to appear foremost rather than the less for which reason in another passage he vehemently forbids the foreshortinings because they make the parts appear little though of themselves they are great Large or ample c. To avoid the dry manner such as is most commonly the Nature which Lucas van Leyden and Albert Durer have imitated Unequal in their Position so that those which are before must contrast or oppose those others which are himdermost and all of them be equally balanc'd on their Centre c. The Motions are never natural when the Members are not equally balanc'd on their Centre and these Members cannot be balanc'd on their Centre in an equality of weight but they must contrast each other A Man who dances on the Rope makes a manifest Demonstration of this Truth The Body is a weight balanc'd on its Feet as upon two Pivots And though one of the Feet most commonly bears the weight yet we see that the whole weight rests Centrally upon it Insomuch that if for Example one Arms is stretched out it must of necessity be either that the other Arm or the Leg be cast backward or the Body somewhat bow'd on the opposite Side so as to make an Equilibrium and be in a Situation which is unforc'd It may be though seldom if it be not in old Men that the Feet bear equally and for that time half the weight is equally distributed on each Foot You ought to make use of the same Prudence if one Foot bear three parts in four of the Burthen and that the other Foot bore the remaining part This in general is what may be said of the Balance and the Libration of the Body In particular there may many things be said which are very usefull and curious of which you may satisfie your selves in Leonardo da Vinci He has done wonderfully well on that subject and one may truly say that the Ponderation is the best and soundest part of all his Book of Painting It begins at the 181st Chapter and concludes at the 273d I would also advise you to read Paulo Lomazzo in his 6th Book Chapter 4th Del moto del Corpo humano that is the motions of a human Body You will there find many things of great profit for what concerns the Contrast I will onely say in general that nothing gives so much grace and life to Figures See the 43d Precept and what I say upon it in the Remarks The parts must have their out lines in Waves resembling Flames or the gliding of a Snake upon the ground c. The reason of this proceeds from the action of the Muscles which are as so many Well-buckets when one of them acts and draws 't is necessary that the other must obey so that the Muscles which act drawing always towards their principle and those which obey stretching in length and on the side of their insertion it must needs follow that the parts must be design'd in Waves but beware lest in giving this form to the parts you do not break the Bones which sustain them and which always must make them appear firm This Maxim is not altogether so general but that actions may be found where the masses of the Muscles are situate one over against another but this is not very common The out-lines which are in waves give not only a grace to the Parts but also to the whole Body when it is only supported on one Leg. As we see in the Figures of Antinous Meleager the Venus of Medices that of the Vatican the two others of Borghese and that of Flora of the Goddess Vesta the two Bacchus's of Borghese and that of Ludovisio and in fine of the greatest number of the Ancient Figures which are standing and which always rest more upon one Foot than the other Besides that the Figures and their Parts ought almost always to have a serpentine and flaming form naturally these sorts of out-lines have I know not what of life and seeming motion in them which very much resembles the activity of the Flame and of the Serpent According to the knowledge of them which is given us by Anatomy c. This part is nothing known at present amongst our modern Painters I have shewn the profit and even the necessity of it in the Preface of a little Epitome which I have made and which Monsieur Torrebat has Publish'd I know there are some who think this Science a kind of Monster and believe it to be of no Advantage either because they are mean spirited or that they have not consider'd the want which they have of it nor reflected as they ought on its importance contenting themselves with a certain track to which they have been us'd But certain it is that whoever is capable of such a thought will never be capable of becoming a great Designer Design'd after the manner of the Graecians c. that is to say according to the Ancient Statues which for the most part come from Greece Let there be a perfect relation betwixt the parts and the whole c. or let them agree well together which is the same thing His meaning in this place is to speak of the justness of proportions and of the harmony which they make with one another Many famous Authours have thoroughly treated this matter Amongst others Paulo Lomazzo whose first Book speaks of nothing else But there are so many subdivisions that a Reader Must have a good Brain not to be turn'd with them See those which our Author has remark'd in general on the most beautifull Statues of the Ancients I believe them to be so much the better as they are more conformable to those which Vitruvius gives us in the first Chapter of his third Book And which he tells us that he learn'd from the Artists themselves because in the Preface to his Seventh Book he makes his boast to have had them from others and particularly from Architects and Painters The Measures of a Humane Body The Ancients have commonly allow'd eight Heads to their Figures though some of them have but â—â—even But we ordinarily divide the Figure into ten Faces that is to say from the Crown of the Head to the Sole of the Foot in the following manner From the Crown of the Head to the Forehead is the third part of a Face The Face begins at the root of the lowest Hairs which are upon the Forehead and ends at the bottom of the Chin. The Face is divided into three proportionable parts the first contains the Forehead the second the Nose and the third the Mouth and the Chin. From the Chin to the pit betwixt the Collar-bones are two lengths of a Nose From the pit betwixt the Collar-bones to the bottom of the Breast one Face From the bottom of the Breasts to the Navel one Face From the Navel to the Genitories one Face From the Genitories to the upper part of the Knee two Faces The Knee
