Chap. I.
Mr. West arrives in England.--Relative Condition of Artists in
Society.--Mr. West's American Friends in this Country.--Of Governor
Hamilton and Mr. Allen.--Circumstances favourable to their Reception
in the Circles of Fashion.--Mr. West's Visit to Bath, and Excursions
to see some of the Collections of Art in England.--He settles as a
Portrait Painter.--Introduction to Burke and Dr. Johnson.--Anecdote of
a Monk, the Brother of Mr. Burke.--Introduction to Archbishop
Drummond.--Mr. West's Marriage.
Chap. II.
Some Notice of Archbishop Drummond.--Mr. West paints a Picture for His
Grace.--His Grace's Plan to procure Engagements for Mr. West as an
Historical Painter.--Project for ornamenting St. Paul's Cathedral with
Pictures.--Anecdote of Dr. Terrick, Bishop of London.--The
Altar-piece of St. Stephen's Walbrook.--State of public Taste with
respect to the Arts.--Anecdotes of Hogarth and Garrick.
Chap. III.
Archbishop Drummond's Address in procuring for Mr. West the Patronage
of the King.--Singular Court Anecdote of a Lady of Fashion.--Character
of the King in his Youth.--Anecdotes of the King and Queen,--The
King employs Mr. West to paint the Departure of Regulus.--Mr. West's
Celebrity as a Skater.--Anecdote of Lord Howe.--His Fame as a Skater
of great Service in his professional Success.
Chap. IV.
The King's personal Friendship for Mr. West.--Circumstances which led
to the Establishment of the Royal Academy.--First Exhibition of the
Works of British Artists.--The Departure of Regulus finished, and
taken to Buckingham House.--Anecdote of Kirby.--The Formation of the
Royal Academy.--Anecdote of Reynolds.--The Academy instituted.
Chap. V.
The Opening of the Royal Academy.--The Death of General
Wolfe.--Anecdote of Sir Joshua Reynolds.--New Pictures ordered by the
King.--Origin of the Series of Historical Pictures painted for Windsor
Castle.--Design for a grand Chapel in Windsor Castle, to illustrate
the History of revealed Religion.--His Majesty's Scruples on the
Subject.--His confidential Consultation with several eminent
Divines.--The Design undertaken.
Chap. VI.
Singular Anecdote respecting the Author of the Letters of Junius,--Of
Lachlan McLean.--Anecdote of the Duke of Grafton.--Of the Marquis of
Lansdowne.--Of Sir Philip Francis; Critique on the Transfiguration of
Raphael by Sir Philip Francis, and Objections to his Opinion.
Chap. VII.
Observations on Mr. West's Intercourse with the King.--Anecdote of
the American War.--Studies for the Historical Pictures at Windsor
Castle.--Anecdote of the late Marquis of Buckingham.--Anecdote of Sir
Joshua Reynolds; and of the Athenian Marbles.--Election of Mr. West to
the Presidency of the Royal Academy.--His Speech to the Academicians
on that occasion.
Chap. VIII.
The first Discourse of Mr. West to the Students of the
Academy.--Progress of the Arts.--Of the Advantages of Schools of
Art.--On the Natural Origin of the Arts.--Of the Patronage which
honoured the Patrons and the Artists.--Professional Advice.--Promising
State of the Arts in Britain.
Chap. IX.
Discourse to the Royal Academy in 1794.--Observations on the Advantage
of drawing the Human Figure correctly.--On the Propriety of
cultivating the Eye, in order to enlarge the Variety of our Pleasures
derived from Objects of Sight.--On characteristic Distinctions in
Art.--Illustrations drawn from the Apollo Belvidere, and from the
Venus de Medici; comprehending critical Remarks on those Statues.
Chap. X.
Discourse to the Academy in 1797--- On the Principles of Painting and
Sculpture.--Of Embellishments in Architecture.--Of the Taste of the
Ancients.--Errors of the Moderns.--Of the good Taste of the Greeks
in Appropriations of Character to their Statues.--On Draiwing.--Of
Light and Shade.--Principles of Colouring in Painting.
--Illustration.--Of the Warm and Cold Colours.--Of Copying fine
Pictures.--Of Composition.--On the Benefits to be derived from
Sketching.--and of the Advantage of being familiar with the
Characteristics of Objects in Nature.
Chap. XI.
Discourse.--Introduction.--On the Philosophy of Character in Art.--Of
Phidias.--Of Apelles.--Of the Progress of the Arts among the
Moderns.--Of Leonardo da Vinci.--Of Michael Angelo, Raphael, and
Bartolomeo.--Of Titian.--Of the Effects of Patronage.
Chap. XII.
Discourse.--Introduction.--Of appropriate Character in Historical
Composition.--Architecture among the Greeks and Romans.--Of the
Athenian Marbles.--Of the Ancient Statues.--Of the Moses and Saviour
of Michael Angelo.--Of the Last Judgment of Michael Angelo.--Of
Leonardo da Vinci.--Of Bartolomeo.--Of Raphael.--Of Titian, and his
St. Peter Martyr.--Of the different Italian Schools.--Of the Effects
of the Royal Academy.--Of the Prince Regent's Promise to encourage the
Fine Arts.
Chap. XIII.
Mr. West's Visit to Paris.--His distinguished Reception by the
Members of the French Government.--Anecdote of Mr. Fox.--Origin of
the British Institution.--Anecdotes of Mr. Fox and Mr.
Percival.--Anecdote of the King.--History of the Picture of Christ
Healing the Sick.--Extraordinary Success attending the Exhibition of
the Copy in America.
Chap. XIV.
Reflections.--Offer of Knighthood.--Mr. Wyatt chosen President of the
Academy.--Restoration of Mr. West to the Chair.--Intrigues respecting
the Pictures for Windsor Castle.--Mr. West's Letter to the
King.--Orders to proceed with the Pictures.--The King's Illness.--Mr.
West's Allowance cut off,--and the Pictures countermanded.--Death of
Mrs. West.--Death of the Artist.
Appendix.
The Life and Works of Benjamin West
Chap. I.
Mr. West arrives in England.--Relative Condition of Artists in
Society.--Mr. West's American Friends in this Country.--Of Governor
Hamilton and Mr. Allen,--- Circumstances favourable to their Reception
in the Circles of Fashion.--Mr. West's Visit to Bath, and Excursions
to see some of the Collections of Art in England.--He settles as a
Portrait Painter.--Introduction to Burke and Dr. Johnson.--Anecdote
of a Monk, the Brother of Mr. Burke.--Introduction to Archbishop
Drummond.--- Mr West's Marriage.
Mr. West arrived in England on the 20th of August, 1763. The sentiments
with which he approached the shores of this island, were those of a
stranger visiting interesting scenes, mingled with something of the
solicitude and affections of a traveller returning home. He had no
intention of remaining in London: he was only desirous to see the country
of his ancestors, and his mind, in consequence, was more disengaged from
professional feelings than at any period from that in which his genius
was first awakened. He considered his visit to England as devoted to
social leisure, the best kind of repose after mental exertion; but the
good fortune which had hitherto attended him in so remarkable a manner,
still followed him, and frustrated the intentions with which he was at
that time actuated.
Those who have at all attended to what was then the state of the arts in
this country, and more particularly to the relative condition of artists
in society, and who can compare them with the state of both at the present
period, will not hesitate to regard the arrival of Mr. West as an
important event. In the sequel of this work, it may be necessary to allude
to the moral and political causes which affect the progress of the fine
arts, and opportunities will, in consequence, arise to show how meanly
they were considered, how justly, indeed, it may be said, they were
rejected, not only by the British public in general, but even by the
nobility. A few eminent literary characters were sensible of their
importance, and lamented the neglect to which they were consigned; but the
great body of the intelligent part of the nation neither felt their
influence, nor were aware of their importance to the commerce and renown
of the kingdom. Artists stood, if possible, lower in the scale of society
than actors; for Garrick had redeemed the profession of the latter from
the degradation to which it had been consigned from the time of the
Commonwealth; but Reynolds, although in high repute as a portrait-painter,
and affecting a gentlemanly liberality in the style of his living, was not
so eminently before the public eye as to induce any change of the same
consequence towards his profession.
Mr. West found, on his arrival in London, several American families who
had come across the Atlantic after the peace to visit their relations,
and he had the unexpected pleasure of hearing that Mr. William Allen,
Governor Hamilton, and Dr. Smith, his earliest friends and patrons, were
in this country.
