers came into +the apartment, and accosted Fuseli in his usual jocular manner, and +perhaps not knowing that he had been acquainted with the Bishop, took an +opportunity of introducing him. Fuseli immediately said, "I have seen +his Lordship before now," and turned upon his heel. + +It has been shewn, that Fuseli was educated for the clerical profession, +and as a requisite for this, he studied the classics in early life, in +order to attain a knowledge of what are called the learned languages: +taste led him to continue this study, in which he afterwards proved so +eminent; he wrote Latin and Greek accurately, and has often puzzled +learned Professors in their attempts to discover whence the passages +were derived, when he clothed his own original thoughts in classical +language. He was not ignorant of Hebrew; but in this, when compared with +Greek and Latin, his knowledge was superficial. In modern languages he +was deeply skilled; for he wrote French, Italian, German, and English, +with equal facility. On one occasion, when I saw him writing a letter in +French, I made the remark, "With what ease, Sir, you appear to write +that language!" he answered, "I always think in the language in which I +write, and it is a matter of indifference to me whether it be in +English, French, or Italian; I know each equally well; but if I wish to +express myself with power, it must be in German;"--in which he has left +several pieces of poetry. For the pleasure of reading Sepp's work on +insects, he gained, late in life, a competent knowledge of Dutch: +indeed, he had a peculiar facility of acquiring languages; for in this +particular his capacity was most extraordinary. He has told me, that, +with his knowledge of general grammar, and with his memory, six weeks of +arduous study was quite sufficient time to acquire any language with +which he was previously unacquainted. This capacity was evidently owing, +in a great degree, to his quickness of perception, and to his possessing +a most retentive memory; not of that kind, however, that easily commits +to it particular passages for _viva voce_ repetition, and are lost as +soon as the object for which they were gotten is passed by; on the +contrary, what he once attained was seldom or never forgotten. It was a +recollection of words as well as things: one or two examples of this +will suffice. His friend Bonnycastle also possessed great powers of +memory, and he, at Mr. Johnson's table, challenged Fuseli to compete +with him: this was immediately accepted. The best mode of trial was +submitted to Johnson, who proposed that each should endeavour to learn +by heart, in the shortest time, that part of the eleventh book of +Paradise Lost which describes a vision shewn to Adam by Michael. Fuseli +read this description of the cities of the earth, which is long, and, +from the words having little apparent connexion, difficult to be +remembered, only three times over, and he then repeated it without an +omission or error. Bonnycastle immediately acknowledged himself to be +vanquished. When "The Pursuits of Literature" were published, the public +were anxious to discover the author, and a friend said to Fuseli, "You +ought to know who it is, because he quotes you as authority for one or +two of his remarks," and mentioned the passages. Fuseli instantly +answered, "It must be Mathias; for I recollect that particular +conversation;" and stated the time, the place, and the occasion which +drew it forth, although many years had elapsed. + +Fuseli's acquaintance with English poetry and literature was very +extensive; few men recollected more of the text, or understood better +the works of Chaucer, Spenser, Shakspeare, Milton, and Dryden. In +Shakspeare and Milton he was deeply read, and he had gained some +knowledge of the merits of the former in early life from the +translations into German of some of the plays of Shakspeare, by his +tutor Bodmer, who was well read in English poetry, and who subsequently +gave a translated "Paradise Lost." Notwithstanding the predilection +which Fuseli had for the ancients, particularly Homer, yet he considered +the three first acts of "Hamlet," and the second book of "Paradise +Lost," to be the highest flights of human genius. Indeed, he had a +decided preference for poetry and works of imagination. "England," he +once said, "has produced only three genuine poets, Shakspeare, Milton, +and Dryden." A friend asked, "What do you say of Pope?"--"Ay, ay," he +interrupted, "with Broome, Cawthorne, Yalden, Churchill, Dyer, Sprat, +and a long list of contemptibles. These are favourites, I know, and they +may be poets to you; but, by Heaven, they are none to me." Another +gentleman who was present, maintained the genius of Pope, and thought +the "Dunciad" his best production. Fuseli denied this, and added, "Pope +never shewed poetic genius but once, and that, in the 'Rape of the +Lock.'--A poet is an inventor; and what has Pope invented, except the +Sylphs? In the Dunciad, he flings dirt in your face every minute. Such a +performance may be as witty as you please, but can never be esteemed a +first-rate poem."--He then called his "Eloisa to Abelard," "hot ice." + +For Gray, however, he had a high admiration; and when his opinion was +asked by one who imagined that he held him cheap, he said, "How! do you +think I condemn myself so much as not to admire Gray? Although he has +written but little, that little is done well." + +When Addison was mentioned, he exclaimed, "Addison translated the fourth +Georgic of Virgil, except the story of Aristaeus; you may thence know +what his taste was. How can you ask me about a man who could translate +that Georgic, and omit the most beautiful part?" + +Of the more modern poets, Lord Byron was his favourite; and he always +read his writings as soon as they were published, with great avidity. +When pressed to read the works of those writers in verse who are admired +merely for the beauty of language and smoothness of versification, he +exclaimed, "I cannot find time, for I do not yet know every word in +Shakspeare and Milton." + +He was well versed also in the works of foreign poets; but of these, +Dante was his favourite, for his imagery made the deepest impression on +his mind, and afforded many subjects for his daring pencil. "There was +but one instance," he said, "in which Dante betrayed a failure in moral +feeling. It is when Frate Alberigo, lying in misery in Antenora, +implores him to remove the ice from his face. Dante promises to do so, +on this condition--that the sinner shall first inform him who he is, and +for what crime he is punished. But after Alberigo has fulfilled the +conditions, the poet refuses to render him the service he had promised. +That is bad, you know; faith should be kept, even with a poor devil in +Antenora." After a pause, he burst out with Dante's description of the +Hypocrite's Punishment-- + + "O in eterno faticoso manto!" + + "How well this is! I feel the weight, though I'm no hypocrite." + +He did not accord with the feelings of Rousseau, in an epithet bestowed +on Metastasio, _"Le bouillant Metastasio!"_--"I do not know where he +discovered this fire; I am sure Metastasio never burnt my fingers, yet +he is sometimes beautiful." Fuseli continued, "_I tuoi strali terror de' +mortali_, _&c._ (the Coro in the Olimpiade.) These are grand lines." + +His knowledge of history and its attendant chronology, was accurate and +extensive, and few men understood and remembered better the heathen +mythology, and ancient and modern geography. + +He was not ignorant of natural history; but that branch which was +cultivated by him with the greatest ardour, was entomology, in which he +was deeply informed, particularly in the classes _lepidoptera_ and +_coleoptera_, but in the former he took the greatest delight; and in +acquiring a knowledge of the habits of insects, he was naturally led +into the consideration of their food; hence he was not unlearned in +botany. By skill and care, he sometimes reared in his house some of the +rarer English insects, among them, the _Sphinx atropos_, _Sphinx +uphorbiae_, and others. His great love for entomology induced him +occasionally to introduce moths into his pictures, which he painted with +great care and fidelity, and when much taken with the subject, he made +them frequently incongruous. Thus, in a picture of Lycidas, from the +passage in Milton, + + "Under the opening eye-lids of the morn, + What time the grey-fly winds his sultry horn," + +which is in the possession of James Carrick Moore, Esq., where the +shepherd and shepherdess, (exercising the licence of a painter, he has +introduced the latter,) are only ten inches in length, happening to find +in Mr. Johnson's garden at Fulham, a beautiful moth, he was so delighted +with the insect, that in spite of all propriety and his better +knowledge, he painted it the size of nature, hovering above the figures, +with expanded wings. This singular appearance in the picture attracted +the notice of the celebrated Dr. Jenner, who was skilled also in +entomology; and being invited to dinner to meet Fuseli, he consequently +enquired the subject. Mr. Moore informed him, that it was from Milton's +Lycidas, and from the line, + + "What time the grey-fly winds his sultry horn." + +"No, no," replied the Doctor, "this is no greyfly, but a moth, and winds +no horn; it is a mute." Fuseli, who heard this remark, knew well its +accuracy, and therefore said nothing; and the respect which he had +already entertained for Dr. Jenner, in consequence of his well-known +discovery, which has been so useful to mankind, was heightened, by +finding that he possessed also a knowledge of his favourite study; and +each was amused during the evening by the other's singularities. + +It must be acknowledged that Fuseli was fully sensible of his various +acquirements, and never underrated his own powers; although apt to +undervalue those of others, particularly of some of his brother artists, +and also to speak of them slightingly, because they were unacquainted +with literature and even deficient in orthography: after talking with +them, he has said, "I feel humbled, as if I were one of them." Mrs. +Wollstonecraft was alive to this weakness in Fuseli's character, and on +one occasion emphatically exclaimed, "I hate to see that reptile Vanity +sliming over the noble qualities of your heart." This feeling with +regard to several of the artists,--for he esteemed the acquirements of +others,--was not given in reference to their powers as painters, for he +had a high opinion of the English school of art in some of its branches. +Of Sir Thomas Lawrence he has said to me, "The portraits of Lawrence are +as well if not better drawn, and his women in a finer taste, than the +best of Vandyck's; and he is so far above the competition of any +painter in this way in Europe, that he should put over his study, to +deter others, who practise this art, from entering, + + 'Lasciate ogni speranza voi ch' entrate.'" + +Of Turner, he has observed, "he is the only landscape-painter of genius +in Europe." Wilkie, he considered "to have most of the qualities of the +best painters of the Dutch school, with much more of feeling and truth;" +and that "some of the fanciful pictures of Howard have poetic feeling +with fine colouring." + +Fuseli seldom or never concealed his sentiment with regard to men, even +to their faces. Calling upon him one evening, I found Mr. Marchant and +Mr. Nollekens in his room: although I was well-known to these gentlemen, +he formally took me up to them, and said, "This, Mr. Knowles, is Mr. +Marchant, that, Mr. Nollekens, two of the cleverest artists in their +way, I believe, in Europe, but in every thing else, two old daddies." +Every one knows, who is acquainted with art, the powers which Northcote +displays when he paints animals of the brute creation. When his picture +of "Balaam and the Ass" was exhibited at the "Macklin Gallery," +Northcote asked Fuseli's opinion of its merits, who instantly said, "My +friend, you are an Angel at an ass, but an ass at an Angel." + +The conversational powers of Fuseli were extraordinarily great, and it +was his constant aim to shine in company. He was, however, very averse +to protracted discussions, and for a short period would sometimes take +the weaker side of the argument, in order to shew his powers; but if he +then found his antagonist too strong for him, he often resorted to some +witty retort, and dropped the conversation. In society he could not bear +a rival; and was dissatisfied if he were prevented from taking a part in +the conversation. Shortly after Mrs. Godwin's marriage, she invited him +to dinner to meet Horne Tooke, Curran, Grattan, and two or three other +men of that stamp; he had no objection to their political opinions, but +as they engrossed the whole conversation, and that chiefly on politics, +he suddenly retired from their company, and, joining Mrs. Godwin in the +drawing-room, petulantly said to her, "I wonder you invited me to meet +such wretched company." + +His sentiments in society were delivered with an extraordinary rapidity; +his language was nervous, and his words well chosen. He possessed much +wit, sometimes of the playful but more frequently of the caustic kind; +and his ideas were often uncommon, and generally amusing, which being +poured forth with an enunciation and energy peculiar to himself, very +much increased their effect. Fuseli was quite aware that he expressed +himself sometimes too acrimoniously, and, after due consideration, he +frequently regretted it. In a letter to his friend Roscoe, he thus +expresses himself:-- + + "It was not necessary that I should be informed by our mutual + friend, that your affection for me continues unabated, although, + perhaps, you were a little startled by the _ferocity_ of my + conversation during your last visit in town. Affection built on the + base which I flatter myself ours is founded on, cannot be brushed + away by the roughness or petulance of a few unguarded words." + + +Again, to Mr. Ottley, he writes:-- + + "MY DEAR OTTLEY, + + "My wife tells me I behaved ill to you last night, and insists upon + my making an apology for it: as I suspect she may be right, accept + my thanks for your forbearance and good-humour, and grant me the + benefit of Hamlet's excuse for his rashness to Laertes. + + "Let us see you as soon as possible again. Respects to Mrs. Ottley. + + "Ever yours, + "Henry Fuseli." + + "Tuesday, July 27th, 1813." + + +Some anecdotes, in addition to those already given, will illustrate +better the nature and force of his conversational talents, than any +farther description. Discoursing one day with a gentleman at Mr. +Johnson's table upon the powers and merit of Phocion; a stranger, who +had apparently listened with attention to the conversation, interrupted +him by putting this question, "Pray, Sir, who was Mr. Phocion?" Fuseli +immediately answered, "From your dialect, Sir, I presume you are from +Yorkshire; and if so, I wonder you do not recollect Mr. Phocion's name, +as he was Member for your County in the Long Parliament;" and he then +resumed the discourse. Bonnycastle and another mathematician were +conversing upon the infinite extension of space, a subject in which +Fuseli could take no part, so as to shew his powers: he instantly cut it +short, by asking, "Pray, Gentlemen, can either of you tell me how much +broad cloth it will take to make Orion a pair of breeches?" Calling one +morning upon Mr. Johnson, he found him engaged in bargaining with an +author for the copyright of a book; after a time, the gentleman took +leave; when he was gone, Mr. Johnson said, "That is Mr. Kett, and his +work is to be called the 'Elements of Useful Knowledge.'" "In how many +volumes?" said Fuseli. "In two octavos," was the answer. "No, no, +Johnson," said he, "you cannot be serious; the Ocean is not to be +emptied with a tea-spoon." Meeting with a gentleman in society, who +piqued himself upon his knowledge of poetry, and boasted of being +thoroughly versed in Shakspeare, he exclaimed, in a sonorous tone, + + "O, for a Muse of fire, that would ascend + The brightest Heaven of invention!" + +"Pray, Sir, do you happen to recollect where these lines are to be +found?" He took some time to consider, and then answered, "Somewhere in +Pope."