not properly speaking a part of the main Action But Virgil concludes with the death of Turnus sor after that difficulty was remov'd Aeneas might marry and establish the Trojans when he pleas'd This Rule I had before my Eyes in the conclusion of the Spanish Fryar when the discovery was made that the King was living which was the knot of the Play unty'd the rest is shut up in the compass of some few lines because nothing then hinder'd the Happiness of Torismond and Leonora The faults of that Drama are in the kind of it which is Tragi comedy But it was given to the people and I never writ any thing for my self but Anthony and Cleopatra This Remark I must acknowledge is not so proper for the Colouring as the Design but it will hold for both As the words c. are evidently shown to be the cloathing of the Thought in the same sense as Colours are the cloathing of the Design so the Painter and the Poet ought to judge exactly when the Colouring and Expressions are perfect and then to think their work is truly finish'd Apelles said of Protogenes That he knew not when to give over A work may be over-wrought as well as under-wrought too much Labour often takes away the Spirit by adding to the polishing so that there remains nothing but a dull correctness a piece without any considerable Faults but with few Beauties for when the Spirits are drawn off there is nothing but a caput mortuum Statius never thought an expression could be bold enough and if a bolder could be found he rejected the first Virgil had Judgment enough to know daring was necessary but he knew the difference betwixt a glowing Colour and a glaring as when he compar'd the shocking of the Fleets at Actium to the justling of Islands rent from their Foundations and meeting in the Ocean He knew the comparison was forc'd beyond Nature and rais'd too high he therefore softens the Metaphor with a Credas You would almost believe that Mountains or Islands rush'd against each other Credas innare revulsas Cycladas aut montes concurrere montibus aequos But here I must break off without finishing the Discourse Cynthius aurem vellit admonuit c. the things which are behind are of too nice a consideration for an Essay begun and ended in twelve Mornings and perhaps the Iudges of Painting and Poetry when I tell them how short a time it cost me may make me the same answer which my late Lord Rochester made to one who to commend a Tragedy said it was written in three weeks How the Devil could he be so long about it For that Poem was infamously bad and I doubt this Parallel is little better and then the shortness of the time is so far from being a Commendation that it is scarcely an Excuse But if I have really drawn a Portrait to the Knees or an half length with a tolerable Likeness then I may plead with some Justice for my self that the rest is left to the Imagination Let some better Artist provide himself of a deeper Canvas and taking these hints which I have given set the Figure on its Legs and finish it in the Invention Design and Colouring THE PREFACE OF THE French Author AMong all the beautiful and delightful Arts that of Painting has always found the most Lovers the number of them almost including all Mankind Of whom great multitudes are daily found who value themselves on the knowledge of it either because they keep company with Painters or that they have seen good Pieces or lastly because their Gusto is naturally good Which notwithstanding that Knowledge of theirs if we may so call it is so very superficial and so ill grounded that it is impossible for them to describe in what consists the beauty of those Works which they admire or the faults which are in the greatest part of those which they condemn and truly 't is not hard to find that this proceeds from no other cause than that they are not furnish'd with Rules by which to judge nor have any solid Foundations which are as so many Lights set up to clear their understanding and lead them to an entire and certain knowledge I think it superfluous to prove that this is necessary to the knowledge of Painting 'T is sufficient that Painting be acknowledg'd for an Art for that being granted it follows without dispute that no Arts are without their Precepts I shall satisfy my self with telling you that this little Treatise will furnish you with infallible Rules of judging truly since they are not onely founded upon right Reason but upon the best Pieces of the best Masters which our Author hath carefully examin'd during the space of more than thirty years and on which he has made all the reflections which are necessary to render this Treatise worthy of Posterity which though little in bulk yet contains most judicious Remarks and suffers nothing to escape that is essential to the Subject which it handles If you will please to read it with attention you will find it capable of giving the most nice and delicate sort of Knowledge not onely to the Lovers but even to the Professors of that Art It would be too long to tell you the particular advantages which it has above all the Books which hath appear'd before it in this kind you need onely to read it and that will convince you of this truth All that I will allow my self to say is onely this That there is not a word in it which carries not its weight whereas in all others there are two considerable faults which lie open to the sight viz That saying too much they always say too little I assure my self that the Reader will own 't is a work of general profit to the Lovers of Painting for their instruction how to judge exactly and with Knowledge of the Cause which they are to judge And to the Painters themselves by removing their difficulties that they may work with pleasure because they may be in some manner certain that their Productions are good 'T is to be used like Spirits and precious Liquours the less you drink of it at a time 't is with the greater pleasure read it often and but little at once that you may digest it better and dwell particularly on those passages which you find mark'd with an Asterism* For the observations which follow such a Note will give you a clearer Light on the matter which is there treated You will find them by the Numbers which are on the side of the Translation from five to five Veres by searching for the like Number in the Remarks which are at the end of it and which are distinguish'd from each other by this note ¶ You will find in the latter Pages of this Book the Judgment of the Author on those Painters who have acquir'd the greatest Reputation in the World Amongst whom he was not willing to comprehend those who are now