Mr. Allen, like many others in the colonies at that time, was both a
professional man and a merchant. He held indeed the dignified office of
chief justice in Pennsylvania, and was a person of powerful and extensive
connections in the mother-country. Hamilton, who had been many years
governor, was chiefly indebted to him for the rank which he enjoyed, in
consequence of having married his sister.
The naval and military officers who had occasion, during the war, to visit
Philadelphia, found in the houses of the governor and Mr. Allen a cordial
hospitality which they never forgot. Many of these officers were related
to persons of distinction in London, and being anxious to testify to the
Americans their grateful sense of the kindness which they had experienced,
rendered the strangers objects of hospitable solicitude and marked respect
in the first circles of the metropolis. Mr. West, accordingly, on his
arrival, participated in the advantages of their favourable reception,
and before he was known as an artist, frequented the parties of several of
the highest characters in the state.
His first excursion from London was to Hampton Court to see the Cartoons
of Raphael. Soon after, he visited Oxford, Blenheim, and Corsham; whence
he proceeded to Bath, where Mr. Allen was at that time residing. Here he
remained about a month; and in returning to town made a short tour, in the
course of which he inspected the collections of art at Storehead,
Fonthill, Wilton House, the Cathedral of Salisbury, and the Earl of
Radnor's seat at Longford. At Reading he staid some time with his
half-brother, Mr. Thomas West, the eldest son of his father. When he
returned to London he was introduced by Mr. Patoune, his travelling
companion from Rome, to Reynolds, and a friendship commenced between them
which was only broken by death. He also, much about the same time, formed
an acquaintance with Mr. Richard Wilson, the landscape painter, to whom
indeed he had brought very warm letters of introduction, from some of
that great artist's friends and admirers in Italy.
The first lodgings which Mr. West occupied, in his professional capacity,
were in Bedford-Street, Covent-Garden, where, when it was understood that
he intended to practise, he was visited by all the artists of eminence
then in London, and welcomed among them with a cordiality that reflected
great honour on the generosity of their dispositions. In this house the
first picture which he painted in England was executed. The subject was
Angelica and Medora, which, with the Cymon and Iphiginia, painted at
Rome, and a portrait of General Moncton, (who acquired so much celebrity
by his heroic conduct as second in command under General Wolfe at
Quebec,) by the advice of Reynolds and Wilson, he sent to the exhibition
in Spring Gardens in 1764.
While he was engaged on the picture of Angelica and Medora, Dr. Markham,
then Master of Westminster-School, paid him a visit and invited him to a
dinner, at which he introduced him to Dr. Johnson, Mr. Burke; Mr.
Chracheroide, and Mr. Dyer. On being introduced to Burke he was so much
surprised by the resemblance which that gentleman bore to the chief of the
Benedictine monks at Parma, that when he spoke he could scarcely persuade
himself he was not the same person. This resemblance was not accidental;
the Protestant orator was, indeed, the brother of the monk.
It always appeared to Mr. West that there was about Mr. Burke a degree of
mystery, connected with his early life, which their long intercourse,
subsequent to the introduction at Dr. Markham's, never tended to explain.
He never spoke of any companions of his boyhood, nor seemed to have any of
those pleasing recollections of the heedless and harmless days of youth,
which afford to most men of genius some of the finest lights and breaks of
their fancy; and his writings corroborate the observation. For, although
no prose writer ever wrote more like a poet than this celebrated man, his
imagery is principally drawn from general nature or from art, and but
rarely from any thing local or particular.
The conversation after dinner chiefly turned, on American subjects, in
which Mr. Burke, as may well be supposed, took a distinguished part, and
not more delighted the Artist with the rich variety and affluence of his
mind, than surprised him by the correct circumstantiality of his
descriptions; so much so, that he was never able to divest himself of an
impression received on this occasion, that Mr. Burke had actually been in
America, and visited the scenes, and been familiar with many of the places
which he so minutely seemed to recollect. Upon a circumstance so singular,
and so much at variance with all that has hitherto been said respecting
the early history of this eminent person, it is needless to dilate. The
wonder which it may excite I have no means of allaying; but I should not
omit to mention here, when Mr. Burke was informed that Mr. West was a
Quaker, that he observed, he had always regarded it among the most
fortunate circumstances of his life, that his first preceptor was a
member of the Society of Friends.
Dr. Markham in 1765 introduced Mr. West to Dr. Newton, Bishop of Bristol,
Dr. Johnson, Bishop of Worcester, and Dr. Drummond, Archbishop of York.
Dr. Newton engaged him to paint the Parting of Hector and Andromache, and
afterwards sat to him for his portrait, in the back ground of which a
sketch of this picture was introduced: and for the Bishop of Worcester he
painted the Return of the Prodigal Son. The encouragement which he thus
received from these eminent divines was highly creditable to their taste
and liberality, and is in honourable contrast to the negligence with which
all that concerned the fine arts were treated by the nobility and opulent
gentry. It is, however, necessary to mention one illustrious exception.
Lord Rockingham offered Mr. West a regular, permanent engagement of £700
per annum to paint historical subjects for his mansion in Yorkshire: but
the Artist on consulting his friends found them unanimously of opinion,
that although the prospect of encouragement which had opened to him ought
to make him resolve to remain in England, he should not confine himself to
the service of one patron, but trust to the public. The result of this
conversation was a communication to Dr. Smith and Mr. Allen, of the
attachment he had formed for the lady whom he afterwards married, and that
it was his intention to return to America in order to be united to her. In
consequence of this, an arrangement took place, by which the father of Mr.
West came over to this country with the bride, and the marriage was
solemnised on the 2d of September, 1765, in the church of St. Martin in
the Fields.
Chap. II.
Some Notice of Archbishop Drummond.--Mr. West paints a Picture for His
Grace.--His Grace's Plan to procure Engagements for Mr. West as an
Historical Painter.--Project for ornamenting St. Paul's Cathedral with
Pictures.--Anecdote of Dr. Terrick, Bishop of London.--The Altarpiece
of St. Stephens, Walbrook.--State of public Taste with respect to the
Arts.--Anecdotes of Hogarth and Garrick.
In Archbishop Drummond Mr. West found one of the most active and efficient
patrons that he had yet met with. This eminent prelate was esteemed, by
all who enjoyed the pleasure of his acquaintance, for a peculiar dignity
of mind, and a liberality of sentiment that reflected lustre on his
exalted rank. He had in his youth travelled on the Continent, and
possessing an innate sensibility to the moral influence of the fine arts,
had improved his natural taste by a careful inspection of every celebrated
work to which he could obtain access. He lamented that in this great,
flourishing, and triumphant nation, no just notion of the value of the
fine arts was entertained; and on all occasions, when a suitable
opportunity presented itself, he never failed to state this opinion, and
to endeavour to impress it on others. He frequently invited Mr. West to
his table; and the Artist remarked that he seemed to turn the conversation
on the celebrity which the patronage of the arts had in all ages reflected
on the most illustrious persons and families, addressing himself with
particular emphasis to his sons. In the course of one of these
conversations, he engaged Mr. West to paint for him the story of Agrippina
landing with the ashes of Germanicus, and sent one of the young gentlemen
to the library for the volume in which Tacitus describes the
circumstances. Having read the passage, he commented on it at some length,
in order to convey to Mr. West an idea of the manner in which he was
desirous the subject should be treated.
The painter, on returning home, felt his imagination so much excited by
the historian's description, and the remarks of the Archbishop, that he
immediately began to compose a sketch for the picture, and finished it
before going to bed. Next morning he carried it to His Grace, who, equally
surprised and delighted to find his own conception so soon embodied in a
visible form, requested the Artist to proceed without delay in the
execution of the picture.
In the interim, the Archbishop endeavoured, by all the means in his power,
to procure encouragement for Mr. West to devote himself exclusively to
historical composition; and with this view he set on foot a scheme to
raise three thousand guineas to constitute a fund, which would be a
sufficient inducement for the Artist, in the first instance, to forego, at
least for a time, the drudgery of portrait painting. But the attempt
failed: so little was the public disposed to patronise historical subjects
from the pencil of a living artist, that after fifteen hundred pounds were
subscribed, it was agreed to relinquish the undertaking. As this fact is
important to the history of the progress of the arts in this country, I
present my readers with a copy of the subscription-paper, with the names
and amount of the sums attached to them, by the respective subscribers,
In 1766 Mr. West made a proposal to his friend Bishop Newton, who was then
Dean of St. Paul's, to present a gratuitous offering to the Cathedral, by
painting a religious subject to fill one of the large spaces which the
architect of the building had allotted for the reception of pictures; and
speaking on the design one day after dinner at the Bishop's when Reynolds
was present, he said that the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai would make
an appropriate subject. Reynolds was delighted with the idea of decorating
St. Paul's by the voluntary offerings of artists, and offered to paint a
Nativity as his contribution. A formal proposal was in consequence made to
the Dean and Chapter, who embraced it with much satisfaction. But Dr.