--"I find you are well read in the Poets," said Fuseli.-- +Discoursing with a lady upon sculpture, who, however, was too well read +in the classics to be a subject of his mischievous pleasantry, he +pretended to inform her of a fine bas-relief which had been received +by the Royal Academy from Rome. "What is the subject?" sheasked.-- +"Hector and Andromache," said he, "dashing out against a wall, the +little Astyanax's brains." "Poh! why do you tell me such stuff?" +said she. "Ay! _you_ may laugh," replied Fuseli, "but it would go down +with many a one. I have often said such things in company without +detection; only try it yourself at the next lord's house you may visit, +and see how many fine ladies and dandies will detect you." + +His powers in conversation were usually greater than those displayed in +his writings, for in the latter he was always hesitating, and generally +aiming at terseness, to convey his meaning in the fewest possible words; +hence he was sometimes ambiguous, and often obscure. I ventured once to +hint this to him, and he answered, "I endeavour to put as much +information into a page, as some authors scatter through a chapter; and +you know, 'that words are the daughters of earth, and things, the sons +of heaven;' and by this sentiment I am guided." + +Little can now be gathered, after such a lapse of years, of his +oratorical powers in the pulpit. But his friend Lavater says, "Nature +designed him for a great orator:" we must then bow to the authority of a +man of his eminence, who had frequently heard Fuseli preach. He, +however, delivered the powerful language in which his lectures are +written in a strong voice, with proper emphasis, and with precision. +Their effect, however, was in some degree lost to those who were not +accustomed to his German pronunciation. + +His want of taste for mathematics and the pure physical sciences, and +consequent ignorance of them, has been noticed, and this led him into +some incongruities in his paintings. In a picture of Lycidas, which he +was executing for Mr. Carrick Moore, he introduced the sun just rising +above the horizon, with a full moon, not in opposition to the sun, but +upon the same side. Mr. Moore attempted to convince Fuseli that the moon +never appeared full but when she was diametrically opposite to the sun: +but failing in this, he advised him to consult his friend Bonnycastle, +the Astronomer, upon the point. Some time after, Mr. Moore saw the +picture again, and found that the full moon was changed to a +crescent.--"Ho! ho!" said he, "so, Bonnycastle has convinced you of your +error?" "No such thing," answered Fuseli. "He did not say the full moon +was wrong; but, as she appears inclined to her quadrature, that it was +as well to paint her so; and I have done it." + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + Fuseli's inherent shyness of disposition.--His opinions of various + noted individuals, viz. Dr. Johnson, Sterne, Sir Joshua Reynolds, + Gibbon, Horne Tooke, and Thomas Paine.--His cultivation of English + notions and habits.--His attachment to civil and religious + liberty.--His intimacy with theatrical matters.--His adventure at a + Masquerade.--His powers as a Critic, both in Literature and Art, + with various illustrative examples.--His impressions of + Religion.--One of his Letters on Literature. + + +The professional excellence, ready wit, great learning and acquirements +in the classics and general literature, which Fuseli possessed, made his +society coveted; and he might have associated with men of the highest +rank and greatest talents of his time. But from childhood, he was of a +very shy disposition, and not apt to make new acquaintances. When a boy, +if a stranger happened to visit at his father's house, he would run away +and hide himself; and with a similar feeling, through life, he +contented himself with the association and attentions of old and tried +friends, without attempting to make new acquaintances; and has often +refused a pleasant dinner-party to meet some known friends, if he +understood that one or two strangers were invited to be of the party. +This shyness gave to many the notion that he was a man of morose +disposition, of severity of conduct, and of uncouth manners. But they +who enjoyed his friendship, witnessed his domestic habits and happiness, +and thus had opportunities of forming an accurate opinion of the good +qualities of his heart and mind, know well the erroneousness of these +opinions. + +Fuseli would often be very amusing by giving anecdotes, and sometimes +his opinion, of the merits of several of the literary characters whom he +had met in company, or with whom he had associated. A few of his +remarks, in addition to those already given, recur to memory. Of Dr. +Johnson, whom he sometimes saw at Sir Joshua Reynolds' table, he said, +"Johnson had to a physiognomist a good face, but he was singular in all +his movements; he was not so uncouth in appearance and manners as has +been represented by some; he sat at table in a large bushy wig and brown +coat, and behaved decently enough. On one occasion, the conversation +turned upon ghosts and witches, in the existence of which he believed, +and his only argument was, "that great and good men in all times had +believed in them." My fingers itched to be at him, but I knew, if I got +the better of the argument, that his celebrity was so great, it would +not be credited.--"You know," he continued, "that I hate superstition. +When I was in Switzerland, speaking with Lavater upon the appearance of +the spirit after death, it was agreed between us, that if it were +allowed by the Deity to visit earth, the first who died should appear to +the other; my friend was the most scrupulous man in existence, with +regard to his word; he is dead, and I have not seen him."--Of Sterne he +said, that "he was a good man, knew what was right, and had excellent +qualities, but was weak in practice. When I was invited to meet him at +Johnson's, I expected to hear from the author of 'The Sentimental +Journey,' (which I esteem the most original of books,) either wit, or +pathos, or both; when I saw him, he was certainly nearly worn out, and I +was miserably disappointed, as nothing then seemed to please him but +talking obscenely."--The description which he gave of Sir Joshua +Reynolds was, "that he had an insignificant face, but he possessed +quickness of apprehension; he was no scholar, and a bad speaker. In his +art, he took infinite pains at first to finish his work; but afterwards, +when he had acquired a greater readiness of hand, he dashed on with his +brush. "There is a degree of arrogance," said he, "in Sir Joshua's +portraits, for all his boys are men, his girls women. Sir Joshua, +unassisted with a sitter, had no idea of a face; he copied nature, and +yet there is a perfect degree of originality in his paintings; he had +the affectation to deny genius." Of Gibbon he remarked, "that he had a +good forehead, but a measured way of studying whatever he said." Of +Horne Tooke,--"Tooke is undoubtedly a man of talents; but he is the +greatest chatterer I ever sat down with; one cannot, in his company, put +in a word edgewise; he, however, wishes to be thought a good German +scholar, but in this he is very superficial." He sometimes met Thomas +Paine in society, and has remarked to me, "that he was far from being +energetic in company; to appreciate his powers, you must read his works, +and form your opinion from them, and not from his conversation. Paine +knew less of the common concerns of life than I do, who know little; for +when he has had occasion to remove from lodgings, he hardly knew how to +procure or make an agreement for others, and our friend Johnson[64] +latterly managed these concerns for him. When the popular cry was much +against Paine, it was thought prudent by his friends, that he should +remove from his apartments; and others were taken for him by Johnson, +about four miles distant from those which he inhabited. They went there +in a hackney-coach, for such a vehicle could contain them, with all the +moveables which Paine possessed. On their arrival at the new abode, +Paine discovered that half a bottle of brandy was left behind; now +brandy being an important thing to Paine, he urged Johnson to drive back +to fetch it. 'No, Mr. Paine,' said he, 'it would not be right to spend +eight shillings in coach-hire, to regain one shilling's-worth of +brandy.' Paine was an excellent mechanic; when Sharpe was about to +engrave my picture of 'The Contest of Satan, Sin, and Death,' he +employed a carpenter to construct a roller to raise or fall it at +pleasure; in this, after several ineffectual attempts, he did not +succeed to the expectations of Sharpe, who mentioned the circumstance in +the hearing of Paine; he instantly offered his services, and set to work +upon it, and soon accomplished all, and indeed more than the engraver +had anticipated." + +In his notions and habits, Fuseli was completely an Englishman; and +although, when he spoke, no one could take him for such, yet he disliked +to be thought a foreigner; and he has sometimes said to me, "When I +speak in any of the established languages of Europe, I am every where +considered a foreigner, even when I discourse in German, our language at +Zurich being a _Patois_; but I can assure you that this is nervous, and +not without its beauties." No man was a greater stickler for civil and +religious liberty than Fuseli, and no man had a deeper horror of the +slave trade, or a greater dislike to impressing seamen. Paying a visit +to his friend Roscoe, at Liverpool, in the year 1804, this gentleman +pointed out to him all the improvements which had been made in the town +since he was there last, which was within a few years. He observed, "I +do not wonder that you look upon these with some degree of +self-complacency; for they may be considered as the work of your hands, +and as such I view them with interest; but methinks I every where smell +the blood of slaves."[65] + +Fuseli esteemed the English character more highly than that of any other +country, and was much pleased with their amusements. The theatre was a +constant source of gratification, and his criticisms on plays and +players were usually severe, but generally acute and just. Meeting +Macklin at Johnson's table, he shewed such deep knowledge in the art in +which that celebrated man was so successful, not only as a writer, but +as an actor, that when Fuseli took his leave, Macklin exclaimed, "I +could sit all night to discourse with that learned Theban." Of Miss +O'Neill he always spoke favourably, and considered that her merits as +an actress, however highly they were esteemed, had been undervalued +rather than overrated. Of Mr. Betty, in 1822, he said, "If his face, on +the whole, do not sanction a prophecy of unrivalled excellence, it does +not exclude him from attaining eminence. Mrs. Pritchard was the allowed +Lady Macbeth of her day, without one tragic feature, or one elegant +limb. It is indeed a little provoking, that he who in Dublin inthralled +the general female eye, when his golden locks inundated his neck,--he +whose kerchief the _ladies_ at Bath of late cut out into a thousand +amulets of love, should be less than the theatric sun of London;--but +still + + 'Principibus placuisse _Feminis_ + Non ultima laus est.'-- + +If I have murdered Horace's verse, I have improved the sense. As to +former actors, the pupils of Betterton and Booth would probably have +turned up their noses at Barry and Garrick--'But to praise the past,' +has always been a characteristic of age." He was an admirer of Kean in +some characters which he played, particularly in his Shylock. But he +considered that this actor took too wide a range. In writing to a +friend, he says, "I have seen Kean and Mrs. West in Orestes and +Hermione, and desire to see _them_ no more. What could excite the public +rapture at his first appearance in this part, I am at a loss to guess: +if his figure is not absolutely irreconcileable with the character, his +action and expression are balanced between the declamation of Talma, the +ravings of a bedlamite, and sometimes the barking of a dog. Mrs. West is +something of a slender Grecian figure, tall, not ungraceful, and a face +something like Mrs. Madyn's: she was well dressed, and has a good voice, +but no rule of it, and tore her part to tatters in one uninterrupted fit +of raving." In the Italian opera, and in operas in general, he did not +take much delight; for in music his ear was certainly imperfect; but +notwithstanding this, some few simple airs affected him strongly. In +speaking of music, he said, "All your complicated harmonies of Haydn and +Beethoven are fine, I know; because they are esteemed to be so by the +best judges; but I am ignorant, and they say nothing to me. They give to +me no more pleasure than a fine anatomical foreshortened drawing by +Michael Angelo would to an unpractised eye. But the song, 'How imperfect +is expression,' is the key to my heart. How could a Frenchman write it? +Lady Guilford once sang it to me so exquisitely, that I only wished to +hear it over and over again, and to die when it ceased." He always held +an opinion, that the English and French, as nations, possessed no genius +or taste for music, and that their apparent attachment to this science +was assumed, and not natural. Of masquerades, he considered that +Englishmen neither possess the animal spirits nor quickness of repartee +requisite for this amusement, but are apt to drop the fictitious +character they assume, and take up their real one. He instanced this by +the following anecdote:--"At the request of young Lavater, when he was +in England, I went to a masquerade at the Opera House: we were +accompanied by my wife, Mrs. Wollstonecraft, and some others, and were +endeavouring to be amused by the masks, when a devil came howling about +us, and tormented some of the party to such a degree, that I exclaimed +in a loud voice, 'Go to hell!' but the dull devil, instead of answering +in character, 'Then I will drag you down with me,' or making some bitter +retort, put himself into a real passion, and began to abuse me roundly. +So I, to avoid him, retired from the place, and left the others of the +party to battle it out." + +As a critic, Fuseli's powers can be best estimated by his writings. In +art--his "Lectures," "Notes to Pilkington's Dictionary," his +"Aphorisms," and "The Fragment of a History of Art," may be instanced. +In the classics--but more particularly in Greek,--by the written +opinions of Cowper, and the oral testimony given in society, by Porson, +Parr, Burney, Symmons, and others. In consequence of his extensive +knowledge in the dead languages, the situation of "Professor of Ancient +Literature" to the Royal Academy became nearly a sinecure, as he +afforded information upon all classical subjects, and furnished the +mottoes for the annual catalogues of the exhibition, which were usually +in Greek, but sometimes in Latin. He, however, kept up the most friendly +intercourse with the Professor of the time, and frequently corresponded +with him, particularly so with Dr. Charles