which are comprehended under the name of the belle lettere In my opinion the Books which are of the most advantage to those of the Profession are these which follow The Bible The History of Iosephus The Roman History of Coeffeteau for those who understand the French and that of Titus Livius translated by Vigenere with the Notes which are both curious and profitable They are in two Volumes Homer whom Pliny calls the Fountain-head of Invention and noble thoughts Virgil and in him particularly his Aeneids The Ecclesiastical History of Godeau or the Abridgement of Baronius Ovid's Metamorphoses translated into French by Du Rier and in English by Sandys The Pictures of Philostratus Plutarch's Lives translated from the Greek by several hands in 5 Volumes Pausanias though I doubt whether that Author be translated He is wonderfull for giving of great Ideas and chiefly for such as are to be plac'd at a distance or cast behind and for the combining of Figures This Author in conjunction with Homer make a good mingle of what is pleasing and what is perfect The Religion of the Ancient Romans by Du Choul and in English Godwin's Roman Antiquities Trajan's Pillar with the discourse which explains the Figures on it and instructs a Painter in those things with which he is undispensibly to be acquainted This is one of the most principal and most learned Books which we have for the Modes the Customs the Arms and the Religion of the Romans Iulio Romano made his chief studies on the Marble it self The Books of Medals The Bass-Reliefs of Perrier and others with their Explanations at the bottom of the Pages which give a perfect understanding of them Horace's Art of Poetry by the Earl of Roscomon because of the relation which there is betwixt the Rules of Poetry and those of Painting And other Books of the like Nature the reading of which are profitable to warm the Imagination such as in English are Spencer's Fairy Queen The Paradise lost of Milton Tasso translated by Fairfax and the History of Polybius by Sir Henry Shere Some Romances also are very capable of entertaining the Genius and of strengthening it by the noble Ideas which they give of things but there is this danger in them that they almost always corrupt the truth of History There are also other Books which a Painter may use upon some particular occasions and onely when he wants them Such are The Mythology of the Gods The Images of the Gods The Iconology The Tables of Hyginus The practical Perspective And some others not here mention'd Thus it is necessary that they who are desirous of a name in Painting should read at leisure times these Books with diligence and make their observations of such things as they find for their purpose in them and of which they believe they may sometime or other have occasion let the Imagination be employ'd in this reading and let them make Sketches and light Touches of those Ideas which that reading forms in their Imagination Quinctilian Tacitus or whoever was the Author of that Dialogue which is call'd in Latine De causis corrupâ—â—ae eloquentiae says That Painting resembles Fiâ—â—e which is â—â—ed by the Fuel inflam'd by Motion and gaâ—â—hers strength by burning For the power of the Genius is onely augmented by the abundance of matter to supply it and 't is impossible to make a great and magnificent work if that matter be wanting or not dispos'd rightly And therefore a Painter who has a Genius gets nothing by long thinking and taking all imaginable care to make a noble Composition if he be not assisted by those studies which I have mention'd All that he can gain by it is onely to weary his Imagination and to travel over many vast Countries without dwelling on any one thing which can give him satisfaction All the Books which I have named may be serviceable to all sorts of Persons as well as to Painters As for those Books which were of particular use to them they were unfortunately lost in those Ages which were before the Invention of Printing Neglecting the Copyers probably out of ignorance to transcribe them as not finding themselves capable of making the demonstrative Figures In the mean time 't is evidently known by the reltaion of Authors that we have lost fifty Volumes of them at the least See Pliny in his 35th Book and Franc. Iunius in his 3d. Chapter of the 2d Book of the Painting of the Ancients Many Moderns have written of it with small success taking a large compass without coming directly to the point and talking much without saying any thing yet some of them have acquitted themselves successfully enough Amongst others Leonardo da Vinci though without method Paulo Lomazzo whose Book is good for the greatest part but whose discourse is too diffusive and very tiresome Iohn Baptist Armenini Franciscus Iunius Monsieur de Cambray to whose Preface I rather invite you than to his Book we are not to forget what Monsieur Felebien has written of the Picture of Alexander by the hand of Monsieur Le Brun besides that the work it self is very eloquent the Foundations which he establishes for the making of a good Picture are wonderfully solid Thus I have given you very near the Library of a Painter and a Catalogue of such Books as he ought either to read himself or have read to him at least if he will not satisfie himself with possessing Painting as the most sordid of all Trades and not as the noblest of all Arts. 'T is the business of a Painter in his choice of Postures c. See here the most important Precept of all those which relate to Painting It belongs properly to a Painter alone and all the rest are borrow'd either from Learning or from Physick or from the Mathematicks or in short from other Arts for it is sufficient to have a natural Wit and Learning to make that which we call in Painting a good Invention for the design we must have some insight into Anatomy to make Buildings and other things in Perspective we must have knowledge in the Mathematicks and other Arts will bring in their Quota's to furnish out the matter of a good Picture but for the Oeconomy or ordering of the whole together none but onely the Painter can understand it because the end of the Artist is pleasingly to deceive the Eyes which he can never accomplish if this part be wanting to him A Picture may make an ill effect though the Invention of it be truly understood the Design of it correct and the Colours of it the most beautifull and fine that can be employ'd in it And on the contrary we may behold other Pictures ill invented ill design'd and painted with the most common Colours which shall make a very good effect and which shall more pleasingly deceive Nothing pleases a man so much as order says Xenophon And Horace in his Art of Poetry Singula quaeque locum teneant