Terrick, the Bishop, felt some degree of jealousy at the design being
adopted, without consulting him, and set himself so decidedly against it
that it was necessarily abandoned. Dr. Newtorn had, in his capacity of
Dean, obtained (without reflecting that Terrick had a veto over all) the
consent of the other curators of the Cathedral, namely, of the Lord Mayor,
the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the King. "But," exclaimed Dr. Terrick,
with the energy of an ancient martyr, "I have heard of the proposition,
and as I am head of the Cathedral of the metropolis, I will not suffer the
doors to be opened to introduce popery." It is to be hoped that the
declaration proceeded from the fear implied, and not because Dr. Newton
omitted to ask his consent before applying to the King and the Archbishop.
Mr. West was, however, too deeply impressed with the advantage which would
accrue to the arts by inducing the guardians of the Church to allow the
introduction of pictures, to be discouraged by the illiberality of the
Bishop of London. He therefore made a proposal to paint an Altar-piece for
the beautiful church of St. Stephen's, Walbrook, and it was accepted. In
the same year his friend, Mr. Wilcox, gave him a commission to execute
another sacred subject, which he presented to the Cathedral of Rochester,
and it is placed over the communion-table. In these biographical sketches
it cannot be expected that a history of all Mr. West's numerous works
should be related. It is the history of the Artist, not of his works, that
is here written; and, therefore, except where the incidents connected with
them are illustrative of the state of public feeling towards the arts, it
is unnecessary to be more particular. I have, however, prepared a complete
catalogue of his designs, with such remarks concerning them as must
satisfy any want that may be felt by this systematic omission in the
narrative. I should, however, mention that, in this stage of his career,
the two of his earliest pictures, which attracted the greatest share of
public attention, were _the Orestes and Pylades_, and _the Continence of
Scipio_. He had undertaken them on speculation, and the applause which
they obtained, when finished, were an assurance of his success and reward.
His house was daily thronged with the opulent and the curious to see them;
statesmen sent for them to their offices; princes to their bedchambers,
and all loudly expressed their approbation, but not one ever enquired the
price; and his imagination, which had been elevated in Italy to emulate
the conceptions of those celebrated men who have given a second existence
to the great events of religion, history, and poetry, was allowed in
England to languish over the unmeaning faces of portrait-customers. It
seemed to be thought that the genius of the Artist could in no other way
be encouraged, than by his friends sitting for their own likenesses, and
paying liberally for them. The moral influence of the art was unfelt and
unknown; nor can a more impressive instance of this historical truth be
adduced, than the following anecdote of Hogarth, which Garrick himself
related to Mr. West.
When that artist had published the plates of the Election, he wished to
dispose of the paintings, and proposed to do so by a raffle of two hundred
chances, at two guineas the stake; to be determined on an appointed day.
Among a small number of subscribers, not half what Hogarth expected,
Garrick had put down his name; and when the day arrived he went to the
artist's house to throw for his chance. After waiting a considerable time
no other person appeared, and Hogarth felt this neglect not only as
derogatory to his profession, but implying that the subscription had
something in it of a mendicant character. Vexed by such a mortifying
result of a plan which he had sanguinely hoped would prove, at least, a
morning's amusement to the fashionable subscribers, he insisted that, as
they had not attended, nor even sent any request to him to throw for them,
that Garrick should go through the formality of throwing the dice; but
only for himself. The actor for some time opposed the irritated artist;
but at last consented. Instead, however, of allowing Hogarth to send them
home, he begged that they might be carefully packed up, until his servant
should call for them; and on returning to his house, he dispatched a note
to the painter, stating that he could not persuade himself to remove works
so valuable and admired, without acquitting his conscience of an
obligation due to the author and to his own good fortune in obtaining
them. And knowing the humour of the person he addressed, and that if he
had sent a cheque for the money it would in all probability be returned,
he informed him that he had transferred two hundred guineas at his
bankers, which would remain at the disposal of Hogarth or his heirs,
whether it was or was not then accepted. The charge of habitual parsimony
against Garrick was not well founded; and this incident shows that he knew
when to be properly munificent. In the acquisition and management of his
affluent fortune, it would have been more correct to have praised him for
a judicious system of economy, than to have censured him for meanness. It
ought to have been considered, that he was professionally required to deal
with a class of persons not famed for prudence in pecuniary concerns, and
to whom the methodical disbursements of most private gentlemen would
probably have appeared penurious.
Chap. III.
Archbishop Drummond's Address in procuring for Mr. West the Patronage
of the King.--Singular Court Anecdote of a Lady of Fashion.--Character
of the King in his Youth.--Anecdotes of the King and Queen.--The King
employs Mr. West to paint the Departure of Regulus.--Mr. West's
Celebrity as a Skater,--Anecdote of Lord Howe.--His Fame as a Skater
of great Service in his professional Success.
The coldness with which Archbishop Drummond's scheme for raising three
thousand guineas had been received by the persons to whom he had applied,
and the prejudice which he found almost universally entertained against
the efforts of living genius, chagrined him exceedingly. He regarded the
failure as a stigma on the age, and on his country; and, as a public man,
he thought it affected himself personally. With this feeling, he declared
to the gentlemen who had exerted themselves in the business, that he saw
no way of engrafting a taste for the fine arts on the British public,
unless the King could be so far engaged in the attempt, as to make it
fashionable to employ living artists, according to the bent of their
respective talents. But, about this period, the affair of Wilkes agitated
the nation; and the Duke of Portland and Lord Rockingham, who were among
the most strenuous of Mr. West's friends, being both of the Whig party,
undervalued the importance attached to His Majesty's influence and
countenance. The Archbishop was not, however, discouraged by their
political prejudices; on the contrary, he thought that His Majesty was one
of those characters who require to be personally interested in what it is
desired they should undertake; and he resolved to make the attempt. The
address with which His Grace managed the business, evinced great knowledge
of human nature, and affords a pleasing view of the ingenuousness of the
King's disposition.
When the picture of Agrippina was finished, the Archbishop invited the
most distinguished artists and amateurs to give him their opinion of the
work; and satisfied by the approbation which they all expressed, he went
to court, and took an opportunity of speaking on the subject to the King,
informing His Majesty, at the same time, of all the circumstances
connected with the history of the composition; and on what principle he
had always turned his conversations with Mr. West to excite an interest
for the promotion of the arts in the minds of his family. The dexterity
with which he recapitulated these details produced the desired effect. The
curiosity of the King was roused, and he told the Archbishop that he would
certainly send for the Artist and the picture.
This conversation probably lasted longer than the usual little
reciprocities of the drawing-room; for it occasioned a very amusing
instance of female officiousness. A lady of distinguished rank, having
overheard what passed, could not resist the delightful temptation of being
the first to communicate to Mr. West the intelligence of the honour that
awaited him. On quitting the palace, instead of returning home, she went
directly to his house, and, without disclosing her name, informed him of
the whole particulars of the conversation which had passed between the
Archbishop and the King. In the evening, Barnard, who had been an
attendant on the King from the cradle, and who was not more attached to
His Majesty, than he was himself in return affectionately beloved, came to
Mr. West, and requested him to be in attendance next morning at the
Queen's house, with the picture of Agrippina. In delivering the message,
this faithful servant was prompted by his own feelings to give the Artist
some idea of His Majesty's real character, which at that time was very
much misrepresented to the public; and Mr. West during the long term of
forty years of free and confidential intercourse with the King, found the
account of Barnard to be in every essential and particular point correct.
The King was described to him as a young man of great simplicity and
candour of disposition, sedate in his affections, and deeply impressed
with the sanctity of principle; scrupulous in forming private friendships;
but, when he had taken any attachment, not easily swayed from it, without
being convinced of the necessity and propriety of so doing.
At the time appointed, Mr. West was in attendance with the picture; and
His Majesty came into the room where he was waiting. After looking at it
some time with much apparent satisfaction, he enquired if it was in a
proper light; and, on being told that the situation was certainly not the
most advantageous, he conducted the Artist through several apartments
himself, till a more satisfactory place was found. He then called several
of the domestics into the room, and, indeed, assisted them himself to
remove the picture. When the servants had retired, and he had satisfied
himself with looking at it, he went out of the apartment and brought in
the Queen, to whom he introduced the Artist with so much warmth, that Mr.