Burney, upon disputed points +or doubtful passages. I am favoured by Dr. Charles Parr Burney with the +following letter, which Fuseli wrote to his father:-- + + "Somerset House, July 7, 1805. + + "MY DEAR SIR, + + "You have so often answered my questions, whether pertinent or + idle, that I hope you will do the same now. + + "At what period of Greek literature did the word Rheethron, + 'fluentum,' change its gender, and from a neuter become a + masculine? In Homer, I believe, it is uniformly neuter, kala, + erateina rheethra: what then do you say to the following + metamorphosis? + + Par keladonta rheethron + ho melanchlainos aner, &c.? + + page 250, of an Analytical Inquiry into the Principles of Taste, by + _Richard Payne, Knight_; which is so much the more puzzling, as in + a preceding page, 144, he seems to allow, or to know that it is + neuter, by talking of agraphikon Rheethron? I am afraid the Rheethra of + the Scamander were not the only ones to boil an eel in. + + "I am, with great sincerity, + "My dear Sir, + "Devoutly yours, + "Henry Fuseli." + + +Fuseli corrected many editions of Clarke's Homer, for the use of +students, as they passed through the press, and gave some notes in +Latin, to which the initial letter F. is affixed. An instance may be +offered, not only of his knowledge of this language, but of his power in +recalling words to his recollection. In a Greek Lexicon which he had, +several leaves were wanting, and as an exercise to his memory, he +endeavoured to supply these in his own hand-writing, without reference +to another work. + +In general literature, his critical knowledge may be estimated by the +numerous articles which he wrote for the Analytical Review, which are +easily to be distinguished by the peculiarity of their style; and they +generally have the initials Z. Z. affixed; but if it be necessary to +point out any in particular, for the guidance of the reader, the reviews +which have been inserted, page 81, of Cowper's Homer, and Roscoe's +Lorenzo de' Medici, may be instanced. He was not less powerful in _viva +voce_ criticisms than in his written ones; one or two instances of this, +with regard to works of art, will suffice. In Northcote's picture of +Hubert and Arthur, painted for the Shakspeare Gallery, Hubert is +represented with one hand on his brow, undetermined, and apparently +melted with the touching supplications of Arthur, who, kneeling at his +feet, is shewn clasping his knees. + +Fuseli on seeing this picture, said, "He has taken the wrong moment, for +whoever looks at that hesitating Hubert must see that the boy is safe, +the danger past, and the interest gone. He should have chosen the +moment when Hubert stamps with his foot, and cries, 'Come forth; do as I +bid you;' and two ruffians should have appeared rushing in with red-hot +irons; then the scene would have been such as it ought to +be,--terrible." Condemning in general terms a large historical picture, +which a person at table had admired; he was asked for some specific +fault: "Why," said he, "the fellow has crammed into his canvass fifteen +figures, besides a horse, and, by G--d! he has given only three legs +among them." "Why, where has he hidden the others?" was asked. "How +should I know?" he answered, "I did not paint the picture; but I wonder +how any one can talk of a painter and praise him, who has given fifteen +men and a horse only three legs." + +Shortly after the first exhibition of the works of Sir Joshua Reynolds, +at the British Institution, he wrote the following criticisms,[66] among +others, upon his pictures of Ugolino, of Dido, and the Infant Hercules, +which may probably be perused with interest, as they have not appeared +in print. + + + UGOLINO. + + "Daimoni' out' ar ti megalizomai oud' atherizo + Oude lien agamai mala d' eu oid' hoios eestha."[67] + Od. p. [23.] 174. + + "From whatever cause this face became that of Ugolino,--whether its + original were that of a noble or a pauper, it is a standard of + grief;--but, more habitual than sudden, the grief of one whom + "sharp misery had long worn to the bones,"--not of him whom + fortune's quick reverse dashed headlong on to despair. The manner + in which he is grouped with his infant son, as it increases the + contrast, adds to our sympathy,--which is however obtained not only + at the expense of the story, but of nature. The whole family were + shut up together in the cage; and when the vigorous partners of the + father in arms writhe in the agonies of hunger, or, unable to + support themselves, droop in languor, is it natural to see a + blooming stripling, unaffected by either, at his ease console the + petrified father?" + + + THE DIDO. + + "This is one of the few historic compositions any where, and + perhaps a solitary one in this collection, of which the principal + figure is the best and occupies the most conspicuous place. Riveted + to supreme beauty in the jaws of death, we pay little attention to + the subordinate parts, and scorn, when recovered from sympathy and + anguish, to expatiate in cold criticisms on their unfitness or + impotence. He who could conceive this Dido, could not be at a loss + for a better Anna, had he had a wish, or given himself time to + consult his own heart, rather than to adopt a precedent of + clamorous grief from Daniel di Volterra. That Iris was admitted at + all, without adequate room to display her, as the arbitress of the + moment, may be regretted; for if she could not be contrived to add + sublimity to pathos, she could be no more than what she actually + became, a tool of mean conception. + + "The writer of these observations has seen the progress of this + work,--if not daily, weekly,--and knows the throes which it cost + its author before it emerged into the beauty, assumed the shape, or + was divided into the powerful masses of chiar' oscuro which strike + us now; of colour it never had, nor wants, more than what it + possesses now,--a negative share. + + ----'Non rem Colori + Sed colorem Rei submittere ausus.' + + "The painter has proved the success of a great principle, less + understood than pertinaciously opposed." + + + THE INFANT HERCULES. + + "No eminent work of art that we are acquainted with ever proved + with more irresistible evidence, the truth of Hesiod's axiom, that + "the half excels the whole," than the infant Demigod before us; + whose tremendous superiority of conception and style not only + scorns all alliance with the motley mob of whom the painter + condemned him to make a part, but cannot, with any degree of + justice, be degraded into a comparison with any figure which has + reached us, of an Infant Hercules on ancient or modern monuments of + art. Whatever homage conjecture may pay to the powers of Xeuxis, + whose "Jupiter Enthroned," and "Infant Hercules," tradition joins + as works of equal magnificence, it will be difficult for fancy to + seek an image of loftier or more appropriate conception than that + of the heroic child before us, whose magnitude of form, + irresistibility of grasp, indignant disdain, and sportive ease of + action, equally retain his divine origin, and disclose the germ of + the future power destined to clear society and rid the earth of + monsters. + + "This infant, like the infants of Michael Angelo, and of what we + possess of the ancients, teems with the man, but without that + sacrifice of puerility observable in them. Modern art has allotted + the province of children to Fiammingo; it seems to belong, with a + less disputable title, to Reynolds, who inspired the pulpy cheeks + and milky limbs of the Fleming with the manners, (ETHE) habits, and + the mind of infancy, when first emerging form, instinct to will, + sprouts to puerility, displays the dawn of character, and the + varied symptoms of imitation; but above all, that unpremeditated + grace, the innate gift and privilege of childhood, in countenance, + attitude, and action." + + +Notwithstanding his great acquirements in the classics, acuteness of +mind, and knowledge of some of the branches of natural philosophy, +Fuseli neither solicited nor was offered any literary or other honours +(except those of the Royal Academy) in this country. Expressing one day +my surprise at this, he answered, "What are such things worth? for I +have known men on whom the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws has been +conferred by the University of Oxford, which prides itself for classical +knowledge, who cannot read correctly a line in the classics; and you +know those who are Fellows of the Royal Society, who do not possess a +philosophical knowledge even of the material on which they work." + +Fuseli was seldom induced to speak on religion; but, as he attached +himself to no particular form or sect, which is frequently the case with +foreigners, it would be difficult to give a precise idea of his tenets. +In religion, however, as well as on all other concerns, he thought for +himself, unshackled by those restraints which forms, ceremonies, or +opinions, often impose on the mind. No man that I have ever conversed +with had a higher or more sublime notion of the attributes and +benevolence of the Deity, and no one a better knowledge of the Bible. In +this book he was deeply read, and recollected, when in conversation, not +only those parts which, for historical facts, sublimity, pathos, or +poetic beauty, are impressed on most minds, but also the minor +circumstances, for he could from memory trace the several tribes, and +tell you accurately the genealogy of any particular person. He seldom +took up the Bible, which he frequently did, without shedding tears. One +evening, when talking in a serious mood to a young lady, he related to +her, in his own peculiar and forcible manner, the story of "Joseph and +his Brethren," and with the greatest pathos; and at that part where +Joseph falls on Benjamin's neck and wept, he burst out, while tears +trembled in his eyes, "How finely that is expressed, there are beautiful +things in that book! It's an exquisite book!" He had a perfect reliance +on a future state of existence. "If I had not hope in this," he said, "I +should hang myself, for I have lived and still live for nothing. I am +certain I shall exist hereafter, for I feel that I have had powers given +to me by the Deity, which time has not allowed me to exert or even to +develope. I am capable of doing ten times more than I have done." + +This prevailing impression broke forth on many occasions. He had +accompanied Sir Thomas Lawrence to see a collection of fine casts from +the antique, which had recently been formed by Jens Wolff, Esq. then +Consul to his Danish Majesty, and which were arranged in a gallery built +for the purpose by Mr. Smirke, at Sherwood Lodge, Battersea. + +In a niche, at the end of the gallery, was placed the colossal statue of +the Farnese Hercules, and by a novel arrangement of the lamps (the rest +of the gallery being in total darkness), a very powerful effect was +given to the statue, which had been turned with its back to the +spectator, and thus presented a vast mass of shadow, defined only by its +grand outline and the strength of the light beyond it; the source of +which was concealed by the pedestal. Its appearance being singularly +striking, in the course of the evening, Mr. Fuseli was taken down to see +it. Sir Thomas Lawrence attended him, and for a few moments was +disappointed by the silence of his friend; but on a servant bringing a +light into the entrance-room, he perceived Fuseli excited even to tears, +as he exclaimed with deep tremulous energy, "No man shall persuade me, +that these emotions which I now feel are not immortal." + +In farther corroboration of his opinions on this point, I may give the +following conversation which I heard. Fuseli was maintaining the +immortality of the soul; a gentleman present said, "I could make you or +any man of sense disbelieve this in half an hour's conversation." Fuseli +immediately answered, "That I am sure you could not, and I will take +care you shan't." + +Being pressed one day by his friend, the Reverend John Hewlett; upon his +belief in the resurrection of Christ, that gentleman informs me, he +answered, "I believe in a resurrection; and the resurrection of Christ +is as well authenticated as any other historical fact." Although he was +averse to religious controversy, and seldom entered into it, yet, if his +forbearance made others press the subject, he soon shewed that he was +not ignorant of the respective merits of the polemics in the Christian +Church, who have in all times broached and supported contrary opinions +upon disputed points. He has more than once said to me, "There are now +no real Christians, for the religion of Christ died with its great +Author; for where do we witness in those who bear his name, the +humility, self abasement, and charity of their master, which qualities +he not only taught, but practised?" + +A detection of parallel passages in authors, or of similar figures in +the pictures of painters, was a favourite amusement of Fuseli's, and he +would sometimes indulge in these to the gratification and instruction of +the company by the hour together, for no man was more acute in +discovering plagiarism. I have been indulged by the kindness of a lady +of great literary attainments with the following letter, which will give +some notion of his power in this respect, as far as literature is +concerned. + + "Norbury Park. + + "Some one, who had a right to write what he liked, even + nonsense;--Tiberius, I believe, began a letter to the Roman senate + thus: 'Conscript Fathers, you expect a letter from me; but may all + the gods and goddesses confound me, if I know on what to write, how + to begin, how to go on, or what to leave out:' his perplexity arose + certainly from a cause very different from that which occasions + mine, though the result appears to be nearly the same. Had I + brought my eyes and mind with me, I might perhaps offer some + tolerable observations on the charms that surround me, to one who + is all eye and all mind; but she who is really possessed by one + great object, is blind to all others; and though Milton could never + have been the poet of 'Paradise Lost,' had he been born blind, + blindness was of service to him when he composed it. + + "When I saw you last, you wished me to point out the passage in + Tasso, which appeared to me copied from the Homeric description of + the Cestus of Venus, in the Fourteenth Book of the Ilias; I have + transcribed it from one which I found here in the library:-- + + "Teneri sdegni, e placide e tranquille + Repulse, cari vezzi, e liete paci, + Sorrisi, parolette, e dolci stille + Di pianto, e sospir tronchi, e molli baci: + Fuse tai cose tutte, e poscia unille, + Ed al foco tempro di lente faci; + E ne formo quel si mirabil cinto, + Di ch' ella aveva il bel fianco succincto.' + + "These ingredients have been tried, they have been tasted, they are + the fruits of a lover's paradise; yet, here they are nothing but an + empty catalogue; and if they have a charm, it lies in the melting + genius of the language: compare them with the following lines from + the Vision of Arthur, in Spenser. + + "Caresses sweet, and lovely blandishment, + She to me made, and bade me love her dear, + For dearly sure her love to me was bent, + As when meet time approached, should appear; + But whether dreams delude, or true it were, + Was never heart so ravished with delight. + + "When I awoke and found her place devoid, + And nought but pressed grass, where she had lyen, + I sorrowed as much as erst I joyed, + And washed all the place with watery eyn; + From that day forth I cast in careful mind, + To seek her out---- + + "Thus, as he spoke, his visage waxed pale. + + Here is soul, action, passion. + + "Adieu, + "Henry Fuseli." + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + + Character of Fuseli as an Artist.