contains half a Face From the lower part of the Knee to the Anckle two Faces From the Anckle to the Sole of the Foot half a Face A Man when his Arms are stretch'd out is from the longest Finger of his Right hand to the longest of his left as broad as he is long From one side of the Breasts to the other two Faces The bone of the Arm call'd Humerus is the length of two Faces from the Shoulder to the Elbow From the end of the Elbow to the root of the little Finger the bone call'd Cubitus with part of the Hand contains two Faces From the box of the Shoulder-blade to the pit betwixt the Collar-bones one Face If you would be satisfy'd in the Measures of breadth from the extremity of one Finger to the other so that this breadth shou'd be equal to the length of the Body you must observe that the boxes of the Elbows with the Humerus and of the Humerus with the Shoulder-blade bear the proportion of half a Face when the Arms are Stretch'd out The Sole of the Foot is the sixth part of the Figure The Hand is the length of a Face The Thumb contains a Nose The inside of the Arm from the place where the Muscle disappears which makes the Breast call'd the Pectoral Muscle to the middle of the Arm four Noses From the middle of the Arm to the begining of the Hand five Noses The longest Toe is a Nose long The two utmost parts of the Teats and the pit betwixt the Collar-bones of a Woman make an equailateral triangle For the breadth of the Limbs no precise measures can be given because the measures themselves are changeable according to the quality of the persons and according to the movement of the Muscles If you wou'd know the Proportions more particularly you may see them in Paulo Lomazzo 't is good to read them once at least and to make Remarks on them every man according to his own judgment and according to the occasion which he has for them Though Perspective cannot be call'd a certain Rule c. That is to say purely of it self without prudence and discretion The greatest part of those who understand it desiring to practise it too regularly often make such things as shock the sight though they are within the Rules If all those great Painters who have left us such fair Platforms had rigorously observ'd it in their Figures they had not wholly found their account in it They had indeed made things more regularly true but withall very unpleasing There is great appearance that the Architects and Statuaries of former times have not found it to their purpose always nor have follow'd the Geometrical Part so exactly as Perspective ordains For He who wou'd imitate the Frontispiece of the Rotunda according to Perspective wou'd be grosly deceiv'd since the Columns which are at the extremities have more diameter than those which are in the middle The Cornish of the Palazzo Farnese which makes so beautifull an effect below when view'd more nearly will be found not to have its just measures In the Pillar of Trajan we see that the highest Figures are greater than those below and make an effect quite contrary to Perspective increasing according to the measure of their distance I know there is a Rule which teaches a way of making them in that manner and which though 't is to be found in some Books of Perspective yet notwithstanding is no rule of Perspective Because 't is never made use of but onely when we find it for our purpose for if for example the Figures which are at the top of Trajan's Pillar were but as great as those which are at the bottom they wou'd not be for all that against Perspective and thus we may say with more reason that it is a rule of Decorum in Perspective to ease the sight and to render objects more agreeable 'T is on this general observation that we may establish in Perspective the rules of Decorum or convenience whensoever occasion shall offer We may also see another Example in the base of the Farnesian Hercules which is not upon the level but on an easie declivity on the advanc'd part that the feet of the Figure may not be hidden from the sight to the end that it may appear more pleasing which the noble Authors of these things have done not in contempt of Geometry and Perspective but for the satisfaction of the Eyes which was the end they propos'd to themselves in all their works We must therefore understand Perspective as a Science which is absolutely necessary and which a Painter must not want Yet without Subjecting our selves so wholly to it as to become slaves of it We are to follow it when it leads us in a pleasing way and that it shows us pleasing things but for some time to forsake it if it lead us through mire or to a precipice Endeavour after that which is aiding to your Art and convenient but avoid whatsoever is repugnant to it as the 59th rule teaches Let every Member be made for its own Head c. That is to say you ought not to set the Head of a Young man on the Body of an Old one nor make a white Hand for a wither'd Body Not to habit a Hercules in Taffeta nor an Apollo in course stuff Queens and persons of the first quality whom you wou'd make appear Majestical are not to be too negligently dress'd or indishabile no more than Old men The Nymphs are not to be overcharg'd with drapery in fine let all that which accompanies your Figures make them Known for what effectively they are Let the Figures to which Art cannot give a Voice imitate the Mutes in their Actions c. Mutes having no other way of speaking or expressing their thoughts but onely by their gestures and their actions 't is certain that they do it in a manner more expressive than those who have the use of Speech for which reason the Picture which is mute ought to imitate them so as to make it self understood Let the principal Figure of the Subject c. 'T is one of the greatest blemishes of a Picture not to give knowledge at the first Sight of the Subject which it represents And truly nothing is more perplexing than to extinguish as it were the principal Figure by the opposition of some others which present themselves to us at the first view and which carry a greater lustre An Orator who had undertaken to make a Panegyrick on Alexander the Great and who had emply'd the strongest Figures of his Rhetorique in the praise of Bucephalus would do quite the contrary to that which was expected from him Because it would be believ'd that he rather took the Horse for his Subject than the Master A Painter is like an Orator in this He must dispose his matter in such sort that all things may give place to his principal Subject And if the other Figures