West felt it at the moment as something that might be described as
friendliness.
The Queen, though at this period very young, possessed a natural
graciousness of manner, which her good sense and the consciousness of her
dignity rendered peculiarly pleasing; so that our Artist was not only
highly gratified by the unexpected honour of this distinguished
introduction, but delighted with the affability and sweetness of her
disposition.
When Their Majesties had examined the picture, the King observed that he
understood the same subject had seldom been properly treated. Mr. West
answered, that it was, indeed, surprising it should have been neglected by
Poussin, who was so well qualified to have done it justice, and to whose
genius it was in so many respects so well adapted. His Majesty then told
the Queen the history of the picture before them, dwelling with some
expressions of admiration on the circumstance of the sketch having been
made in the course of one evening after the artist had taken coffee with
the Archbishop of York, and shown to His Grace the next morning. Turning
briskly round to Mr. West, he said, "There is another noble Roman subject
which corresponds to this one, and I believe it also has never been well
painted; I mean the final departure of Regulus from Rome. Don't you think
it would make a fine picture?" The Artist replied, that it was undoubtedly
a magnificent subject. "Then," said His Majesty, "you shall paint it for
me;" and, ringing the bell in the same moment, ordered the attendant who
answered to bring the volume of Livy in which the event is related,
observing to the Queen, in a sprightly manner, that the Archbishop had
made one of his sons read to Mr. West; but "I will read to him myself the
subject of my picture;" which, on the return of the servant with the book,
he did accordingly. And the Artist was commanded to come with the sketch
as soon as possible.
The Archbishop was highly delighted at the successful result of his
scheme, and augured from the event the happiest influence to the progress
of the arts; nor has his patriotic anticipations been unrewarded; for,
without question, so great and so eminent a taste for the fine arts as
that which has been diffused throughout the nation, during the reign of
George the Third, was never before produced in the life-time of one
monarch, in any age or country.
But in relating the different incidents which contributed to bring Mr.
West into favourable notice, there is one of a peculiar nature, which
should not be omitted. During winter, at Philadelphia, skating was one of
the favourite amusements of the youth of that city, and many of them
excelled in that elegant exercise. Mr. West, when a boy, had, along with
his companions, acquired considerable facility in the art; and having
become exceedingly fond of it, made himself, as he grew up to manhood, one
of the most accomplished skaters in America. Some of the officers at that
time quartered there, also practised the amusement; and, among others,
Colonel Howe, who afterwards succeeded to the title of his elder brother,
and who, under the name of General Howe, is so well known in the
disastrous transactions of the subsequent civil war, which ended in
establishing the independence of the United States. In the course of the
winter preceding Mr. West's departure for Italy, they had become
acquainted on the ice.
In Italy Mr. West had no opportunity of skating; but when he reached
Lombardy, where he saw so much beautiful frozen water, he regretted that
he had not brought his skates with him from America. The winter, however,
which succeeded his arrival in England, proved unusually severe; and one
morning, when he happened to take a walk in St. James's park, he was
surprised to see a great concourse of the populace assembled on the canal.
He stopped to look at them, and seeing a person who lent skates on hire,
he made choice of a pair, and went on the ice. A gentleman who had
observed his movements, came up to him as he retired to unbuckle the
skates, and said, "I perceive, Sir, you are a stranger, and do not perhaps
know that there are much better places than this for the exercise of
skating. The Serpentine River, in Hyde Park, is far superior, and the
basin in Kensington Gardens still more preferable. Here, only the populace
assemble; on the Serpentine, the company, although better, is also
promiscuous; but the persons who frequent the basin in the Gardens are
generally of the rank of gentlemen, and you will be less annoyed among
them than at either of the other two places."
In consequence of this information, on the day following, Mr. West
resolved to visit the Gardens; and, in going along Piccadilly with that
intention, bought a pair of skates, which, on reaching the margin of the
ice, he put on, After a few trial-movements on the skirts of the basin,
like a musician tuning his violin before attempting a regular piece of
composition, he dashed off into the middle of the company, and performed
several rounds in the same style which he had often practised in America.
While engaged in this manner, a gentleman called to him by name; and, on
stopping, he found it was his old acquaintance Colonel Howe.
The Colonel immediately came up, and exclaimed, "Mr. West, I am truly glad
to see you in this country, and at this time. I have not heard of you
since we parted on the wharf at Philadelphia, when you sailed for Italy;
but I have often since had occasion to recollect you. I am, therefore,
particularly glad to see you here, and on the ice; for you must know that,
in speaking of the American skaters, it has been alleged, that I have
learnt to draw the long bow among them; but you are come in a lucky moment
to vindicate my veracity."
He then called to him Lord Spencer Hamilton, and some of the Cavendishes,
who were also on the ice, and introduced Mr. West to them as one of the
American skaters, of whom they had heard him so often speak, and would not
credit what he had said of their performance; and he requested Mr. West to
show them what, in Philadelphia, was called the Salute. Mr. West had been
so long out of practice, that he was at first diffident of attempting this
difficult and graceful movement: but, after a few trials, and feeling
confidence in himself, he at last performed it with complete success. Out
of this trivial incident, an acquaintance arose between him and the young
noblemen present. They spoke of his talents as a skater; and their praise,
in all their usual haunts, had such an effect, that, in the course of a
few days, prodigious crowds of the fashionable world, and of all
descriptions of people, assembled to see the American skater. When it was
afterwards known to the public that he was an artist, many of the
spectators called at his rooms; and he, perhaps, received more
encouragement as a portrait-painter on account of his accomplishment as a
skater, than he could have hoped for by any ordinary means to obtain.
Chap. IV.
The King's personal Friendship for Mr. West.--Circumstances which led
to the Establishment of the Royal Academy.--First Exhibition of the
Works of British Artists.--The Departure of Regulus finished, and
taken to Buckingham House.--Anecdote of Kirby.--The Formation of the
Royal Academy.--Anecdote of Reynolds.--The Academy instituted.
The King, at the period when he was pleased to take Mr. West under his own
particular patronage, possessed great conversational powers, and a
considerable tincture of humour. He had read much, and his memory was
singularly exact and tenacious: his education had, indeed, been conducted
with great prudence, and, independent of a much larger stock of literary
information than is commonly acquired by princes, he was fairly entitled
to be regarded as an accomplished gentleman. For the fine arts he had not,
perhaps, any natural taste; he had, however, been carefully instructed in
the principles of architecture by Chambers, of delineation by Moser, and
of perspective by Kirby; and he was fully aware of the lustre which the
arts have, in all ages, reflected on the different countries in which the
cultivation of them has been encouraged to perpetuate the memory of great
events. His employment of Mr. West, although altogether in his private
capacity, was therefore not wholly without a view to the public advantage,
and it is the more deserving of applause, as it was rather the result of
principle than of personal predilection.
When Mr. West had made a sketch for the Regulus, and submitted it to His
Majesty, after some conversation, as to the dimensions, the King fixed on
an advantageous part of the walls in one of the principal apartments, and
directed that the picture should be painted of a size sufficient to fill
the whole space. During the time that the work was going on, the Artist
was frequently invited to spend the evening at Buckingham-house, where he
was often detained by the King as late as eleven o'clock, on topics
connected with the best means of promoting the study of the fine arts in
the kingdom. It was in these conversations that the plan of the Royal
Academy was digested; but it is necessary to state more particularly the
different circumstances which co-operated at this period to the formation
of that valuable institution.
At the annual exhibitions of the paintings and drawings, which obtained
the premiums of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Agriculture,
and Commerce, it was then customary with artists to send occasionally
their works to be exhibited with those of the competitors, as a convenient
method of making themselves known to the public. But the visitors hearing
from the newspapers only of the pictures which had gained the prizes,
concluded that they were the best in the exhibition; and the works of the
matured artists were overlooked in the attention paid to the efforts of
juvenile emulation. This neglect mortified the artists, and induced them
to form themselves into an association for the exhibition of their own
productions. The novelty of this plan attracted much attention, and
answered the expectations of those with whom it originated. Such was the
state of things with the artists when Mr. West came to England; and to the
first exhibition, after his arrival, he sent, as I have already mentioned,
three pictures. The approbation which these works obtained, induced the
association to elect him one of the directors, and he held this situation
till, the society beginning to grow rich by the receipts of the
exhibitions, the management of its concerns became an object of ambition.