--His early style.--His ardent + pursuit of excellence in design.--His neglect of mechanical means, + particularly as regards Colours.--His professional independence, + unmixed with obstinacy.--His preeminent faculty of invention, and + success in the portraiture of the ideal.--His deficiencies as to + correctness, and disinclination to laborious finish.--Causes of his + limited popularity as a Painter.--His felicity in Likenesses.--His + colour and chiar' oscuro.--His qualities as a Teacher of the Fine + Arts.--His ardent love of Art.--Arrangements as to the disposal of + his Works, &c.--List of his Subjects exhibited at the Royal + Academy, from 1774 to 1825. + + +It now remains to speak of Fuseli as an artist, and on this subject it +is not necessary to be very diffuse, having been favoured with the able +article, to be found in the Appendix, from the pen of William Young +Ottley, Esq., a gentleman who was for many years the intimate friend of +Fuseli, whose talents as an _amateur_ artist, whose knowledge, taste, +and judgment in the Fine Arts are so eminently conspicuous, and whose +claims to distinction are so well known to the public by his various +works. + +It has been shewn throughout this memoir, that the Fine Arts was the +ruling passion of Fuseli, but that his father took more than ordinary +pains to prevent his becoming an artist, and even checked his wishes to +practise in the Fine Arts as an amusement; hence, the benefits which are +considered to arise from that early education which artists usually +receive, were altogether withheld from him. His style of drawing in +early life was formed from those prints, which he could only consult by +stealth, in his father's collection, and these were chiefly from the +German school. From this circumstance, his early works have figures +short in stature, with muscular, but clumsy limbs. But in the invention +of the subject, even in his youth, he took the most striking moment, and +impressed it with novelty and grandeur; hence some of his early +productions tell the stories which they are intended to represent, with +a wonderful felicity, and, in this respect, are little inferior to his +later works; a circumstance which he himself was not backward to +acknowledge. Fuseli always aimed to arrive at the highest point of +excellence, particularly in design, and constantly avowed it. When +young, he wrote in the Album of a friend, "I do not wish to build a +cottage, but to erect a pyramid;" and to this precept he adhered during +life, scorning to be less than the greatest. Until he was twenty-five +years of age, he had never used oil colours; and he was so inattentive +to these materials, that during life he took no pains in their choice or +manipulation. To set a palette, as artists usually do, was with him out +of the question; he used many of his colours in a dry, powdered state, +and rubbed them up with his pencil only, sometimes in oil alone, which +he used largely, at others, with an addition of a little spirit of +turpentine, and not unfrequently in gold size; regardless of the +quantity of either, or their general smoothness when laid on, and +depending, as it would appear to a spectator, more on accident for the +effect which they were intended to produce, than on any nice distinction +of tints in the admixture or application of the materials. It appears +doubtful whether this deficiency in his early education, and his neglect +also of mechanical means, will be detrimental to his fame as an artist, +particularly in the minds of those who can penetrate beyond the surface; +for if he had been subjected to the trammels of a school, his genius +would have been fettered; and it is then probable that we should have +lost those daring inventions, that boldness and grandeur of drawing, +(incorrect, certainly, sometimes in anatomical precision,) so fitting +to his subjects, and that mystic _chiar' oscuro_, which create our +wonder and raise him to the first rank as an artist. He was always proud +of having it believed that, in the Fine Arts in particular, in some of +the languages, and in many branches of literature, he had arrived at +celebrity and eminence, more by his own unassisted endeavours than from +the instructions of others. And, in reference to this, he on one +occasion exclaimed, in the words of Glendower, with a considerable +degree of self-complacency-- + + "Where is he living, clipped in with the sea + That chides the banks of England, Scotland, Wales, + Which calls me pupil!"[68] + +After quitting his paternal roof, the first work of art which, as I have +before stated, appeared to impress his mind with the grandeur of its +proportions, was Reichel's colossal figure of St. Michael, over the +gateway of the Arsenal at Augsburg; and he afterwards, from having seen +this, altered in some degree the proportions of his figures. But still, +most of the faults of the German school, in this particular, remained, +until after he had visited Italy. The works of the ancients in +sculpture, the frescoes of Michael Angelo and Raphael, and the oil +paintings of the great masters of the Italian school which he studied +there, particularly the two first, produced a still greater change in +the proportions of his figures, and he founded his future works upon +them: if, however, any figure or group of figures may be quoted to have +had a greater influence in this, or to have impressed his mind with more +than ordinary notions of grandeur, the two colossal marble statues[69] +by Phidias and Praxiteles upon Monte Cavallo, may be instanced; these +chiefly regulated his proportions and influenced his style, although it +must be acknowledged that, in the length of limbs, he frequently +exceeded them. I have heard him dilate upon the sensations which were +produced upon his mind when he has sometimes contemplated these grand +works of art, on an evening, when the sky was murky for some distance +above the horizon, and they were illuminated by occasional flashes of +vivid lightning. + +Fuseli paid much attention, and gave due consideration to the +suggestions of others, respecting his own performances, particularly +with regard to the proportions of his figures, and indeed courted the +observations not only of the learned, but of those also who are +unskilled in the art, and usually profited by their remarks. When Mr. +Ottley, then a very young man, and always an admirer of the Fine Arts, +was introduced to him by Mr. Seward, in the year 1789, he was painting +the picture of "Wolfram introducing Bertram of Navarre to the place +where he had confined his wife with the skeleton of her Lover,"[70] +which was exhibited the following year, this gentleman observed, "I like +your composition much, but I think the proportions of the figures in the +back-ground, those, I mean, of the Baron and his friend, too long in the +lower limbs." Fuseli paused for a time, and then answered, "You are +right," and immediately reduced them in height. + +In invention, which is not within the rules of art, and therefore may +be considered the highest quality of a poet or a painter; no man has +gone beyond him, and perhaps he possessed this quality in a higher +degree than any other artist, since the restoration of the Fine Arts in +Europe. The _portfolios_ of drawings which he left, fully establish his +claim, in this respect, to his being considered a genius of the first +class, and as such place him in the highest rank of artists, Michael +Angelo and Raphael not excepted. These drawings were made with wonderful +felicity and facility; and a spectator would be astonished to see with +what ease and power he invented and executed them. In telling the story +of the subject, he was never deficient; and the designs made by him +would be enough to occupy the lives of many painters to put them upon +canvass; for there was no very striking incident in the poets in +particular, or in the historians, from Hesiod down to our own times, +which, at some period of his long life, had not been the subject of his +pencil. On his drawings, he usually put the time when, and place where +made; but I know of no instance of his having placed either his name or +a monogram upon a picture. + +No artist had a more vivid fancy than Fuseli, or was more happy in +pourtraying superhuman and ideal beings: thus, the visions of Dante and +Spenser, and the poetic flights of Shakspeare and Milton, were stamped +even with originality by his pencil; and those scenes which, from their +difficulty to be represented on paper or on canvass, would deter most +artists from attempting them, were his favourite subjects; and in his +delineation of them, he may generally be placed on a par with, and he +occasionally soars above, the poet. Perhaps to no man can the following +lines be more aptly applied than to Fuseli:-- + + "The poet's eye, in a fine frenzy rolling, + Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven; + And, as imagination bodies forth + The forms of things unknown, the painter's brush + Turns them to shapes, and gives to airy nothing + A local habitation, and a name." + +It is, therefore, in these visionary scenes in which he shone most, and +which defy competition; for "the daring pencil of Fuseli transports us +beyond the boundaries of nature, and ravishes us with the charm of the +most interesting novelty."[71] In works of this nature, an occasional +extravagance of drawing rather tends to encrease than to diminish their +interest; so he was thus enabled to introduce therein those heroic and +epic forms so peculiar to himself, which do not so well accord with +subjects of sober history. Fuseli frequently invented the subjects of +his pictures without the aid of the poet or historian, as in his +composition of "Ezzelin," "Belisaire," and some others; these he +denominated "philosophical ideas made intuitive, or sentiment +personified." On one occasion he was much amused by the following +enquiry of Lord Byron:--"I have been looking in vain, Mr. Fuseli, for +some months, in the poets and historians of Italy, for the subject of +your picture of Ezzelin; pray, where is it to be found?" "Only in my +brain, my Lord," was the answer; "for I invented it." + +In composition, which has been not inaptly termed "the painter's +invention," he was very happy; for in his productions there are never +"figures to let;" but there is a general link, and one and all tend to +tell the story, and influence the spectator. The disposition and folding +of the drapery were always appropriate and good. He had a high feeling +of grandeur in his male, and of beauty in his female forms: although, in +the former, strength of muscular action is often exaggerated, and in the +latter there is occasionally a degree of apparent voluptuousness; yet +he gave to both great truth of physiognomic expression, being always +intent upon the intellectual part of his art. He was well acquainted +with osteology, or the form and position of the bones in the human body; +in these he seldom erred, although, perhaps, they were often too +strongly marked. He was also skilled in the theory of the anatomy of the +muscles; but as he never painted from, and seldom consulted, living +models after he quitted Italy, except when he occasionally acted as +"visitor in the Life Academy;" so, when he put a figure on paper or on +canvass into a position which he had never seen it assume, either in a +statue or in nature, he was occasionally incorrect in its muscular +action. The models in the "Life Academy" did not tend to correct him in +this, he being more intent upon the progress of the pupils than his own +information: they were therefore usually placed by him in attitudes to +correspond with the antique figures. As no individual form has been +found, in all its parts, to approach, in point of symmetry, to the +celebrated works of the ancient sculptors, so, when Fuseli has been +solicited to paint frequently from life, he has said, "Nature puts me +out;" meaning to convey this notion, that he searched in vain in the +individual for that beauty or grandeur which he had mentally +contemplated. Although he was happy in delineating playful scenes, yet +those which create terror or sympathy in the mind, were his general and +favourite subjects, and these he treated with great power; yet, in +carrying the terrible to its utmost limits, I know of no subject from +his pencil calculated to create horror or disgust. He invented and +composed his pictures with great rapidity, and if he thought of a +subject, and had not a canvass of a convenient size, it was frequently +his practice to rub in the new idea upon a finished picture; hence some +of his ablest productions are lost. As his mind was ever intent upon +something new, it cost him an effort to finish a picture; which +disposition, it appears, he inherited; for, in speaking of an ancestor, +Matthias Fueessli, who died at Zurich in the year 1665, he thus expresses +himself:--"His extensive talent was checked by the freaks of an +ungovernable fancy, which seldom suffered him to finish his work. His +subjects, in general, were battles, towns pillaged, conflagrations, +storms."[72] + +In painting his pictures, Fuseli used indiscriminately the right hand +or the left; but as the latter was more steady, if he were executing +subjects on a small scale, which required more than ordinary neatness of +touch, they were usually performed with the left. And although some of +his small pictures were highly finished, and touched with great +neatness, yet he excelled in those where the figures were of or above +the size of nature. + +The subjects of his pencil were never very popular; because they were +generally drawn from poetic imagery, or from classical authors, which +require a poetic eye and mind in the spectator, or a deep knowledge in +the classics, to appreciate properly. He gloried in never having made +his pencil a pander to the public taste, and that he had lived by +painting what pleased himself, and was content to trust to time for a +correct appreciation of his merits. "For when," as he said, "envy shall +no longer hold the balance, the next century will become just, and the +master impede no more the fame of his works." In going home with him one +evening, in a coach, to Somerset House, after having left Mr. Johnson's +house, Bonnycastle being present, Fuseli put to him the following +question:--"Pray, Bonnycastle, what do you consider the reason that I am +not popular as a painter, in a country which has produced Shakspeare +and Milton?" Bonnycastle answered, "Because the public like familiar +subjects, in which there may be individual beauty with fine colouring." +"Is that their taste?" said Fuseli hastily: "then, if I am not their +painter, they are not my critics." + +He had a happy method of giving likenesses, from memory, of those +persons whose physiognomic cast of countenance took his fancy; but the +only portraits which he painted regularly from life, were those of Dr. +Priestley, and Mrs. Neunham, a niece of Mr. Johnson's. The portrait of +Dr. Priestley is very characteristic; and Fuseli always felt convinced +that he should have succeeded as a portrait painter, beyond the +expectations of his contemporaries, if he had turned his attention to +that branch of the art. + +It has been considered by some, who mistake style for manner, that +Fuseli was in all respects a mannerist. That his pictures always have a +marked and distinguishing character is true; but if he had a manner, it +was peculiarly his own, and it belongs to no other artist. It must +however, in justice, be confessed, that a sort of family-likeness runs +through many of