the Out-lines of the Fables 'T is true the Design must of it self be good if it be vicious or in one word unpleasing the cost of Colouring is thrown away upon it 'T is an ugly woman in a rich Habit set out with Jewels nothing can become her but granting the Design to be moderately good 't is like an excellent Complexion with indifferent Features the white and red well mingled on the Face make what was before but passable appear beautifull Operum Colores is the very word which Horace uses to signify Words and elegant Expressions of which he himself was so great a Master in his Odes Amongst the Ancients Zeuxis was most famous for his Colouring Amongst the Moderns Titian and Correggio Of the two Ancient Epique Poets who have so far excell'd all the Moderns the Invention and Design were the particular Talents of Homer Virgil must yield to him in both for the Design of the Latine was borrowed from the Grecian But the dictio Virgiliana the expression of Virgil his Colouring was incomparably the better and in that I have always endeavour'd to copy him Most of the Pedants I know maintain the contrary and will have Homer excell even in this part But of all people as they are the most ill manner'd so they are the worst Judges even of words which are their Province they seldom know more than the Grammatical construction unless they are born with a Poetical Genius which is a rare Portion amongst them Yet some I know may stand excepted and such I honour Virgil is so exact in every word that none can be chang'd but for a worse nor any one remov'd from its place but the harmony will be alter'd He pretends sometimes to trip but 't is onely to make you think him in danger of a fall when he is most secure Like a skilfull dancer on the Ropes if you will pardon the meanness of the similitude who slips willingly and makes a seeming stumble that you may think him in great hazard of breaking his neck while at the same time he is onely giving you a proof of his dexterity My late Lord Roscomon was often pleas'd with this reflection and with the examples of it in this admirable Author I have not leisure to run through the whole Comparison of Lights and Shadows with Tropes and Figures yet I cannot but take notice of Metaphors which like them have power to lessen or greaten any thing Strong and glowing Colours are the just resemblances of bold Metaphors but both must be judiciously apply'd for there is a difference betwixt daring and fool-hardiness Lucan and Statius often ventur'd them too far our Virgil never But the great defect of the Pharsalia and the Thebais was in the Design if that had been more perfect we might have forgiven many of their bold strokes in the Colouring or at least excus'd them yet some of them are such as Demosthenes or Cicero could not have defended Virgil if he could have seen the first Verses of the Sylvae would have thought Statius mad in his sustian Description of the Statue on the brazen Horse But that Poet was always in a Foam at his setting out even before the Motion of the Race had warm'd him The soberness of Virgil whom he read it seems to little purpose might have shown him the difference betwixt Arma virumque cano and Magnanimum AEacidem formidatamque tonanti Progeniem But Virgil knew how to rise by degrees in his expressions Statius was in his towring heights at the first stretch of his Pinions The description of his running Horse just starting in the Funeral Games for Archemorus though the Verses are wonderfully fine are the true Image of their Author Stare adeo nescit pereunt vestigia mille Ante fugam absentemque ferit gravis ungula campum Which would cost me an hour if I had the leisure to translate them there is so much of Beauty in the Original Virgil as he better knew his Colours so he knew better how and where to place them In as much hast as I am I cannot forbear giving one example 'T is said of him That he read the Second Fourth and Sixth Books of his Aeneids to Augustus Caesar. In the Sixth which we are sure he read because we know Octavia was present who rewarded him so bountifully for the twenty Verses which were made in honour of her deceas'd Son Marcellus in this sixth Book I say the Poet speaking of Misenus the Trumpeter says Quo non praestantior alter Aere ciere viros And broke off in the Hemystick or midst of the Verse but in the very reading siez'd as it were with a divine Fury he made up the latter part of the Hemystick with these following words Martemque accendere cantu How warm nay how glowing a Colouring is this In the beginning of the Verse the word Aes or Brass was taken for a Trumpet because the Instument was made of that Metal which of it self was fine but in the latter end which was made ex tempore you see three Metaphors Martemque accendere cantu Good Heavens how the plain sence is rais'd by the Beauty of the words But this was Happiness the former might be only Judgment this was the curiosa felicitas which Petronius attributes to Horace 't is the Pencil thrown luckily full upon the Horses mouth to express the Foam which the Painter with all his skill could not perform without it These hits of words a true Poet often finds as I may say without seeking but he knows their value when he finds them and is infinitely pleas'd A bad Poet may sometimes light on them but he discerns not a Diamond from a Bristol â—â—stone and would have been of the Cocks mind in Aesop a Grain of Barley would have pleas'd him better than the Iewel The Lights and Shadows which belongs to Colouring put me in mind of that Verse in Horace Hoc amat obscurum vult hoc sub luce videri some parts of a Poem require to be amply written and with all the force and elegance of Words others must be cast into Shadows that is pass'd over in silence or but faintly touch'd This belongs wholly to the Judgment of the Poet and the Painter The most beautifull parts of the Picture and the Poem must be the most finish'd the Colours and Words most chosen many things in both which are not deserving of this care must be shifted off content with vulgar expressions and those very short and left as in a shadow to the imagination of the Reader We have the Proverb manum de tabulâ from the Painters which signifies to know when to give over and to lay by the Pencil Both Homer and Virgil practis'd this Precept wonderfully well but Virgil the better of the two Homer knew that when Hector was slain Troy was as good as already taken therefore he concludes his Action there For what follows in the Funerals of Patroclus and the redemption of Hector's Body is