This association was incorporated in 1765, under the designation of the
Incorporated Artists.
Chambers and Payne, who were leading members in the Society, being both
architects, were equally desirous that the funds should be laid out in the
decoration of some edifice adapted to the objects of the institution. This
occasioned so much debate, division, and rivalry, among their respective
partisans, that Mr. West was induced to resign the office of director, and
to withdraw along with Mr. Reynolds (afterwards Sir Joshua) and others,
disgusted with the bickering animosities which disgraced the proceedings
at their meetings. This transaction made some noise at the time, and it
happened on the very day when Mr. West waited on the King, with his sketch
of the Departure of Regulus, that the newspapers contained some account of
the matter. His Majesty enquired the cause and particulars of the schism,
and Mr. West, in stating what they were, mentioned that the principles of
his religion made him regard such proceedings as exceedingly derogatory to
the professors of the arts of peace.
This led the King to say that he would gladly patronise any association
which might be formed more immediately calculated to improve the arts. Mr.
West, after retiring from the palace, communicated this to Chambers and
Moser, and, upon conferring on the subject with Mr. Coats, it was agreed
that the four should constitute themselves a committee of the dissenting
artists, to draw up the plan of an academy. When this was mentioned to His
Majesty, he not only approved of their determination, but took a great
personal interest in the scheme, and even drew up several of the laws
himself with his own hand. Nor should one remarkable circumstance be
omitted; he was particularly anxious that the whole design should be kept
a profound secret, being apprehensive that it might be converted into some
vehicle of political influence.
In the mean time the picture of the Departure of Regulus was going
forward, and it was finished about the time that the code of rules for the
academy was completed. The incorporated artists were also busy, and had
elected as their president Mr. Kirby, who had been preceptor in
perspective to the King, and who had deservedly gained great celebrity by
his treatise on the principles of that branch of art. Kirby, having free
access to the royal presence, and never hearing from His Majesty any thing
respecting the academy, was so satisfied in his own mind that the rumours,
respecting such an institution being intended, were untrue, that, in his
inaugural address from the chair, he assured the incorporated artists
there was not the slightest intention entertained of establishing a Royal
Academy of Art.
When the Departure of Regulus was finished, the King appointed a time for
Mr. West to bring the picture to Buckingham-house. The Artist having
carried it there, His Majesty, after looking at it some time, went and
brought in the Queen by the hand, and seated her in a chair, which Mr.
West placed in the best situation for seeing the picture to advantage.
While they were conversing on the subject, one of the pages announced Mr.
Kirby; and the King consulted Her Majesty in German about the propriety of
admitting him at that moment. Mr. West, by his residence among the German
inhabitants of Lancaster in America, knew enough of the language to
understand what they said, and the opinion of the Queen was that Kirby
might certainly be admitted, but for His Majesty to take his own pleasure.
The attendant was in consequence ordered to show him in, and Mr. West was
the more pleased at this incident, as it afforded him an advantageous
opportunity of becoming personally known to Kirby, with whom, on account
of his excellent treatise, he had for some time been desirous to become
acquainted.
When Kirby looked at the picture he expressed himself with great warmth
in its praise, enquiring by whom it had been painted; upon which the King
introduced Mr. West to him. It would perhaps be doing injustice to say
that the surprise with which he appeared to be affected on finding it the
production of so young a man, had in it any mixture of sinister feeling;
but it nevertheless betrayed him into a fatal indiscretion. As a preceptor
to the King, he had been accustomed to take liberties which ought to have
terminated with the duties of that office; he, however, inadvertently
said, "Your Majesty never mentioned any thing of this work to me." The
tone in which this was uttered evidently displeased the King, but the
discretion of the unfortunate man was gone, and he enquired in a still
more disagreeable manner, "Who made this frame?" Mr. West, anxious to turn
the conversation, mentioned the maker's name; but this only served to
precipitate Mr. Kirby into still greater imprudence, and he answered
somewhat sharply, "That person is not Your Majesty's workman;" and naming
the King's carver and gilder said, "It ought to have been made by him."
The King appeared a good deal surprised at all this, but replied in an
easy good-humoured way, "Kirby, whenever you are able to paint me a
picture like this, your friend shall make the frame." The unhappy man,
however, could not be restrained, and he turned round to Mr. West, and in
a tone which greatly lessened the compliment the words would otherwise
have conveyed, said, "I hope you intend to exhibit this picture." The
Artist answered, that as it was painted for His Majesty, the exhibition
must depend on his pleasure; but that, before retiring, it was his
intention to ask permission for that purpose. The King immediately said,
"Assuredly I shall be very happy to let the work be shown to the
public."--"Then, Mr. West," added Kirby, "you will send it to my
exhibition," (meaning to the exhibition of the Incorporated Artists).
"No," interposed the King, firmly, "it must go to my exhibition,--to the
Royal Academy." Poor Kirby was thunderstruck; but only two nights before,
in the confidence of his intercourse with the King, he had declared that
even the design of forming such an institution was not contemplated. His
colour forsook him, and his countenance became yellow with mortification.
He bowed with profound humility, and instantly retired, nor did he long
survive the shock.
* * * * *
On the day following, a meeting of the artists who had separated
themselves from the incorporated association, was to be holden in the
evening at the house of Wilton the sculptor, in order to receive the code
of laws, and to nominate the office-bearers of the Academy. In the course
of the morning, Mr. Penny, who was intended to be appointed professor of
painting, called on Mr. West and mentioned that he had been with Reynolds,
and that he thought, for some unfathomable reason or another, that
distinguished artist would not attend the meeting. Soon after, Moser
likewise called, and stated the same thing. Mr. West was much perplexed at
this information; for it had been arranged with the King that Reynolds,
although not in the secret, nor at all consulted in the formation of the
Academy, should be the president. He therefore went immediately to his
house, and finding him disengaged, mentioned, without alluding to what he
had heard, the arrangements formed for instituting an academy, and that a
meeting of thirty artists named by the King, of the forty members of which
it was intended the Academy should consist, was that evening to take place
at Wilton's. Reynolds was much surprised to hear matters were so far
advanced, and explained to Mr. West that Kirby had assured him in the most
decided manner, that there was no truth whatever in the rumour of any such
design being in agitation, and that he thought it would be derogatory to
attend a meeting, constituted, as Kirby represented it, by persons who had
no sanction or authority for doing what they had undertaken. To this Mr.
West answered, "As you have been told by Mr. Kirby that there is no
intention to form any institution of the kind, and by me that there is,
that even the rules are framed, and the officers condescended on, yourself
to be president, I must insist on your going with me to the meeting, where
you will be satisfied which of us deserves to be credited in this
business."
In the evening, at the usual hour, Mr. West went to take tea with
Reynolds, before going to the meeting, and it so fell out, either from
design or accident, that it was not served till a full hour later than
common, not indeed till the hour fixed for the artists to assemble at
Wilton's, so that, by the time they arrived there, the meeting was on the
point of breaking up, conceiving that as neither Reynolds nor West had
come, something unexpected and extraordinary must have happened. But on
their appearing, a burst of satisfaction manifested the anxiety that had
been felt, and without any farther delay the company proceeded to carry
into effect the wishes of the King. The code of laws was read, and the
gentlemen recommended by the King to fill the different offices being
declared the officers, the code of laws was accepted. Reynolds was
declared president, Chambers treasurer, Newton secretary, Moser keeper,
Penny professor of painting, Wale professor of perspective, and Dr.
William Hunter professor of anatomy. A report of the proceedings was made
to His Majesty next morning, who gave his sanction to the election, and
the Academy was thus constituted. The academicians afterwards met and
chose a council to assist the president, and visitors to superintend the
schools in three branches of art, painting, sculpture, and architecture.
Thus, on the 10th December, 1768, under the title of the Royal Academy of
the Arts in London, that Institution, which has done more to excite a
taste for the fine arts in this country, than any similar institution ever
did in any other, was finally formed and established.
Chap. V.
The opening of the Royal Academy.--The Death of General
Wolfe.--Anecdote of Sir Joshua Reynolds.--New Pictures ordered by the
King.--Origin of the Series of Historical Pictures painted for Windsor
Castle.--Design for a grand Chapel in Windsor Castle, to illustrate
the History of revealed Religion.--His Majesty's Scruples on the
Subject.--His confidential Consultation with several eminent
Divines.--The Design undertaken.