his figures. But if the pictures which composed his +greatest work, the Milton Gallery, be critically compared, one with the +other, it will be found that, in the invention of them in particular, +few painters have made greater deviations than he has done; no two being +composed or painted upon precisely the same principles. + +As a colourist, Fuseli has never ranked high; for in his works there is +generally nothing of that splendour which captivates us in the Venetian +and Dutch schools, as they usually have the sobriety of tone which is +more peculiar to fresco than to oil-painting; he was not unaware of +this, and expresses himself thus, in one of his lectures on colour:--"Of +this it is not for me to speak, who have courted, and still continue to +court--colour, as a lover courts a disdainful mistress." But if, by the +term colouring, be meant an adaptation of hues and general tone to the +nature of the subject represented, then he may be considered, in the +strictest sense of the word, a colourist. Yet, if we take a wider range, +we shall find many examples in his pictures which must be acknowledged +by every one to possess fine colour: thus, the back figure of a female +(Sin) in "The bridging of Chaos," the child in "The Lapland Witches," +and the figure of Sin in the picture of "Sin pursued by Death," may be +adduced as unanswerable proofs of this fact. + +When the excellence of particular pigments to produce fine colouring has +been the topic of conversation, he has said, "The colours, as now +prepared in England, are sufficently good; it only requires the mind and +eye to adapt, and the hand to regulate them." + +In _chiar'oscuro_, or the art of giving a single figure, or a +composition of figures, their true light and shadow, Fuseli was a +perfect master, and deserves unmixed praise for the breadth of his +masses, and for directing the eye of the spectator to the principal +figures or features in his pictures. In this, perhaps, no master in the +British school has gone beyond him; for in his productions we witness +that union of subject and tone, brought about by a skilful adaptation +and disposition of light and shadow, which we look for in vain in the +works of many other painters. + +As a teacher of the Fine Arts, whether Fuseli be considered in his +capacity of Professor of Painting, or in that of Master in the schools +of the Royal Academy, his knowledge stands unrivalled; in the first, for +critical acumen; and in the second, which now more properly comes under +consideration, for the soundness of his judgment, for the accuracy of +his eye, and for the extensive knowledge which he possessed of the works +of the ancient and modern masters. To the students he was a sure guide +and able master, ever ready to assist by his instructions modest merit, +and to repress assumption; and if he felt convinced that a youth was not +likely to arrive at eminence as an artist, he was the first to persuade +him to relinquish that pursuit, rather than proceed in the path which +would only end in ruin or disappointment. He always held the opinion, +however liable to objection, that there is no such thing in the universe +of mind as + + ----"a flower born to blush unseen, + And waste its sweetness on the desert air;" + +for every man, he considered, would shew what is in him, and do all that +his nature has qualified him to do. To those who presumed upon a talent +which they did not possess, no man was more severe. It was no uncommon +thing with him, if he found in the Antique Academy a young man careless +about the accuracy of his lines, and intent only upon giving a finished +appearance to his drawing, to cut in, with his sharp thumb nail, a +correct outline, and thus spoil, in the opinion of the student, his +elaborate work. That the English school of design gained great +advantages by his appointment of Keeper of the Academy, cannot be +doubted; and, to be convinced of this, it is only necessary to refer to +the able works of living artists, Hilton, Etty, Wilkie, Leslie, +Mulready, Haydon, Briggs, and others, who were his pupils. + +Notwithstanding the variety of his acquisitions, and his profound +knowledge in, and love for, literature, his "ruling passion" was the +Fine Arts; but he never intruded them as the subject of conversation, +unless pressed to do so. He evinced this "ruling passion strong in +death;" for, just before his last illness, he had sent two pictures for +the then ensuing exhibition of the Royal Academy; the larger one, "A +Scene from Comus," finished; the smaller, "Psyche passing the Fates," in +an unfinished state, intending, as is the common practice with the +Academicians, to glaze and harmonize this picture in the situation where +it was to be placed. Its unfinished condition frequently occupied his +thoughts during his illness, and he, but two days before his death, +spoke of it with great solicitude to Sir Thomas Lawrence, wishing it +either to be withdrawn, or that some painter of talents would harmonize +it for him. The last work on which his pencil was employed, and on +which he painted a few days previously to his death, was a scene from +Shakspeare's King John: in this picture, the figure of Lady Constance in +particular, is finely designed, and grief is admirably depicted in her +countenance; he was painting this for James Carrick Moore, Esq., and it +was nearly completed when he died. + +The works of art, and the library, which Fuseli left, were disposed of +as follows:--His drawings and sketches were purchased at a liberal +price, by Sir Thomas Lawrence.[73] The Marquis of Bute, the Countess of +Guilford, and other friends, bought pictures and books, at prices named +by myself, to a considerable amount, and the remaining pictures, and the +sketches in oil, were sold by Mr. Christie, and the prints and books by +Mr. Sotheby. A large collection of beautiful drawings, of entomological +subjects, chiefly by Mr. Abbot, of Georgia, in North America, a small +part of which cost him two hundred guineas, were the only articles +reserved, as no sum was offered which was considered as at all adequate +to the value of these, which had been Fuseli's favourite study and +amusement. + +The following is a list of the pictures and drawings exhibited by Fuseli +at the Royal Academy, from 1774 to the year 1825 inclusive, making a +total of sixty-nine pictures. + + 1774--The Death of Cardinal Beaufort (a drawing). + + 1777--A scene in Macbeth. + + 1780--Ezzelin Bracciaferro musing over Meduna, slain by him for + disloyalty during his absence in the Holy Land.--Satan starting + from the touch of Ithuriel's lance.--Jason appearing before + Pelias, to whom the sight of a man with a single sandal had been + predicted fatal. + + 1781--Dido, "Illa graves oculos, &c." (AEneid 4.)--Queen + Katherine's Vision. (Vide Shakspeare's Henry VIII. Act 5.)--A + Conversation. + + 1782--The Nightmare. + + 1783--The Weird Sisters--Perceval delivering Balisane from the + enchantment of Urma. (Vide Tale of Thyot.)--Lady Constance, + Arthur, and Salisbury. (Vide Shakspeare's King John.) + + 1784--Lady Macbeth walking in her sleep.--Oedipus with his + Daughters, receiving the Summons of his Death. (Sophocles.) + + 1785--The Mandrake; a charm. (Vide Ben Jonson's + Witches.)--Prospero. (Vide Tempest.) + + 1786--Francesca and Paolo. (Vide Dante's Inferno.)--The + Shepherd's Dream. (Vide Paradise Lost, Book I. line + 781.)--Oedipus devoting his Son. (Vide Oedipus Coloneus of + Sophocles.) + + 1788--Theseus receiving the clue from Ariadne (a finished + Sketch.) + + 1789--Beatrice. (Vide Much Ado about Nothing.) + + 1790--Wolfram introducing Bertram of Navarre to the place where + he had confined his Wife, with the Skeleton of her Lover. (Vide + Contes de la Reine de Navarre.) + + 1792--Falstaff in the Buck-basket. (Vide Merry Wives of + Windsor.)--Christ disappearing at Emaus. + + 1793--Macbeth; the Cauldron sinking, the Witches vanishing. + (Sketch for a large picture.)--Amoret delivered from the + enchantment of Busirane, by Britomart. (Vide Spenser.) + + 1798--Richard the Third in his Tent, the Night preceding the + Battle of Bosworth, approached and addressed by the Ghosts of + several whom, at different periods of his Protectorship and + Usurpation, he had destroyed. + + 1799--The Cave of Spleen. (Vide Rape of the Lock.) + + 1800--The Bard. (Vide Gray.)--The Descent of Odin (ditto).--The + Fatal Sisters (ditto). + + 1801--Celadon and Amelia. (Vide Thomson's Seasons.) + + 1803--Thetis and Aurora, the Mothers of Achilles and Memnon the + Ethiopian, presenting themselves before the throne of Jupiter, + each to beg the life of her Son, who were proceeding to single + combat. Jupiter decided in favour of Achilles, and Memnon fell. + (Vide AEschylus.) + + 1804--The Rosicrusian Cavern. (Vide Spectator.) + + 1805--The Corinthian Maid. + + 1806--Count Ugolino, Chief of the Guelphs, of Pisa, locked up by + the opposite party with his four sons, and starved to death in + the Tower which from that event acquired the name of _Torre della + Fame_. (Vide Inferno.)--Milton dictating to his Daughter. + + 1807--Criemhild, the Widow of Sivril, shews to Trony, in prison, + the head of Gunther, his accomplice in the assassination of her + Husband. + + 1808--Cardinal Beaufort terrified by the supposed Apparition of + Gloucester. (Vide Henry VI. Part 2d, Act 3rd, Scene 3.) + + 1809--Romeo contemplating Juliet in the Monument. (Vide + Shakspeare's Romeo and Juliet.)--The encounter of Romeo and Paris + in the Monument of the Capulets (ditto). + + 1810--Hercules, to deliver Theseus, assails and Wounds Pluto on + his Throne. (Vide Iliad, Book V. v. 485.) + + 1811--Macbeth consulting the vision of the armed Head. (Vide + Shakspeare's Macbeth.)--Sarpedon slain in battle, carried home by + Sleep and Death. (Iliad, Book XVII. v. 682.)--Richard the Third + starting from the Apparition of those whom he had assassinated. + (Vide Shakspeare.)--Dion seeing a female Spectre overturn his + altars and sweep his hall. (Vide Plutarch's Life of Dion.) + + 1812--Lady Macbeth seizes the daggers (a sketch for a large + picture).--The Witch and the Mandrake. (Vide Ben Jonson.)--Eros + reviving Psyche. (Apuleius.)--Ulysses addressing the Shade of + Ajax in Tartarus. + + 1814--Sigelind, Sifrid's mother, roused by the contest of the + good and evil Genius about her infant son. (Vide Liet der + Nibelunge XI.)--Queen Mab. + + "She gallops night by night through lovers' brains." + + (Vide Romeo and Juliet.)--Criemhild mourning over Sifrid. (Vide + Liet der Nibelungen XVII.) + + 1817--Perseus starting from the cave of the Gorgons. (Hesiod's + Shield of Hercules.)--Theodore in the haunted wood, deterred + from rescuing a female chased by an infernal Knight. (Vide + Boccaccio's Decameron.)--Criemhild throwing herself on the body + of Sivril, assassinated by Trony, (Das Nibelungen Lied.)--Sivril, + secretly married to Criemhild, surprised by Trony on his first + interview with her after the victory over the Saxons (ditto). + + 1818--Dante, in his descent to Hell, discovers amidst the flight + of hapless lovers whirled about in a hurricane, the forms of + Paolo and Franscesca of Rimini. (Vide Inferno, Canto 5.)--A scene + of the Deluge. + + 1820--An Incantation. (See the Pharmaceutria of + Theocrites.)--Criemhild, the Widow of Siegfried the Swift, + exposes his body, assisted by Sigmond her father, King of + Belgium; in the minster at Worms, and swearing to his + assassination, challenges Hagen, Lord of Trony, and Gunther, King + of Burgundy, his brother, to approach the corpse, and on the + wounds beginning to flow, charges them with the murder. (Lied der + Nibelungen, Adventure 17. 4085, &c.)--Ariadne, Theseus, and the + Minotaur in the Labyrinth. (Vide Virgil, AEn. 6.) + + 1821--Amphiaraus, a chief of the Argolic league against Thebes, + endowed with prescience, to avoid his fate, withdrew to a secret + place known only to Eriphyle his wife, which she, seduced by the + presents of Polynices, disclosed: thus betrayed, he, on + departing, commanded Alcmaeon his son, on being informed of his + death, to destroy his mother. Eriphyle fell by the hand of her + son, who fled, pursued by the Furies.--Jealousy (a + sketch).--Prometheus delivered by Hercules (a drawing). + + 1823--The Dawn, + + "Under the opening eye-lids of the morn: + What time the gray-fly winds his sultry horn." + Vide Milton's Lycidas. + + 1824--Amoret delivered by Britomart from the spell of Busyrane. + (Vide Fairy Queen.) + + 1825--Comus. (Vide Milton.)--Psyche. + +Such were the labours of Fuseli, for exhibition at the Royal Academy of +Arts; but these are only a small part of the pictures executed by him, +during a long and arduous life,--works which will shew to posterity the +energies of his mind, the richness of his invention, and the profundity +of his knowledge. + + + + +APPENDIX. + + +The following article upon the character of Fuseli, as an artist, is +from the pen of William Young Ottley, Esq. F.S.A. + + "A very slight comparison of the works of Sir Joshua Reynolds with + the portraits habitually produced by the painters of this country + during the first half of the last century, and whose merits, for + the most part, as pictures, now fit them only for the housekeeper's + room or the garret, will suffice to establish his claim as a + restorer of art and a reformer of public taste. Somewhat later, Mr. + West produced his 'Death of Wolfe,' and some other pictures + representing subjects of our national history, which much surpassed + what had before been done among us in that way; and in landscape, + we had the now justly admired Wilson. + + "In the highest department of painting however, which not + improperly may be termed poetic or epic painting, we had still no + artist of any eminence; when in the year 1779, Mr. Fuseli, after a + stay of eight years in Italy, came and settled among us. Of + Mortimer, who had shortly before died young, great expectations, it + is true, had been formed; and we had then also Cipriani, a + Florentine, who, in his way an excellent draughtsman, long + continued uninterruptedly to furnish our portfolios with pretty + designs of sporting Nymphs, Cupids, and Graces. But the former, + although conversant with the human figure, was too easily led to + imitate the deformed and squalid in nature, and was deficient in + greatness of style; and the genius of the latter wanted the nerve + requisite to fit him for subjects requiring force and expression. + + "The genius of Mr. Fuseli was of a very different class. An + intimate acquaintance with the learned languages had early enabled + him to fill his mind from the rich storehouses of ancient poesy; he + was all energy and imagination. But in his youth, not then + intending to practise painting professionally, he had not subjected + himself, as an artist, to the restraints of an academic education. + To curb his genius afterwards was impossible; and to this + circumstance we must attribute much of that fine wildness of + character which distinguishes his performances; not unmixed, it is + true, with a certain exaggeration of manner in the drawing and + action of the figures, but which still no person of fancy would + consent to exchange for the regulated but cold manner too often + learned in schools. Had it been the intention of Mr. Fuseli to + devote his pencil to the representation of subjects of real, sober + history, the every-day occurrences of life, this peculiarity in his + style, often amounting to extravagance, would have been + inapplicable. But it has ever been his aim, especially in his + larger works, to soar in the sublime regions of Poetry; and what, + it may be asked, is Poetry, if entirely divested of amplification? + + "A style founded upon ordinary nature, such as we see every day, is + certainly ill-fitted to subjects of the above elevated description; + and should it be objected, as a consequence of this fact, that such + subjects are therefore not the proper subjects for painting at all, + may it not be asked, what is then to be said of many of the + greatest works of Michelangiolo, of several of those of Raffaelle, + of the admired performances of Giulio Romano at Mantua, and of many + of the most extensive compositions even of Rubens? Nor can it be + insisted that such cases are not in point, inasmuch as those + artists did not use the same exaggeration of style in their naked + figures as we see in those of Mr. Fuseli: for, although they did + not exaggerate in the same manner, yet they all did exaggerate; + Michelangiolo, by giving to his figures that immensity of + character, which has occasioned them to be appropriately styled 'a + race of giants;' Raffaelle and Giulio, amongst other things, by + encreasing in thickness the limbs of their figures beyond what + nature will commonly be found to justify; and Rubens, by a mixed + augmentation of muscle and obesity, which, were his figures alive, + might, perhaps, be found to have given them, in most cases, the + appearance of encreased strength, without the reality: to say + nothing of Parmigiano, whose works, though deservedly esteemed, + often display, in the outlines and proportions of the figures, a + far greater degree of extravagance than can generally be detected + in those of the respected Professor of Painting to our Royal + Academy.