of Heroes and both endeavour to eternize them Both of them in short are supported by the strength of their Imagination and avail themselves of those licences which Apollo has equally bestow'd on them and with which their Genius has inspir'd them Pictoribus atque Poetis Quidlibet audendi semper fuit aequa potestas Painters and Poets free from servile awe May treat their Subjects and their Objects draw As Horace tells us in his Art of Poetry The advantage which Painting possesses above Poesie is this That amongst so great a Diversity of Languages she makes her self understood by all the Nations of the World and that she is necessary to all other Arts because of the need which they have of demonstrative Figures which often give more Light to the Understanding than the clearest discourses we can make Segnius irritant animos demissa per aurem Quam quae sunt oculis commissa fidelibus Hearing excites the Mind by slow degrees The Man is warm'd at once by what he sees Horace in the same Art of Poetry For both of them that they might contribute c. Poetry by its Hymns and Anthems and Painting by its Statues Altar-pieces and by all those Decorations which inspire Respect and Reverence for our Sacred Mysteries have been serviceable to Religion Gregory of Nice after having made a long and beautifull Description of Abraham sacrificing his Son Isaac says these words I have often cast my eyes upon a Picture which represents this moving object and could never withdraw them without Tears So well did the Picture represent the thing it self even as if the Action were then passing before my Sight So much these Divine Arts have been always honour'd c. The greatest Lords whole Cities and their Magistrates of Old says Pliny lib. 35. took it for an honour to obtain a Picture from the hands of those great Ancient Painters But this Honour is much fallen of late amongst the French Nobility and if you will understand the cause of it Vitruvius will tell you that it comes from their Ignorance of the charming Arts. Propter ignorantiam Artis virtutes obscurantur in the Preface to his Fifth Book Nay more we should see this admirable Art fall into the last degree of Contempt if our Mighty Monarch who yields in nothing to the Magnanimity of Alexander the Great had not shown as much Love for Painting as Valour in the Wars we daily see him encouraging this noble Art by the considerable Presents which he makes to his chief Painter And he has also founded an Academy for the Progress and Perfectionating of Painting which his first Minister honours with his Protection his care and frequent Visits insomuch that we might shortly see the age of Apelles reviving in our Country together with all the beauteous Arts if our generous Nobility who follow our incomparable King with so much Ardour and Courage in those dangers to which he exposes his Sacred Person for the Greatness and Glory of his Kingdom would imitate him in that wonderfull Affection which he bears to all who are excellent in this kind Those Persons who were the most considerable in Ancient Greece either for Birth or Merit took a most particular care for many ages to be instructed in the Art of Painting following that laudable and profitable custom which was begun and establish'd by the Great Alexander which was to learn how to Design And Pliny who gives testimony to this in the tenth Chapter of his 35th Book tells us farther speaking of Pamphilus the Master of Apelles That it was by the authority of Alexander that first at Sicyon and afterwards thro' all Greece the young Gentlemen learn'd before all other things to design upon Tablets of Boxen-wood and that the first place among all the Liberal Arts was given to Painting And that which makes it evident that they were very knowing in this Art is the love and esteem which they had for Painters Demetrius gave high testimonies of this when he besieg'd the City of Rhodes For he was pleas'd to employ some part of that time which he ow'd to the care of his Arms in visiting Protogenes who was then drawing the Picture of Ialisus This Ialisus says Pliny hinder'd King Demetrius from taking Rhodes out of fear lest he should burn the Pictures and not being able to fire the Town on any other side he was pleas'd rather to spare the Painting than to take the Victory which was already in his hands Protogenes at that time had his Work-house in a Garden out of the Town and very near the Camp of the Enemies where he was daily finishing those Pieces which he had already begun the noise of Soldiers not being capable of interrupting his studies But Demetrius causing him to be brought into his Presence and asking him what made him so bold as to work in the midst of Enemies He answer'd the King That he understood the War which he made was against the Rhodians and not against the Arts. This oblig'd Demetrius to appoint him Guards for his Security being infinitely pleas'd that he could preserve that hand which by this means he sav'd from the barbarity and insolence of Soldiers Alexander had no greater pleasure than when he was in the painting room of Apelles where he commonly was found And that Painter once receiv'd from him a sensible Testimony of Love and Esteem which that Monarch had for him for having caus'd him to paint naked by reason of her admirable beauty one of his Concubines call'd Campaspe who had the greatest share in his affections and perceiving that Apelles was wounded with the same fatal dart of Beauty he made a present of her to him In that age so great a deference was pay'd to Painting that they who had any Mastery in that Art never painted on any thing but what was portable from one place to another and what could be secur'd from burning They took a particular care says Pliny in the place above-cited not to paint any thing against a Wall which could onely belong to one Master and must always remain in the same place and for that reason could not be remov'd in case of an accidental Fire Men were not suffer'd to keep a Picture as it were in Prison on the Walls It dwelt in common in all Cities and the Painter himself was respected as a Common Good to all the World See this Excellent Author and you shall find that the 10th Chapter of his 35th Book is fill'd with the praises of this Art and with the Honours which were ascrib'd to it You will there find that it was not permitted to any but those of noble Blood to profess it Francis the First as Vasari tells us was in love with Painting to that degree that he allur'd out of Italy all the best Masters that this Art might flourish in his own Kingdom Amongst others Leonardo da Vinci who after having continued for some time in France died at Fontainbleau