When the Academy was opened, the approbation which _the Regulus_ received
at the exhibition gratified the King, and he resolved to give Mr. West
still farther encouragement. Accordingly, he soon after sent for him, and
mentioned that he wished him to paint another picture, and that the
subject he had chosen was Hamilcar making his son Hannibal swear
implacable enmity against the Romans. The painting being finished it was
earned to Buckingham-house, and His Majesty, after looking at it with
visible satisfaction, said, that he thought Mr. West could not do better
than provide him with suitable subjects to fill the unoccupied pannels of
the room in which the two pictures were then placed.
* * * * *
About this period, Mr. West had finished his Death of Wolfe, which excited
a great sensation, both on account of its general merits as a work of art,
and for representing the characters in the modern military costume. The
King mentioned that he heard much of the picture, but he was informed that
the dignity of the subject had been impaired by the latter circumstance;
observing that it was thought very ridiculous to exhibit heroes in coats,
breeches, and cock'd hats. The Artist replied, that he was quite aware of
the objection, but that it was founded in prejudice, adding, with His
Majesty's permission, he would relate an anecdote connected with that
particular point.
* * * * *
"When it was understood that I intended to paint the characters as they had
actually appeared in the scene, the Archbishop of York called on Reynolds
and asked his opinion, the result of which was that they came together to
my house. For His Grace was apprehensive that, by persevering in my
intention, I might lose some portion of the reputation which he was
pleased to think I had acquired by his picture of Agrippina, and Your
Majesty's of Regulus; and he was anxious to avert the misfortune by his
friendly interposition. He informed me of the object of their visit, and
that Reynolds wished to dissuade me from running so great a risk. I could
not but feel highly gratified by so much solicitude, and acknowledged
myself ready to attend to whatever Reynolds had to say, and even to adopt
his advice, if it appeared to me founded on any proper principles.
Reynolds then began a very ingenious and elegant dissertation on the state
of the public taste in this country, and the danger which every attempt at
innovation necessarily incurred of repulse or ridicule; and he concluded
with urging me earnestly to adopt the classic costume of antiquity, as
much more becoming the inherent greatness of my subject than the modern
garb of war. I listened to him with the utmost attention in my power to
give, but could perceive no principle in what he had delivered; only a
strain of persuasion to induce me to comply with an existing prejudice,--a
prejudice which I thought could not be too soon removed. When he had
finished his discourse, I begged him to hear what I had to state in reply,
and I began by remarking that the event intended to be commemorated took
place on the 13th of September, 1758, in a region of the world unknown to
the Greeks and Romans, and at a period of time when no such nations, nor
heroes in their costume, any longer existed. The subject I have to
represent is the conquest of a great province of America by the British
troops. It is a topic that history will proudly record, and the same truth
that guides the pen of the historian should govern the pencil of the
artist. I consider myself as undertaking to tell this great event to the
eye of the world; but if, instead of the facts of the transaction, I
represent classical fictions, how shall I be understood by posterity! The
only reason for adopting the Greek and Roman dresses, is the picturesque
forms of which their drapery is susceptible; but is this an advantage for
which all the truth and propriety of the subject should be sacrificed? I
want to mark the date, the place, and the parties engaged in the event;
and if I am not able to dispose of the circumstances in a picturesque
manner, no academical distribution of Greek or Roman costume will enable
me to do justice to the subject. However, without insisting upon
principles to which I intend to adhere, I feel myself so profoundly
impressed with the friendship of this interference, that when the picture
is finished, if you do not approve of it, I will consign it to the closet,
whatever may be my own opinion of the execution. They soon after took
their leave, and in due time I called on the Archbishop, and fixed a day
with him to come with Reynolds to see the painting. They came accordingly,
and the latter without speaking, after his first cursory glance, seated
himself before the picture, and examined it with deep and minute attention
for about half an hour. He then rose, and said to His Grace, Mr. West has
conquered. He has treated his subject as it ought to be treated. I retract
my objections against the introduction of any other circumstances into
historical pictures than those which are requisite and appropriate; and I
foresee that this picture will not only become one of the most popular,
but occasion a revolution in the art."
* * * * *
On Mr. West pausing, the King said, "I wish that I had known all this
before, for the objection has been the means of Lord Grosvenor getting the
picture; but you shall make a copy for me." His Majesty then entered into
some further conversation respecting subjects for paintings to adorn the
apartment; and Mr. West suggested that the Death of Epaminondas would, as
a classic subject, and with Grecian circumstances, make a suitable
contrast with the Death of Wolfe. The King received this idea with
avidity; and the conversation being pursued further on the same topic, the
Artist also proposed the Death of the Chevalier Bayard for another
picture, which would serve to illustrate the heroism and peculiarities of
the middle ages. Two pannels were still unprovided; and Mr. West, with
submission to His Majesty, begged that he might be allowed to take the
incident of Cyrus liberating the Family of the King of Armenia for the
one, and of Segestus, and his daughter, brought before Germanicus, for
the other. The King was much pleased with the latter idea; a notion being
entertained by some antiquaries that the Hanoverian family are the
descendants of the daughter.
During the time that our Artist was engaged in these works, he was
frequently at the palace with the King; and His Majesty always turned the
conversation on the means of promoting the fine arts, and upon the
principles which should govern artists in the cultivation of their genius.
In one of these conversations, Mr. West happened to remark, that he had
been much disgusted in Italy at seeing the base use to which the talents
of the painters in that country had been too often employed; many of their
noblest efforts being devoted to illustrate monkish legends, in which no
one took any interest, while the great events in the history of their
country were but seldom touched. This led to some further reflections; and
the King, recollecting that Windsor-Castle had, in its present form,
been erected by Edward the Third, said, that he thought the achievements
of his splendid reign were well calculated for pictures, and would prove
very suitable ornaments to the halls and chambers of that venerable
edifice. To this incident, the arts are indebted for the series of
pictures which bring the victories of Cressy and Poictiers, with the other
triumphal incidents of that time, again, as it were, into form and being,
with a veracity of historical fact and circumstance which render the
masquerades by Vario even a greater disgrace to St. George's Hall than
they are to the taste of the age in which they were painted.
* * * * *
In the execution of these different historical subjects, the King took a
great personal interests, and one piece became the cause of another, until
he actually acquired a feeling like enthusiasm for the arts. When he had
resolved to adorn Windsor-Castle with the achievements and great events of
the reign of Edward the Third, he began to think that the tolerant temper
of the age was favourable to the introduction of pictures into the
churches: at the same time, his scrupulous respect for what was
understood to be the usage, if not the law, relative to the case,
prevented him for some time from taking any decisive step. In the course
of different conversations with Mr. West, on this subject, he formed the
design of erecting a magnificent oratory, or private chapel, in the Horns'
Court of Windsor-Castle, for the purpose of displaying a pictorial
illustration of the history of revealed religion. But, before engaging in
this superb project, he thought it necessary to consult some eminent
members of the Church, who enjoyed his confidence, as to the propriety of
the design. Accordingly, he desired Mr. West to draw up a list of subjects
from the Bible, susceptible of pictorial representation, which Christians,
of all denominations, might contemplate without offence to their tenets;
and he invited Dr. Hurd, afterwards Bishop of Worcester, Dr. Douglas,
Bishop of Salisbury, the Dean of Windsor, and several other dignitaries,
along with the Artist, to consider the business. He explained to the
meeting his scruples, declaring that he did not, in a matter of this kind,
owing to his high station in the state, feel himself a free agent; that he
was certainly desirous of seeing the churches adorned with the endeavours
of art, and would deem it the greatest glory of his reign to be
distinguished, above all others in the annals of the kingdom, for the
progress and successful cultivation of the arts of peace. "But, when I
reflect," said His Majesty, "how the ornaments of art in the churches were
condemned at the Reformation, and still more recently in the unhappy times
of Charles the First, I am anxious to govern my own wishes not only by
what is right, but by what is prudent, in this matter. If it is conceived
that I am tacitly bound, as Head of the Church of England, to prevent any
such ornaments from being introduced into places of worship; or if it be
considered as at all savouring in any degree of a popish practice, however
decidedly I may myself think it innocent, I will proceed no farther in the
business. But, if the church may be adorned with pictures, illustrative of
great events in the history of religion, as the Bible itself often is with
engravings, I will gladly proceed with the execution of this design."
Little else passed at this interview; but he requested the churchmen to
examine the matter thoroughly; and appointed a particular day for them to
report to him the result of their investigation: presenting to them, at
the same time, a paper, containing a list of thirty-five subjects which he
had formed with the Artist, for the decorations of the intended chapel.