[74] But enough has been said to shew that the greatest + artists have not thought that a style of drawing strictly imitative + of common nature, was well adapted to subjects of an ideal + character. It may be proper that we should now add a few words upon + the style of Mr. Fuseli in particular. + + "It is well known that the human figure, trained and disciplined by + gymnastic exercises, presents to the eye an appearance very + different from that which we perceive in the bodies of persons of + inert habits accidentally seen naked, or stripped for the purpose + of being drawn from. The frequent opportunities of viewing the + human figure naked, which were afforded to the ancient Greek + artists, by the public games and festivals used among them, could + not fail to render this familiar to them; and accordingly, besides + the correctness of proportion which we admire in their works, we + find in their statues the nicest distinctions of this kind, exactly + suited to the age, dignity, and habits of life of the different + personages they were intended to represent. To their figures of + Gods and Heroes, it is well known they were accustomed to give + proportions more or less differing from those which they commonly + adopted when representing the figures of ordinary men; and this + variation from any thing like a common standard is especially + observable in the celebrated colossal statue upon Monte Cavallo, of + the sublime excellence of which all men may now form a judgment + from the bronze cast of it lately erected in one of our parks: + for, besides that the arch formed under the breast by the ribs, and + the divisions of the abdominal muscles are more strongly marked in + that statue than in almost all others, the lower limbs bear to the + rest of the figure a greater proportionate length than we find in + perhaps any other example of ancient sculpture. A figure like this, + uniting in the fullest manner strength and activity with dignity, + was peculiarly adapted to subjects of an elevated and energetic + character, such as at all times pressed upon the imagination of Mr. + Fuseli; and accordingly he made its proportions the basis of his + style. If it be urged that he too constantly kept to the + proportions of the above model, it may be answered that few or none + of the painters of modern times have shewn a disposition to imitate + the ancients in that nice discrimination of character in their + naked figures, which has been noticed above; and it is well known + that it has been objected, even against Michelangiolo, the greatest + designer of all, that the numerous figures in his stupendous 'Last + Judgment,' however varied in attitude, are all of nearly the same + character of form. The fact is, that Mr. Fuseli's style of design + is of the most elevated kind, and consequently best suited to + subjects of a very elevated character. + + "In respect of invention, composition, clair-obscure, the works of + Mr. Fuseli generally merit unmixed praise; and although in the more + technical parts of colouring, they have not equal pretensions, + still in this also they deserve commendation; being commonly + painted in that solemn tone of colouring which we admire in the + works of the greatest fresco-painters, and which Sir Joshua + Reynolds observes to be so well adapted to the higher kind of + pictorial representation. As an inventor, he equals the greatest + painters that have lived since the restoration of the art. No one + was ever more fully gifted with the rare faculty of at once + discovering, in the writer he is perusing, the point of the story, + and the moment of time, best calculated to produce a forcible + effect in painting. The loftier his subject, the more easily he + reaches it; and when he undertakes that at which another artist + would tremble, he is the most sure of success. The truth of this + was especially made manifest in the year 1799, when Mr. Fuseli + exhibited publicly a large collection of his works, under the title + of 'The Milton Gallery;' the subjects of by far the greater part of + the pictures having been taken by him from the 'Paradise Lost.' The + magnificent imagery of this poem, the beautiful, the sublime, or + the terrific character of the personages represented in it, and of + the actions described, all combined to fit it for the display of + the artist's surprising genius in its fullest force; besides which, + the style of Mr. Fuseli was here exactly suited to his subject. But + although the series, as a whole, was one of the greatest works of + painting ever produced, which (certainly in its kind the most + perfect,) elevating the painter to the same rank as the poet; it + failed, as the poem itself had originally done, to ensure to its + author that immediate share of public favour which was his due, and + which is sure to be attendant upon successful endeavours in those + inferior branches of the art which are more within the range of + public capacity. + + "But the fashion or opinion of the day, in matters of taste, is + not always the judgment of posterity; and it cannot be too much + regretted that the principal pictures of the series, at least, have + not been kept together for the future advantage of our artists, and + the gratification of those whose studies might hereafter qualify + them to appreciate their excellence. For be it remembered, by such + persons as might otherwise be too readily induced to undervalue + that which they do not understand, that Sir Joshua Reynolds became, + in the latter part of his life, 'clearly of opinion that a relish + for the higher excellencies of the art is an acquired taste, which + no man ever possessed without long cultivation, great labour, and + attention.'" + + + VERSES + + TO HENRY FUSELI, ESQ. R.A. + + ON HIS SERIES OF PICTURES FROM THE POETICAL WORKS OF MILTON. + + BY WM. ROSCOE, ESQ. + + Spirit of him who wing'd his daring flight + Towards the pure confines of primaeval light, + Say, whilst this nether world thy powers confin'd, + Weak child of dust, frail offspring of mankind, + Thy station'd barrier this terrestrial mound, + Th' incumbent vault of heaven thine upward bound, + Thy means the common energies of man, + Thy life a shadow, and thy years a span; + How couldst thou, struggling with opposing Fate, + Burst through the limits of this mortal state? + Thence, soaring high, pursue, with stedfast gaze, + The opening wonders of th' empyreal blaze, + Where countless Seraphs pour, in burning zone, + Concentric glories round th' eternal throne? + Or hear, and hearing live, the dread alarms + Of heavenly war, and Cherubim in arms; + See in th' abyss the proud apostate hurl'd, + And rising into light, the infant World? + Fav'rite of Heaven! 'twas thine, on mortal eyes + To pour these visions, rich with rainbow dyes, + Peopling the void of space with forms unseen, + Rising from being to what might have been!-- + Nor he not breathes a portion of thy fire, + Who "bids the pencil answer to the lyre;" + Marks the bright phantoms at their proudest height, + And with determin'd hand arrests their flight; + Bids shadowy forms substantial shape assume, + And heaven's own hues in mortal labours bloom. + For toils like these, whate'er the meed divine, + That glorious meed, my Fuseli, is thine, + Who first to Truth's embodied fulness wrought + The glowing outline of the Poet's thought. + Artist sublime! whose pencil knows to trace + The early wonders of the kindred race! + Not thine to search th' historian's scanty page, + The brief memorial of a fleeting age; + Not thine to call, from Time's surrounding gloom, + High deeds of cultur'd Greece, or conqu'ring Rome; + Not thine, with temporary themes to move, + Of Hope, Aversion, Pity, Rage, or Love.-- + Beyond whate'er the Drama's powers can tell, + Beyond the Epic's high, impetuous swell, + Alike by clime and ages unconfined, + Thou strik'st the chords that vibrate on mankind; + Op'st the dread scenes that Heaven suspensive eyed, + A world created, or a world destroy'd; + Recall'st the joys of Eden's happier prime, + Whilst life was yet unconscious of a crime, + Whilst Virtue's self could Passion's glow approve, + And Beauty slumber'd in the arms of Love; + Till, dread reverse! on man's devoted race + Th' insidious serpent work'd the dire disgrace. + Then first, whilst Nature shudder'd with affright, + Of Sin and Death was held th' incestuous rite; + Then first, o'er vanquish'd man, began their reign, + The fiends of Woe, the family of Pain: + Disease the poison'd cup of anguish fills, + And opes the Lazar-house of human ills-- + See Frenzy rushes from his burning bed; + See pining Atrophy declines his head; + See mute Despair, that broods on woes unknown, + And Melancholy gaze herself to stone! + Then, pouring forth from Hell's detested bound, + Revenge, and Fraud, and Murder stalk around; + Till opening skies declare th' avenging God, + And Mercy sleeps, whilst Justice waves the rod. + Yet, whilst the bursting deluge from the earth + Sweeps the rebellious brood of giant birth, + One proud survivor rolls his vengeful eyes, + And with last look the living God defies. + But now the waves their silent station keep, + And Vengeance slumbers o'er the mighty deep; + Again, rejoicing o'er the firm fix'd land, + The favour'd Patriarch leads his household band; + With sacred incense bids his altars blaze, + And pours to God the living song of praise. + Thus, as th' immortal Bard his flight explores, + On kindred wing the daring artist soars; + Undazzled shares with him Heaven's brightest glow, + Or penetrates the boundless depths below; + Or on the sloping sun-beam joys to ride, + Or sails amidst the uncreated void; + Imbibes a portion of his sacred flame, + Reflects his genius, and partakes his fame. + + + ODE + + ADDRESSED TO HENRY FUSELI, ESQ. R.A. + ON SEEING ENGRAVINGS FROM HIS DESIGNS, + + BY HENRY KIRKE WHITE. + + Mighty magician! who on Torneo's brow, + When sullen tempests wrap the throne of night, + Art wont to sit and catch the gleam of light, + That shoots athwart the gloom opaque below, + And listen to the distant death-shriek long, + From lonely mariner foundering in the deep, + Which rises slowly up the rocky steep, + While weird sisters weave the horrid song: + Or when along the liquid sky + Serenely chant the orbs on high, + Dost love to sit in musing trance, + And mark the northern meteor's dance; + (While far below the fitful oar + Flings its faint pauses on the steepy shore,) + And list the music of the breeze, + That sweeps by fits the bending seas; + And often bears with sudden swell + The shipwreck'd sailor's funeral knell, + By the spirits sung, who keep + Their night-watch on the treacherous deep, + And guide the wakeful helms-man's eye + To Helice in northern sky, + And there, upon the rock inclined, + With mighty visions fill'st the mind, + Such as bound, in magic spell, + Him[75] who grasp'd the gates of Hell, + And bursting Pluto's dark domain, + Held to the day the terrors of his reign. + + Genius of horror and romantic awe, + Whose eye explores the secrets of the deep, + Whose power can bid the rebel fluids creep, + Can force the inmost soul to own its law; + Who shall now, sublimest spirit, + Who shall now thy wand inherit, + From him,[76] thy darling child, who best + Thy shuddering images express'd? + Sullen of soul, and stern, and proud, + His gloomy spirit spurn'd the crowd; + And now he lays his aching head + In the dark mansion of the silent dead. + + Mighty magician! long thy wand has lain + Buried beneath the unfathomable deep; + And, oh! for ever must its efforts sleep, + May none the mystic sceptre e'er regain? + Oh, yes, 'tis his!--thy other son; + He throws thy dark-wrought tunic on, + Fuesslin waves thy wand,--again they rise, + Again thy wildering forms salute our ravish'd eyes; + Him didst thou cradle on the dizzy steep, + Where round his head the volley'd lightnings flung, + And the loud winds that round his pillow rung, + Woo'd the stern infant to the arms of Sleep, + Or on the highest top of Teneriffe + Seated the fearless boy, and bade him look + Where far below the weather-beaten skiff + On the gulf-bottom of the ocean strook. + Thou mark'dst him drink with ruthless ear + The death-sob, and, disdaining rest, + Thou saw'st how danger fired his breast, + And in his young hand couch'd the visionary spear. + Then, Superstition, at thy call, + She bore the boy to Odin's Hall, + And set before his awe-struck sight + The savage feast and spectred fight; + And summon'd from the mountain tomb + The ghastly warrior son of gloom, + His fabled Runic rhymes to sing, + While fierce Hresvelger flapp'd his wing; + Thou show'dst the trains the shepherd sees, + Laid on the stormy Hebrides, + Which on the mists of evening gleam, + Or crowd the foaming desert stream; + Lastly, her storied hand she waves, + And lays him in Florentian caves; + There milder fables, lovelier themes + Enwrap his soul in heavenly dreams; + There Pity's lute arrests his ear, + And draws the half-reluctant tear; + And now at noon of night he roves + Along th' embowering moon-light groves, + And as from many a cavern'd dell + The hollow wind is heard to swell, + He thinks some troubled spirit sighs; + And as upon the turf he lies, + Where sleeps the silent beam of night, + He sees below the gliding sprite, + And hears in Fancy's organs sound + Aerial music warbling round. + + Taste lastly comes, and smooths the whole, + And breathes her polish o'er his soul; + Glowing with wild, yet chasten'd heat, + The wonderous work is now complete. + + The Poet dreams:--the shadow flies, + And fainting fast its image dies. + But lo! the Painter's magic force + Arrests the phantom's fleeting course; + It lives--it lives--the canvass glows, + And tenfold vigour o'er it flows. + The Bard beholds the work achieved, + And as he sees the shadow rise, + Sublime before his wondering eyes, + Starts at the image his own mind conceived. + + H. K. White. + + + * * * * * + + +The following verses were sent to me anonymously, by the post; as they +shew the author to be well acquainted with the works of Mr. Fuseli, I +trust the reader will think with me, there needs no apology for +inserting them in this place. It is conjectured that they are from the +pen of a young lady, who is alike distinguished for personal attractions +and amiability, as for her taste and knowledge; the daughter of a +gentleman who has been frequently mentioned in this Memoir. + + + A VISION. + + Last night I sunk to sleep's soft power resign'd, + When wizard Fancy's wand, before my mind, + Conjur'd in dreams a visionary shew, + That seem'd with vivid Truth's warm tints to glow. + By young Favonius' fragrant pinions fann'd, 5 + Amidst Elysian groves I seem'd to stand; + Here, when th' immortal spirit quits its clay, + The sons of Genius dwell in endless day: + Not they who empires founded, or o'erthrew, + Who conquer'd worlds, or who discover'd new; 10 + Not Philip's headlong son, not Scipio's foe, + Nor Julius, guilty of his country's woe; + In these fair fields the scourges of mankind + Reap'd not the meed to virtuous fame assign'd. + Here Music sweeps her lyre; her heav'nly lay 15 + The Passions hear, enraptur'd, and obey: + Here dwells th' immortal Virgin Poesy, + A noble wildness flashing in her eye; + Inspired Bards around the Goddess throng, + And catch the accents flowing from her tongue. 