no more life to the Figures than if they had been rubb'd with Meal They who make their flesh Colours very white and their Shadows grey or inclining to green fall into this inconvenience Red Colours in the Shadows of the most delicate or finest Flesh contribute wonderfully to make them lively shining and natural but they are to be us'd with the same discretion that Titian Paul Veronese Rubens and Van Dyck have taught us by their example To preserve the Colours fresh we must paint by putting in more Colours and not by rubbing them in after they are once laid and if it could be done they should be laid just in their proper places and not be any more touch'd when they are once so plac'd it would be yet better because the Freshness of the Colours is tarnish'd and lost by vexing them with the continual Drudgery of Daubing All they who have colour'd well have had yet another Maxim to maintain their Colours fresh and flourishing which was to make use of white Grounds upon which they painted and oftentimes at the first Stroke without retouching any thing and without employing new Colours Rubens always us'd this way and I have seen Pictures from the hand of that great Person painted up at once which were of a wonderfull Vivacity The reason why they made use of those kind of Grounds is because white as well preserves a Brightness under the Transparency of Colours which hinders the Air from altering the whiteness of the Ground as that it likewise repairs the injuries which they receive from the Air so that the Ground and the Colours assist and preserve each other 'T is for this reason that glaz'd Colours have a Vivacity which can never be imitated by the most lively and most brillant Colours because according to the common way the different Teints are simply laid on each in its place one after another So true it is that white with other strong Colours with which we paint at once that which we intend to glaze are as it were the Life the Spirit and the Lustre of it The Ancients most certainly have found that white Grounds were much the best because notwithstanding that inconvenience which their Eyes receiv'd from that Colour yet they did not forbear the use of it as Galen testifies in his tenth Book of the use of the parts Painters says he when they work upon their white Grounds place before them dark Colours and others mixt with blue and green to recreate their Eyes because white is a glareing Colour which wearies and pains the Sight more than any other I know not the reason why the use of it is left off at present if it be not that in our days there are few Painters who are curious in their Colouring or that the first Strokes which are begun upon white are not seen soon enough and that a more than French Patience is requir'd to wait till it be accomplish'd and the Ground which by its whiteness tarnishes the Lustre of the other Colours must be entirely cover'd to make the whole work appear pleasingly Let the parts which are nearest to us and most rais'd c. The reason of this is that upon a flat superficies and as much united as a Cloth can be when it is strain'd the least Body is very appearing and gives a heightning to the place which it possesses do not therefore load those places with Colours which you would make to turn but let those be well loaded which you would have come out of the Canvass Let there be so much Harmony or Consent in the Masses of the Pictures that all the shadowings may appear as if they were but one c. He has said in another place that after great Lights great Shadows are necessary which he calls Reposes What he means by the present Rule is this That whatsoever is found in those great Shadows should partake of the Colours of one another so that the different Colours which are well distinguish'd in the Lights seem to be but one in the Shadows by their great Union Let the whole Picture be made of one Piece c. That is to say of one and the same Continuity of Work and as if the Picture had been painted up all at once the Latin says all of one Pallet The Looking Glass will instruct you c. The Painter must have a principal Respect to the Masses and to the Effect of the whole together The Looking-Glass distances the Objects and by consequence gives us onely to see the Masses in which all the little parts are confounded The Evening when the Night approaches will make you better understand this observation but not so commodiously for the proper time to make it lasts but a quarter of an hour and the Looking-Glass may be usefull all the day Since the Mirror is the rule and Master of all Painters as showing them their faults by distancing the Objects we may conclude that the Picture which makes not a good effect at a distance cannot be well done and a Painter must never finish his Picture before he has examin'd it at some reasonable distance or with a Looking-Glass whether the Masses of the Lights and Shadows and the Bodies of the Colours be well distributed Giorgione and Correggio have made use of this method As for a Portrait or Pictures by the Life c. The end of Portraits is not so precisely as some have imagin'd to give a smiling and pleasing Air together with the resemblance this is indeed somewhat but not enough It consists in expressing the true temper of those persons which it represents and to make known their Physiognomy If the Person whom you draw for example be naturally sad you are to beware of giving him any Gayety which would always be a thing which is foreign to his Countenanc If he or she be merry you are to make that good Humour appear by the expressing of those parts where it acts and where it shows it self If the Person be grave and majestical the Smiles or Laughing which is too sensible will take off from that Majesty and make it look childish and undecent In short the Painter who has a good Genius must make a true Discernment of all these things and if he understands Physiognomy it will be more easie to him and he will succeed better than another Pliny tells us That Apelles made his Pictures so very like that a certain Physiognomist and Fortune-teller as it is related by Appion the Grammarian foretold by looking on them the very time of their Deaths whom those Pictures represented or at what time their Death happen'd if such persons were already dead You are to paint the most tenderly that possibly you can c. Not so as to make your Colours die by force of tormenting them but that you should mix them as hastily as you can and not retouch the same place if conveniently you can avoid it Large Lights c.