On the day appointed, Mr. West again met those eminent members of the
hierarchy in the royal presence: when Dr. Hurd reported to His Majesty,
that they had very seriously considered the important business which had
been confided to them; that, having bestowed on it their gravest
attention, they were unanimously of opinion, that the introduction of
paintings into the chapel, which His Majesty intended to erect, would, in
no respect whatever, violate the laws or usages of the Church of England;
and that, having examined the list of subjects, which he proposed should
constitute the decorations, there was not one of them, but, which properly
treated, even a Quaker might contemplate with edification. This
inadvertent observation attracted the King's attention; and he said, that
the Quakers were a body of Christians for whom he entertained the very
highest respect, and that he thought, but for the obligations of his
birth, he should himself have been a Quaker; and he particularly enlarged
on their peaceful demeanour and benevolence towards one another.
* * * * *
The result of this conference was, that Mr. West immediately received
instructions to make designs from the list of subjects; and afterwards
with the King himself, he assisted to form an architectural plan of the
chapel, which it was proposed should be ninety feet in length by fifty in
breadth. When some progress had been made in the paintings, Mr. Wyat, who
had succeeded Sir William Chambers as the royal architect, received orders
to carry this plan into execution; and the grand flight of steps in the
great staircase, executed by that architect, was designed to lead
immediately to a door which should open into the royal closet, in the new
chapel of REVEALED RELIGION.
Chap. VI.
Singular Anecdote respecting the Author of the Letters of Junius.--Of
Lachlan M'Lean.--Anecdote of the Duke of Grafton.--Of the Marquis of
Lansdowne.--Of Sir Philip Francis; Critique on the Transfiguration of
Raphael by Sir Philip Francis, and Objections to his opinion.
By the eminent station which Mr. West has so long held among the artists,
and admirers of the fine arts, in this country, he became personally
acquainted with almost every literary man of celebrity; and being for many
years a general visitor at the literary club, immortalised as the haunt of
Johnson, Burke, Garrick, Goldsmith, and Reynolds, he acquired, without
particularly attending to the literature of the day, an extensive
acquaintance with the principal topics which, from time to time, engaged
the attention of men of letters. An incident, however, of a curious
nature, has brought him to be a party, in some degree, with the singular
question respecting the mysterious author of the celebrated letters of
Junius. On the morning that the first of these famous invectives appeared,
his friend Governor Hamilton happened to call, and enquiring the news, Mr.
West informed him of that bold and daring epistle: ringing for his servant
at the same time, he desired the newspaper to be brought in. Hamilton read
it over with great attention, and when he had done, laid it on his knees,
in a manner that particularly attracted the notice of the painter, who was
standing at his easel. "This letter," said Hamilton, in a tone of vehement
feeling, "is by that damned scoundrel M'Lean."--"What M'Lean?" enquired
Mr. West.--"The surgeon of Otway's regiment: the fellow who attacked me so
virulently in the Philadelphian newspaper, on account of the part I felt
it my duty to take, against one of the officers, a captain, for a
scandalous breach of the privileges of hospitality, in seducing the wife
of a very respectable man. This letter is by him. I know these very words:
I may well remember them," and he read over several phrases and sentences
which M'Lean had employed against him. Mr. West then informed the
Governor, that M'Lean was in this country, and that he was personally
acquainted with him. "He came over," said Mr. West, "with Colonel Barry,
by whom he was introduced to Lord Shelburn, (afterwards Marquis of
Lansdowne,) and is at present private secretary to His Lordship."
Throughout the progress of the controversy with Junius, Hamilton remained
firm in his opinion, that the author was no other than the same Lachlan
M'Lean, but at the literary club the general opinion ascribed the letters
for some time to Samuel Dyer. The sequel of this anecdote is curious.
M'Lean, owing to a great impediment in his utterance, never made any
figure in conversation; and passed with most people as a person of no
particular attainments. But when Lord Shelburn came into office, he was
appointed Under Secretary of State, and subsequently nominated to a
Governorship in India: a rapidity of promotion to a man without family or
parliamentary interest, that can only be explained by a profound
conviction, on the part of his patron, of his superior talents, and
perhaps, also, from a strong sense of some peculiar obligation. M'Lean
sailed for India in the Aurora frigate, and was lost, in the wreck of
that ship, on the coast of Africa. That the letters of Junius were not
ascribed to him by any party is not surprising, for his literary talents
were unknown to the public; but the general opinion of all men at the
time was that they were the production of some person in connection with
Lord Shelburn.
Upon this subject, I hold no particular opinion of my own; nor, indeed,
should I have perhaps noticed the circumstance at all, but for a recent
most ingenious publication which has ascribed these celebrated letters to
the late Sir Philip Francis. One thing, however, merits attention in this
curious controversy. In the Monthly Magazine for July, 1813, there is an
interesting account of a conversation between Sir Richard Phillips and the
Marquis of Lansdowne on this subject; in which His Lordship speaks of the
obligation to secrecy imposed on himself in the question as having been
removed by death; an incidental expression that at once intimated a
knowledge of the author, and that he was dead at the time when this
conversation took place. The importance of the matter, as an object of
literary curiosity, will excuse the introduction, in an abbreviated form,
of what passed at that interview, as well as of some minor circumstances
connected with the question.
During the printing of Almon's edition of Junius, in which he endeavoured
to show that the letters were written by a Mr. Walter Boyd, Sir Richard
Phillips, the publisher of that work, sought opinions among the characters
then surviving, whose names had been mixed with the writings of Junius;
and he addressed himself particularly to the Duke of Grafton, the Marquis
of Lansdowne, Mr. Horne Tooke, and Mr. Grattan. Through two friends of the
Duke of Grafton he was informed, "that His Grace had endeavoured to live
down the calumnies of Junius, and to forget the name of the author; and
that, at the period of the publication, offers were made to him of legal
evidence on which to convict the author of a libel; but that, as he had
then treated the man with contempt, he should decline to disturb him after
so great a lapse of time." From this communication it would seem, that the
Duke believed that he knew the author, and also that he was still alive.
Sir Richard, on calling upon the Marquis of Lansdowne, to whom he was
personally known, found him in his sick chamber, suffering under a general
breaking up of the constitution, but in his usual flow of spirits,
anecdote, and conversation. On mentioning Almon's new edition of Junius,
and that the editor had fixed on Boyd as the author, the Marquis
exclaimed, "I thought Almon had known better: I gave him credit for more
discernment: the world will, however, not be deceived by him; for there is
higher evidence than his opinion. Look at Boyd's other writings: he never
did write like Junius; and never could write like Junius. Internal
evidence destroys the hypothesis of Almon." Sir Richard then said, that
many persons had ascribed these letters to His Lordship; and that the
world at large conceived that, at least, he was not unacquainted with the
author. The Marquis smiled, and said, "No, no: I am not equal to Junius:
I could not be the author; but the grounds of secrecy are now so far
removed by death, and changes of circumstances, that it is unnecessary the
author of Junius should much longer be unknown. The world are curious
about him; and I could make a very interesting publication on the subject.
I knew Junius; and I knew all about the writing and production of those
letters. But look at my own condition now: I don't think I can live
another week: my legs, my strength, tell me so; but the doctors, who
always flatter sick men, assure me I am in no immediate danger. They order
me into the country, and I am going there. If I live over the summer,
which, however, I do not expect, I promise you a very interesting pamphlet
about Junius. I will put my name to it: I will set that question at rest
for ever."
Sir Richard looked at the swollen limbs and other symptoms threatening
the dissolution of this distinguished nobleman; and, convinced that he
was, in truth, never likely to see him again, and that the secret of
Junius might be lost with him, turned the conversation to the various
persons who had, at different times, been named as the Junius; and, after
mentioning five or six whose respective pretensions the Marquis treated
as ridiculous, His Lordship said, "It is of no use to pursue the matter
further at this time. I will, however, tell you this for your guide,
Junius has never yet been publicly named. None of the parties ever
guessed at as Junius were the true Junius. Nobody has ever suspected him.
I knew him, and knew all about it; and I pledge myself, if these legs
will permit me, to give you a pamphlet on the subject, as soon as I feel
myself equal to the labour." Sir Richard soon after took his leave; and
about a week after the Marquis expired.
From Horne Tooke no information could be obtained: whenever Junius was
mentioned, he lost the balance of his mind, and indulged himself in so
much vanity, conceit, and ingenuity, that it was almost useless to speak
with him on the subject.