20 + Entranced, whilst gazing on the blissful scene, + I mark'd a Deity of matchless mien, + Her port majestic, in each motion grace, + Fairer she shone than nymphs of mortal race: + I recognis'd the Sov'reign of that art, 25 + Which through the eye finds entrance to the heart; + Plac'd on an eminence, she sat alone, + Below her vot'ries press'd around her throne. + Great Vinci first, with greater Angelo, + Sublime expression frowning on his brow, 30 + Led on the daring Tuscan band severe: + Next Raphael with calm dignity drew near, + Who join'd to grand conception just design, + Conducting the majestic Roman line; + Then Titian with a gay and brilliant throng, 35 + Sprung from the sea-born city, mov'd along; + Corregio in succession next pass'd by, + Leading the graceful School of Lombardy. + A genius vast, original, and bold, + The numerous band of Holland's sons controll'd; 40 + And with his Flemish train, of pomp profuse, + The gorgeous Rubens dazzled e'en the Muse. + In order due arranged on either hand, + Beside the silent Queen they take their stand; + Before whose throne Helvetia stood, to claim 45 + For an aspiring votary of Fame + Admittance to these realms:--"O Muse," she cried, + "The Master's works contemplate, and decide." + While speaking thus, her wand on high she rear'd, + And lo! a train of pictur'd groups appear'd; 50 + Heroic phantoms seem'd to start from night, + And forms of beauty floated 'fore my sight; + From ages past reflected scenes arose, + Of human passions, and eternal woes. + There I beheld pourtray'd the lofty story 55 + Of Man's first fall, and Satan's tarnish'd glory. + There rose the spectre Prophet from the tomb, + To Saul announcing his impending doom. + Of Ilion's tale a vision seem'd to speak, + And the long wand'rings of the prudent Greek. 60 + There Eriphyle bleeds upon the ground, + While Furies fly t' avenge the impious wound. + In horror plunged, deplor'd Jocasta's son + The fated crimes he strove in vain to shun. + Here stalk'd the shadow of the murder'd Dane; 65 + Appall'd, methought I saw th' astonish'd Thane + Hail'd by each wither'd hag;--From Helle's tide + Th' enamour'd youth rush'd to his Sestian bride. + There, lost to hope, the lovers mourn for ever! + Whom not th' infernal whirlwind's rage can sever. 70 + The traitor Guelph, too, 'midst his famish'd brood, + Expects in Death th' eternal feast of blood. + In knightly guise th' heroic Virgin's arm + Redeems fair Amoret from magic charm: + And Arthur slept; who woke but to deplore 75 + The Beauty lov'd for ever, seen no more. + On the aerial portraiture, amaz'd, + In pleasing wonder lost, intent I gaz'd; + As Sorrow, Guilt, Despair, the scenes express'd, + Awe, Terror, Pity, sway'd by turns my breast; 80 + When, suddenly, I saw the heaven-born Maid + Of sacred numbers, from a neighbouring glade, + 'Midst the great masters of immortal song, + Toward the throne of Painting move along. + Now blind no more Maeonides, and he, 85 + The daring Bard of Man's apostasy, + With buskin'd Sophocles, and lofty Gray, + Spenser, sweet master of the moral lay; + Severely grand, the Florentine sublime, + And Avon's Bard, unmatch'd by age or clime, 90 + All crowd the visionary scenes t' admire, + Pleas'd that such scenes their genius could inspire. + While onward the poetic Virgin press'd, + And her who reign'd o'er Painting, thus address'd:-- + "O Muse! who charmest silently, attend 95 + To Poesy, thy Sister, and thy friend. + No vot'ry of that art o'er which you reign, + The nobler walks could ever yet attain, + Unless I urged him proudly to aspire, + And kindled in his breast poetic fire. 100 + Belgia, without my aid, may tint the scene + With golden hues, and mimic Nature's green; + Immortalize the Peasant and his can, + Without selection, imitating Man; + Or through transparent veins life's tide may gush, 105 + Tinging Venetian canvass with the blush + Of glowing Nature; uninspir'd by me, + The Rose of Merian may deceive the bee; + At Rembrandt's touch the shining robe may flow, + The diamond sparkle, or the ruby glow; 110 + But he whom I inspire disdains such praise; + The soul's emotions, ardent, he displays; + Fearless he wields Invention's magic wand, + Sprites, fays, and spectres rise at his command; + Unveil'd, the Passions at his will appear, 115 + E'en Heavenly essences he dares t' unsphere; + As, from Promethean touch each image glows, + And what the Poet thought the Painter shews. + While 'midst Helvetia's native hills, before + This foster-son of Britain sought her shore, 120 + I mark'd the future promise in the child; + The fire of genius, vigorous, and wild, + Sparkled in infancy, in manhood blaz'd; + You won his youthful fancy, as he gaz'd, + Th' enthusiast strove your favour to attain, 125 + And I propitious, smil'd, and pointed to your Fane. + On Leban's brow the cedar tow'ring high + Boasts not the lowly flow'ret's gaudy dye; + Others may in the humbler parts excel, + But, Queen, did ever artist think so well? 130 + Is not the highest merit of your art, + T' exalt the fancy, and to touch the heart? + Then welcome the poetic Painter, Muse, + Nor to my fav'rite deathless fame refuse!" + She ceased; nor vainly pled the Heavenly fair; 135 + Th' assenting Muse approv'd her sister's prayer: + "Enter these realms," she cried; "th' award be thine, + Amidst the sons of Genius here to shine, + Where Envy's tongue no longer shall prevail: + Hail Fuseli! Immortal artist, hail!" 140 + Resounding acclamations, as she spoke, + Burst on my ear, I started, and awoke. + + + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] Those who may be curious to see Fuseli's early style in German, may +consult the Life of Chevalier Hudlinger, in the preface to the +translation of "Mengs' thoughts on Beauty;" and also a letter "from +Switzerland to Winkelmann;" both of which were written by him without +alteration, although they bear his father's signature. + +[2] At this time, Roesel's "Insects' Banquet" was his favourite study. + +[3] The public are indebted for many of the particulars of Fuseli's +early life to this gentleman, who died in 1816, and was a canon of +Zurich. + +[4] Fuseli ever considered Richardson a man of great genius, and one who +had a key to the human heart, and was very indignant, in the latter +period of his life, with a gentleman who spoke contemptuously of +Clarissa Harlowe. This person said in his presence, "No one now reads +the works of Richardson." "Do they not?" said Fuseli, "then by G----d +they ought. If people are now tired of old novels, I should be glad to +know your criterion of books. If Richardson is old, Homer is obsolete. +Clarissa, to me, is pathetic--is exquisite; I never read it without +crying like a child." + +[5] "The Frank Intelligencer." + +[6] The late Mr. Henry Fueessli, of Zurich, from whom the writer has +received much information. Just as this Memoir was completed, this +gentleman closed his mortal career. He died on the 1st of May, 1829, in +his seventy-fifth year. Mr. Fueessli was a landscape painter, and held +the honourable situation of President of the Society of Artists at +Zurich. He had been labouring for some years under occasional attacks of +asthma, and died therefrom much regretted. + +[7] Mrs. Fuseli died at Zurich, 11 April, 1759, aged 44 years. She was a +woman of a most amiable disposition, and respected by all who knew her. + +[8] "Do but the seventh part of what thou canst." + +[9] This charter, however, was never granted; the artists received the +patronage of the King, and were by his command associated under the +title of "The Royal Academy." Among its early members we find the names +of Sir Joshua Reynolds, Gainsborough, and Wilson, who for talent in the +several departments of the art in which they practised, have rendered +their names immortal. + +[10] Fuseli wrote in pencil, under this figure, "Fuseli amor mio."--Mr. +Ottley saw this still remaining in the year 1792, when he was at +Bologna, and added "anche amor mio."--W. Y. Ottley. + +[11] This was a satirical drawing of the Painters in England at that +time. + +[12] Doctor Armstrong died in September 1779. + +[13] Mr. Fueessli died at Zurich the 6th of May, 1781. + +[14] I beg here to acknowledge my gratitude to Mr. Roscoe for having +allowed me to peruse the letters which he had received from Fuseli +during a period of more than forty years, from which I have gleaned much +useful information, and have only to regret, I am sure, in common with +every reader of this memoir, that he did not accede to my wishes of +being the biographer of his friend. + +[15] The omissions in this and the succeeding letter, where asterisks +are placed, relate only to the names of subscribers to the translation +of Homer. + +[16] Samuel Johnson. + +[17] Andrasi pygmaioisi phonon kai kera pherousai; + Iliad, iii. v. 6. + +[18] Ton auth' Hyrtakides erch' Asios, orchamos andron + Asios Hyrtakides.---- + Iliad, ii. v. 837-8. + +[19] Iliad, v. v. 722-31. + +[20] Iliad, xi. v. 15, seq. Conf. Iliad, ii. v. 42, seq. + +[21] Iliad, xiv. v. 170, seq. + +[22] Iliad, xviii. v. 478-607. + +[23] Iliad, iv. v. 105-111. + +[24] Iliad, ii. v. 101-8. + +[25] Clarke, who has preserved this name in his marginal version, +contends strenuously, and with great reason, that Outis ought not to be +translated; and in a passage which he quotes from the _Acta Eruditorum_, +we see much fault found with Giphanius and other interpreters of Homer, +for having translated it. It is certain that, in Homer, the word is +declined, not as outis -tinos, which signifies no man, but as +outis -tidos, making outin in the accusative, consequently, as a proper +name. It is sufficient that the ambiguity was such as to deceive the +friends of the Cyclops. Outis is said by some (perhaps absurdly) to have +been a name given to Ulysses, on account of his having larger ears than +common. + +[26] 'Outis as a _name_, could only denote him who bore it; but as a +_noun_, it signifies, _no man_, which accounts sufficiently for the +ludicrous mistake of his brethren.' + +[27] _Vos_, the admirable translator of the Odyss. in German hexameters, +well aware that the question here lay not between grammar and licence, +puerility of conceit, or dignity of fiction, but between sense and +nonsense, without deigning to notice the contest of commentators, has +rendered outis, by "Niemand," in the first instance, and afterwards +varies it with "Keiner." + + "Niemand ist mein Name; denn Niemand nennen mich alle. + + * * * * * + + Niemand wuergt mich, ihr Freund', arglistig! und Keiner gewaltsam! + Wenn dir denn keiner gewalt anthut."-- + +[28] The first, in PYTH. A. v. 28. + gan te kai ponton kat' amaimaketon + +The second, in PYTH. R. v. 57-8. + Pempse kasignetan menei? + Thuoisan amaimaketo; + +where the scholiast explains it by akatamachetos, and the notes deduce it +from a compound of the A epitatike and maimao: a derivation more +probable than that of our translator from hama, and the Doric makos; +unless we suppose that Homer made use for his substantives, of the +Ionic, and for his compound adjectives, of the Doric dialects! + +[29] Plin. L. xxxiii. c. 4. 'Electro auctoritas, Homero teste qui +Menelai regiam, auro, electro, argento, ebore fulgere tradit.' Helen, he +continues, consecrated a cup of electrum at Lindos, 'mammae suae mensura,' +and adds, 'electri natura ad lucernarum lumina clarius argento +splendere.' + +[30] Ten de met' Alkmenen IDON----Kai Megaren (_sc._ IDON) kreiontos +hyperthymoio thygatra Ten echen Amphitryonos hyios.---- + +[31] Bayle is mistaken in supposing that the marriage of Lorenzo took +place in 1471. Speaking of Machiavelli, he says, Il ne marque pas +l'annee de ce mariage, ce qui est un grand defaut dans un ecrivain +d'histoire; mais on peut recueillir de sa narration que ce fut l'an +1471. _Dict. Hist. art. Politien._ In correcting Bayle, Menckenius falls +into a greater error, and places this event in 1472. _Menk. in vita +Pol._ p. 48. + +[32] 'How grateful to our sensations, how distinct to our imagination +appear the + + "Speluncae, vivique lacus, ac frigida Tempe, + Mugitusque boum, mollesque sub arbore somni." + +[33] 'Published for the first time at the close of the present work.' + +[34] If Virgil has given us a highly-finished personification of Rumour, +if Horace speaks of his _atra Cura_, if Lucretius present us with an +awful picture of Superstition, their portraits are so vague as scarcely +to communicate any discriminate idea, and are characterized by their +operation and effects, rather than by their poetical insignia. Of the +ancient Roman authors, perhaps there is no one that abounds in these +personifications more than the tragedian Seneca; yet what idea do we +form of Labour, when we are told that + + "Labor exoritur durus, et omnes + Agitat curas, aperitque domos:" + +'Or, of Hope or Fear, from the following passage: + + "Turbine magni, spes solicitae + Urbibus errant, trepidique metus." + +'The personification of Hope, by Tibullus, (Lib. II. Eleg. 6.) is +scarcely worthy of that charming author; and if he has been happier in +his description of Sleep, (Lib. I. Eleg. 1.) it is still liable to the +objections before mentioned.' + +[35] 'It is commonly understood that the idea of a systematic +arrangement, for securing to states, within the same sphere of political +action, the possession of their respective territories, and the +continuance of existing rights, is of modern origin, having arisen among +the Italian States, in the fifteenth century. _Robertson's Hist. of Ch. +V._ v. i. sec. 2.