of Vessels in use amongst the Ancients He died about the year 1573. Vide Pag. 217. GIACOMO da PONTE da BASSANO so call'd from the place where he was born in the Marca Trevisana Anno 1510 was a Disciple of Bonifacio a noted Painter at Venice by whose Assistance and his own frequent copying the Works of Titian and Parmegiano he brought himself into a pleasant and most agreeable way of Colouring but returning into the Country upon the death of his Father he apply'd himself wholly to the imitation of Nature and from his Wife Children and Servants took the Ideas of most of his Figures His Works are very numerous all the Stories of the Old and New Testament having been painted by his hand besides a multitude of other Histories He was famous also for several excellent Portraits and particularly those of the celebrated Poets Ludovico Ariosto Bernardo Tasso and Torquato his Son In a word so great was the Reputation of this Artist at Venice that Titian himself was glad to purchase one of his Pieces representing The entrance of Noah and his Family into the Ark at a very considerable Price He was earnestly solicited to go over into the service of the Emperour but so charming were the pleasures which he found in the quiet enjoyment of Painting Music and good Books that no Temptations whatsoever could make him change his Cottage for a Court He died Anno 1592 leaving behind him four Sons of whom FRANCESCO the Eldest settled at Venice where he follow'd the manner of his Father and was well esteem'd for divers Pieces which he made in the Ducal Palace and other publick places in conjunction with Paul Veronese Tintoret c. But his too close Application to Painting having render'd him unfit for all other business and ignorant even of his own private Affairs he contracted by degrees a deep Melancholy and at last became so much craz'd that fancying Sergeants were continually in pursuit of him he leap'd out of his Window to avoid 'em as he imagin'd and by the fall occasion'd his own Death Anno 1594 Aet 43. LEANDRO the Third Son had so excellent a Talent in Face-painting which he principally studied that he was Knighted for a Portrait which he made of the Doge Marin Grimano He likewise finish'd several things left imperfect by his Brother Francesco compos'd some History-pieces also of his own and was as much admir'd for his perfection in Musick as his skill in Painting Obiit Anno 1623 Aet 65. GIO. BATTISTA the Second Son and GIROLAMO the Youngest apply'd themselves to copying their Fathers Works which they did so very well that they are oftentimes taken for Originals Gio. Battista died Anno 1613 Aet 60 and Girolamo Anno 1622 Aet 62 See more of the Bassans Pag. 220. GIACOMO ROBUSTI call'd TINTORETTO because a Dyers Son born at Venice Anno 1512 was a Disciple of Titian who having observ'd something very extraordinary in his Genius dismiss'd him from his Family for fear he should grow up to rival his Master Yet he still pursu'd Titians way of Colouring as the most natural and studied Michael Angelos Gusto of Design as the most correct Venice was the place of his constant Abode where he was made a Citizen and wonderfully belov'd and esteem'd for his Works the Character of which see Pag. 219. He was call'd the Furious Tintoret for his bold manner of Painting with strong Lights and deep Shadows for the rapidity of his Genius and grand vivacity of Spirit much admir'd by Paul Veronese But then on the other hand he was blam'd by him and all others of his Profession for under-valuing himself and his Art by undertaking all sorts of business for any Price thereby making so great a difference in his several Performances that as Hannibal Carrach observ'd he is sometimes equal to Titian and at other times inferior even to himself He was extremely pleasant and affable in his Humour and delighted so much in Painting and Music his belâ—â—ved Studies that he would hardly suffer himself to tast any other Pleasures He died Anno 1594 leaving behind him a Daughter and a Son of whom the Eldest MARIETTA TINTOREITA was so well instructed by her Father in his own Profession as well as in Music that by her Pencil she got great Reputation and was particularly eminent for an admirable Style in Portraits She died young Anno 1590 Aet 30. DOMENICO TINTORETTO his Son gave great hopes in his youth that he would one day render the name of Tintoret yet more illustrious than his Father had made it but neglecting to cultivate by study the Talent which Nature had given him he fell short of those mighty things expected from him and became more considerable for Portraits than Historical Compositions He died Anno 1637 Aet 75. PARIS BORDONE well descended and brought up to Letters Music and other gentile Accomplâ—â—shments was a Disciple of Titian and flourish'd in the time of Tintoret but was more commended for the Delicacy of his Pencil than the Purity of his Out lines He was in great favour and esteem with Francis I. for whom besides abundance of Histories he made the Portraits of several Court Ladies in so excellent a manner that the Original Nature was hardly more charming From France he return'd home to Venice laden with Honour and Riches and having acquir'd as much Reputation in all the parts of Italy as he had done abroad died Anno Aet 75. GEORGIO VASARI born at Arezzo a City in Tuscany Anno 1514 equally famous for his Pen and Pencil and as eminent for his skill in Architecture was a Disciple of Michael Angelo and Andrea del Sarto and by his indefatigable diligence in studying and copying all the best Pieces of the most noted Artists improv'd his Invention and Hand to such a degree that he attain'd a wonderful Freedom in both He spent the most considerable part of his Life in travelling over Italy leaving in all places marks of his Industry and gathering every where materials for his History of the Lives of the most excellent Painters Sculptors Architects c. which he publish'd at Florence about the year 1551 a work in the opinion of Hannibal Caro written with much exactness and judgment tho' Felibien and others tax him with some mistakes and particularly with flattering the Masters then alive and with partiality to those of his own Country He died Anno 1578. ANTONIO MORE born at Utrecht in the Low-Countries Anno 1519 was a Disciple of Iohn Schoorel and in his younger days had seen Rome and some other parts of Italy He was recommended by Cardinal Granville to the service of the Emperour Charles V. and having made a Portrait of his Son Philip II. at Madrid was sent upon the same accouâ—â—t to the King Queen and Princess of Portugal and afterwards into England to draw the Picture of Queen Mary From Spain he retir'd into Flanders where he became a mighty