--But Mr. Hume has attempted to shew that this system, +if not theoretically understood, was at least practically adopted by the +ancient states of Greece, and the neighbouring governments. _Essays_, v. +1. _part 2. Essay 7._--In adjusting the extent to which these opinions +may be adopted, there is no great difficulty. Wherever mankind have +formed themselves into societies, (and history affords no instance of +their being found in any other,) the conduct of a tribe, or a nation, +has been marked by a general will: and states, like individuals, have +had their antipathies and predilections, their jealousies, and their +fears. The powerful have endeavoured to oppress the weak, and the weak +have sought refuge from the powerful, in their mutual union. +Notwithstanding the great degree of civilization that obtained among the +Grecian States, their political conduct seems to have been directed upon +no higher principle: conquests were pursued as opportunity offered, and +precautions for safety were delayed till the hour of danger arrived. The +preponderating mass of the Roman Republic attracted into it's vortex +whatever was opposed to it's influence: and the violent commotions of +the middle ages, by which that immense body was again broken into new +forms, and impelled in vague and eccentric directions, postponed to a +late period the possibility of regulated action. The transactions in +Italy, during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, bear indeed a +strong resemblance to those which took place among the Grecian States: +but it was not till nearly the close of the latter century that a system +of general security and pacification was clearly developed, and +precautions taken for insuring its continuance. Simple as this idea may +now appear, yet it must be considered, that, before the adoption of it, +the minds of men, and consequently the maxims of states, must have +undergone an important change: views of aggrandizement were to be +repressed; war was to be prosecuted, not for the purpose of conquest, +but of security; and, above all, an eye was to be found that could +discern, and a mind that could comprehend, so extended an object.' + +[36] 'Objects of horror and disgust, the cold detail of deliberate +barbarity, can never be proper subjects of art, because they exclude the +efforts of genius. Even the powers of Shakspeare are annihilated in the +butcheries of Titus Andronicus. Yet the reputation of some of the most +celebrated Italian painters has been principally founded on this kind of +representation. "Ici," says M. Tenhove, "c'est S. Etienne qu'on lapide, +et dont je crains que la cervelle ne rejaillisse sur moi; plus loin, +c'est S. Barthelemi tout sanglant, tout ecorche; je compte ses muscles +et ses nerfs. Vingt fleches ont crible Sebastien. L'horrible tete du +Baptiste est dans ce plat. Le gril de S. Laurent sert de pendant a la +chaudiere de S. Jean. Je recule d'horreur."--_Mem. Gen. lib._ x. May it +not be doubted whether spectacles of this kind, so frequent in places +devoted to religious purposes, may not have had a tendency rather to +keep alive a spirit of ferocity and resentment, than to inculcate those +mild and benevolent principles in which the essence of religion +consists?' + +[37] Our author has given ample opportunities to Mr. Tenhove, a Dutch +writer on nearly the same subject with his own, to display a disparity +of manner singularly contrasting with his own sober and authentic page. +Mr. T. is apparently a wit and a man of feeling, but at all times ready +to sacrifice matter to whim, or to substitute assertion for proof: thus, +in talking of the celebrated cameo representing the punishment of +Marsyas, once the property of Lorenzo, he tells us, that of old it +belonged to Nero, who used it as the seal of his death-warrants, and who +probably assumed the attitude of the Apollo engraved on it, whilst he +assisted at the flogging of one Menedemus, a singer who had excited his +jealousy; a tale partly invented, partly perverted from Suetonius, who +tells something similar of Caligula and Apelles. In another place, (p. +178, note b.) after ridiculing with somewhat prolix propriety the +Florentine custom of substituting, even in grave writing, the nicknames +of their countrymen to their real ones, he adds, that it is a custom +laughed at and disapproved by the rest of Italian writers, though +undoubtedly he had read of Cola di Rienzi, Massaniello, Titta Borghese, +Giorgione, Il Tintoretto, Fra Bastiano, and Titian himself. "Pauperis +esset numerare pecus." + +[38] Giorgio Vasari and Ascanio Condivi. Our author, though a patient +admirer of the first, is offended at the "insufferable minuteness" of +the second. It would be unfair to consider Condivi as the literary +competitor of Vasari, yet great respect is to be paid to a narrative +composed under the immediate eye of Michaelagnolo himself. His "Otto +scudi al mese poco piu o meno," whether they reflect much or little +honour on the liberality of Lorenzo, have at least a right to rank with +the "quattro mazzi, che erano quaranti libbre da candele di sego," +which, the knight of Arezzo informs us, he sent as a present to +Michaelagnolo. Vasari Vita di M. A. B. tom. vi. p. 328. + +[39] This lady is called Mrs. Wollstonecraft, instead of Mary +Wollstonecraft, throughout this Narrative, in conformity to the memoirs +which have hitherto appeared of her. + +[40] This and subsequent quotations respecting Mrs. Wollstonecraft are +taken from her letters to Fuseli. + +[41] "Memoirs of the Author of a Vindication of the Rights of Woman, by +William Godwin." + +[42] Mrs. Bysshe Shelly. + +[43] Mr. Meyer was a painter of reputation, both in miniature and +enamel. + +[44] La Terribil Via, applied by Agostino Caracci to Michael Angelo. + +[45] This alludes to Mr. Fuseli's proposals for a gallery filled with +pictures painted by him from subjects taken from Milton's Paradise Lost. + +[46] This elegant translation, in verse, was published under the title +of "The Nurse." + +[47] Sir Thomas Lawrence, in a discourse which he delivered as President +of the Royal Academy, on the 10th December 1823, says, in reference to +the Milton Gallery, "the many sublime designs by the great author of +this, whose unapproached invention and high attainments enforce this +tribute to living genius." + +[48] For an elucidation of this passage, refer to Suetonius, edit. +Burmanni, v. 2. p. 171. + +[49] A name which Fuseli gave to a sprained knee. + +[50] This alludes to a contest which occurred on the way to Paris: the +"inquisitive traveller," Mr. Farington, was disposed to sleep at St. +Juste; the rest of the party desired to push on. Mr. Moore, who had the +regulation of the journey, decided the question by ordering out the +horses. + +[51] Fuseli made this observation not only in reference to the +physiognomic cast of David's countenance, but his face was also +disfigured by a hare-lip. + +[52] The writer of this saw the picture in the year 1779, and made +observations on the spot. + +[53] In my Lectures. + +[54] The British Institution was opened for the first exhibition, on the +18th of January, 1806. + +[55] A name by which he generally designated the amiable and ingenious +Tiberius Cavallo, a gentleman well known for his numerous and able works +on Natural Philosophy, who was also on a visit to Mr. Rackett at this +time: at whose hospitable house he usually passed three or four of the +summer months. + +[56] Mr. Johnson made Cowper a present of one thousand pounds over and +above their agreement. + +[57] The passage is thus translated by Franklin:-- + + -----"A dreadful clap + Of thunder shook the ground; the virgins trembled, + And clinging fearful round their father's knees, + Beat their sad breasts and wept." + Sophocles Oedipus Coloneus, Act. 5, Scene 1. + +[58] Professor Bonnycastle was born at Aylesbury, in Buckinghamshire, in +January 1752, and died at Woolwich, 15th of May, 1821. + +[59] While these pages were passing through the press, Europe and the +fine arts have been bereaved of the splendid talents of Sir Thomas +Lawrence. This gentleman died, after an illness of a few days +continuance, on the 7th of January, 1830, in the sixty-first year of his +age. + +Shortly after Sir Thomas's arrival in London, Fuseli saw "the future +promise" in the youth, and was therefore gratified in making remarks +upon his portraits for his improvement. This kind notice, from a man +whom Sir Thomas held in the highest esteem for talents and various +acquirements, made a deep impression on his mind: he sought an intimacy +with him, which, upon more mature knowledge of the individual, ripened +into the closest friendship. The world is now deprived of these two +great artists, and there can be no other than feelings of deep regret +for their loss. These, however, with regard to myself, are not unmingled +with those of satisfaction, when I consider the many happy hours passed +in their society, and that this pleasure was enjoyed for more than +twenty years. + +At the death of Mr. West, in the year 1820, Fuseli was among the most +forward of the Academicians to propose that his friend, Sir Thomas, who +was then on the Continent of Europe, should fill the chair. This honour +he felt due to him, not only for his unrivalled powers as a portrait +painter, but for the elegance of his mind and the urbanity of his +manners. Few men had so pleasing an address; and fewer the happy method +of making this acceptable to the particular persons with whom he +conversed. + +Although Sir Thomas Lawrence was not, in the usual acceptation of the +word, a scholar, being unskilled in the dead languages; yet he was well +versed in English literature, had a fine taste for poetry, and I have +heard him recite some lines of his own composition, (full of merit) with +great taste, feeling, and judgment. + +Sir Thomas is known to the public chiefly as a portrait painter,--the +only lucrative branch of the art in England. In this, his style was +truly English. In the countenances of his men we see faithful +likenesses; sometimes certainly given with some degree of flattery; but +he was always the more intent in shewing "the mind's construction in the +face." In his portraits of heroes there is always dignity; in those of +statesmen, depth of thought, with firmness of character. In the +delineation of females, in which he chiefly shone, beauty and delicacy +were combined with great taste of attitudes, and which was heightened by +the elegance and disposition of their drapery. His backgrounds were +always appropriate to the portraits; and when his pencil was employed on +large pictures, these were introduced with great taste and power. + +The drawings of the human face in black lead pencil, frequently +heightened with a little colour, which he sometimes made to present to +his friends, exceed all praise, for truth, delicacy, and fine finish. + +Had public encouragement gone hand in hand with the powers of the man, +we should, no doubt, have possessed some fine epic and dramatic subjects +from his pencil. As a proof of this, I may again be permitted to advert +to the sublime picture of "Satan calling up his Legions," which was +purchased by the late Duke of Norfolk, and came again into the +possession of Sir Thomas, when his Grace's effects were sold: here we +see an epic subject of the highest class treated with invention, great +power of drawing, and brilliancy of colouring. This, with "Homer +reciting his Verses to the Greeks," are the only historical pictures +from his pencil that I am acquainted with, and perhaps the only ones +known. In this advanced stage of my work, I may be excused for giving +only a brief sketch of my friend, whose loss every admirer of the fine +arts in Europe deeply deplores;--a man whose name will go down to +posterity coupled with those of the great masters who have preceded him +in the pictorial art; and as the present high appreciation of his merits +does not rest upon adventitious circumstances, time will rather add to +than detract from his fame. + +[60] In this particular, the writer is in error, as Dr. Holland was kind +enough to give his gratuitous attendance, at the earnest request of Sir +Thomas Lawrence. + +[61] The passage is as follows:-- + + "Olim quod vulpes aegroto cauta leoni + Respondit, referam: quia me vestigia terrent + Omnia te adversum spectantia, nulla retrorsum." + Horatii Flacci Epistolarum, 1. i. + +It is thus imitated by Pope:-- + + "Faith I shall give the answer Reynard gave; + I cannot like, dread Sir, your royal cave; + _Because I see, by all the tracks about, + Full many a beast goes in, but none comes out_." + +[62] Among the more recent acquaintances of Fuseli, there was no one for +whom he entertained a higher regard than for Mr. Samuel Cartwright; he +has said to me, "Cartwright is a friendly, liberal man, and has the mind +of a gentleman." + +[63] At this time, his age could not be accurately ascertained: he was +in his eighty-fifth year, having completed his eighty-fourth on the 7th +of February preceding his death. + +[64] At this time, his age could not be accurately ascertained: he was +in his eighty-fifth year, having completed his eighty-fourth on the 7th +of February preceding his death. + +[65] Fuseli made this remark in reference to the capital employed, and +the encouragement given to the Slave Trade by some of the merchants of +Liverpool, and the consequent wealth which was derived by many from this +traffic. Every one who is acquainted with the parliamentary history of +this country knows the arduous struggle made for its abolition, and the +part which Mr. Roscoe took, when member of parliament for Liverpool, to +effect this measure. In these efforts he was cordially joined by many of +his intelligent and liberal townsmen. + +[66] This and other remarks on the pictures of Sir Joshua Reynolds, were +written at Hastings, in the year 1813, shortly after the first +exhibition of Sir Joshua's works at the British Institution, and sent +thence by Fuseli in letters to Sir Thomas Lawrence. + +[67] The passage is thus rendered by Cowper: + + "My temper, Sir, inclines not me t' extol + Or to depreciate much, or much admire,-- + Full well I recollect thee as thou wert." + +[68] First part of Shakspeare's "King Henry the Fourth," Act 3rd. + +[69] These statues, which have been named Castor and Pollux by some, +(and by an absurd anachronism, Alexander, by others,) were considered by +Fuseli to be the work of Phidias, and designed for a monument. He was of +opinion that they are duplicate figures; and the subject, "Achilles +curbing and addressing his steed, and astonished at the answer of his +prophetic courser." + +[70] This picture is lost: his celebrated work of "Sin pursued by +Death," being painted over it. On this canvass there are no less than +three finished pictures. + +[71] Darwin. + +[72] See Pilkington's Dictionary, by Fuseli, second edition, page 191. + +[73] They are now the property of the Countess of Guilford. + +[74] This character of Fuseli was written a short time previously to his +death. + +[75] Dante. + +[76] Ibid. + + + + +END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. + + + + +LONDON: +PRINTED BY SAMUEL BENTLEY, +Dorset Street, Fleet Street. + + + + + * * * * * + + + + +TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES + + +1. Accents and breathings in the Greek quotations have been left +unchanged (both are included somewhat at random). The one exception is +the rough breathing before Andrasi in footnote 17, which should be a +smooth breathing, and has been corrected. + +2. Obvious typos have been silently corrected. + +3. Alternative spellings have been left unchanged. This includes words +in poetry such as "ravish'd" for "ravished", words sometimes hyphenated, +and the various spellings of painters' names (there are at least four +different spellings of Michelangelo, and three of chiar'oscuro, for +example). + +4. Chapter headings (in chapters II, VIII, XIII and XV) vary slightly +from the wording of the Table of Contents. These variants have been left +unchanged, with one exception: the date 1703 in the heading for Chapter +II has been corrected to 1763. + +5. Words in italics are marked _like this_. + +6. The position of the apostrophe in Italian quotations varies, but no +changes have been made. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life and Writings of Henry Fuseli, +Volume I (of 3), by John Knowles + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE OF HENRY FUSELI, VOL I *** + +***** This file should be named 38591.txt or 38591.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/8/5/9/38591/ + +Produced by Margo Romberg, Karl Eichwalder and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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