Mr. Grattan wrote a very candid denial of any knowledge of the matter, in
a letter which was printed in the preface to Almon's edition.
Of the pretension afterwards set forward for Dr. Wilmot, I believe it was
never entertained or supported by any good evidence: Dr. Francis, the
father of Sir Philip, had been long before mentioned, but for what reason
I have never been able to ascertain. The answer of Sir Philip himself on
the subject is, however, curiously equivocal, at least it so strikes me;
although it is generally considered as a decided denial. It is as follows:
"The great civility of your letter induces me to answer it, which, with
reference merely to its subject-matter, I should have declined. Whether
you will assist in giving currency to a silly, malignant falsehood, is a
question for your own discretion: to me it is a matter of perfect
indifference." But notwithstanding all this, an amusingly mysterious
circumstance has, I am informed, transpired since the death of Sir Philip.
In a box, it is said, which he carefully deposited with his banker's, and
which was not to be opened till after his death, a copy of the
publication, "Junius identified," with a common copy of the letters of
Junius, were found. I shall offer no comment on this occurrence, for even
granting that it was true, it might have been but a playful trick--if Sir
Philip Francis was, in any respect, a humorist. But I have already
digressed too far from the immediate object of my work; and I cannot make
a better amends to my readers than by inserting here a short paper,
written by that eminent person, and addressed to Mr. West. It is a
critique on the Transfiguration by Raphael, in which Sir Philip evinces
considerable ingenuity, by attempting not only to explain a defect in the
composition, felt by every man of taste, in the midst of the delight
which, in other respects, it never fails to produce, but to show that, so
far from being any defect, it is in fact a great beauty.
* * * * *
_Transfiguration by Raphael._
The title of this picture is a misnomer. The picture itself tells you it
is _the Ascension_. The Transfiguration is another incident, which
happened long before the Ascension, and is recited in the ninth chapter of
St. Luke:--"When the countenance of Jesus was changed, and he became
[Greek: etethon] and his clothing was _white_, and lightened." The robe of
the ascending Christ is BLUE.
The painter brings different incidents together to constitute one plot.
The picture consists of three separate groupes, combined and united in one
scheme or action.
I. Jesus ascending perpendicularly into the air, clothed in blue raiment,
and attended by two other figures.
II. Some of his disciples on the Mount, who see the ascent, and lie
dazzled and confounded by the sight.
III. A number of persons at the bottom of the Mount, who appear to look
intently on a young man possessed by a devil, and convulsed. None of them
see the Ascension but the young man, or rather the devil, who was in him,
does see it. On all similar occasions, those fallen angels know the
Christ, and acknowledge him. The other figures are agitated with
astonishment and terror, variously and distinctly expressed in every one
of them, at sight of the effect which they see is made upon him by some
object which _they_ do not see.
This is the sublime imagination, by which the lower part of the picture is
connected with the upper.
P. FRANCIS.
_13th July, 1816._
But although it must be confessed that this comment is exceedingly
ingenious, in so far as it explains the painter's design in representing
the demoniac boy, as the connecting link between the action on the Mount,
and the groupe at the foot of it; yet, upon an examination of the picture,
it will be found that it does not exhibit the Ascension, but the
Transfiguration; and I beg leave to refer to a letter, from my friend Mr.
M'Gillivray, in the Appendix which seems to me as perfectly satisfactory
on the subject as any thing of the kind I ever met with. Mr. West was of
the same opinion as Mr. M'Gillivray; but in conversing with him on the
subject, he did not enter into so distinct an explanation of his reasons
for dissenting from the speculation of Sir Philip Francis. In criticism,
however, whether the matter in question be works of art, or of literature,
the best opinion is exactly that which is the most reasonable; and the
point at issue here, is not one in which an artist's judgment can be
allowed greater weight than that of any other man.
Chap. VII.
Observations on Mr. West's Intercourse with the King.--Anecdote of the
American War.--Studies for the Historical Pictures at Windsor
Castle.--Anecdote of the late Marquis of Buckingham.--Anecdote of Sir
Joshua Reynolds; and of the Athenian Marbles.--Election of Mr. West to
the Presidency of the Royal Academy.--His Speech to the Academicians
on that occasion.
While Mr. West was engaged on the series of religious and historical works
for the King, he had frequent opportunities of becoming acquainted with
political incidents, that a man less intent on his art, and more ambitious
of fortune, might have turned to great advantage. This was particularly
the case during the American War, for His Majesty knowing the Artist's
connections with that country, and acquaintance with some of the most
distinguished of the rebels, often conversed with him on the subject; and
on different occasions Mr. West was enabled to supply the King with more
circumstantial information respecting some important events than was
furnished by the official channels. I do not consider myself at liberty,
nor this a fit place, to enter upon subjects so little in unison with the
arts of peace, or the noiseless tenour of an artist's life; but, among
other curious matters that may be thrown out for the investigation of the
future historian, is an opinion which prevailed among some of the best
informed in America, that when General Washington was appointed to the
supreme command of the army, it was with the view and intention of
effecting a reconciliation between the two countries. A communication to
this purpose is said to have been made by that illustrious man, which
communication was never answered, nor ever laid formally before the Privy
Council, at least not until more than six weeks after it had been
received, and then it was too late. America was lost; and millions spent,
and thousands sacrificed afterwards in vain. Whether, indeed, the King
ever did know the whole affair, may be doubted.
The mind of Mr. West, however, had no enjoyment in political cabals, in
the petty enmities of partizans, or the factious intrigues of party
leaders. He was by his art wholly enchanted, and saw in the prospect
before him an adequate recompense in fame for all his exertions, his days
of labour, and his nights of study. The historical pictures for Windsor
Castle cost him many a patient hour of midnight research; for the means to
assist his composition, especially in architecture, and the costume of the
time, were then far from being so easy of access as they are at present. A
long period of preference for classic literature, and the illustration of
the Greek and Roman story, had withdrawn the public taste from the no less
glorious events of our own annals. To mark, therefore, the epoch, and
manners of the age of Poictiers and Cressy, of the Institution of the
Garter, and the other heroic and magnificent incidents of the reign of
Edward the Third, with that historical truth which the artist thought
essential to historical painting, required the inspection of many an
ancient volume, and much antiquarian research. In the composition for the
Institution of the Garter, the late Marquis of Buckingham offered several
suggestions, which were adopted; and on His Lordship mentioning to the
King, that Mr. West was descended of the Delawarre family, the head of
which bore a distinguished part in the great events of that time, His
Majesty ordered Mr. West to insert his own portrait among the spectators
represented in the gallery, and immediately over the shield bearing the
arms of the Earl of Delawarre. Mr. West himself was not, at that period,
acquainted with the descent of his pedigree; but it happened in a
conversation one day with Lord Buckingham, that His Lordship enquired from
what part of England his family had been originally, and upon Mr. West
telling him, His Lordship said, that the land which his ancestors had
formerly possessed was become his by purchase; and that the Wests of Long
Crandon were sprung from the ancient Earls of Delawarre.
But, except the historical information required for his pictures, in which
he was indefatigable, until master of all that could be obtained, Mr.
West, following the early and wise advice of Dr. Smith of Philadelphia,
wasted none of his time in other literary pursuits. Among his learned and
ingenious cotemporaries, however, he acquired a general knowledge of the
passing literature of the day, and in consequence, there are few authors
of any celebrity, especially the cotemporaries of Johnson, of whom he does
not possess interesting anecdotes, as well as an acquaintance with the
merit which they were severally allowed to possess.
One day at Sir Joshua Reynolds, after dinner when Dr. Johnson, Goldsmith,
and Burke were present, the conversation turned on the degree of
excellence which sculpture attained among the Greeks. It was observed
incidentally, that there was something in the opinion of the ancients, on
this subject, quite inexplicable; for, in the time of Alexander the Great,
although painting was allowed to have been progressive, sculpture was said
to have declined, and yet the finest examples of the art, the Apollo and
Venus, were considered as the works of that period. Different theories
were sported on this occasion, to explain this seeming contradiction;
none of them, however, were satisfactory. But, on the arrival of the
Athenian marbles, which Lord Elgin brought to this country, Mr. West was
convinced, at the first sight of them, of the justness of ancient
criticism, and remembered the conversation alluded to.
Perhaps I may be allowed to mention here, without impropriety, that I was
at Athens when the second cargo of these celebrated sculptures was
dispatched; that I took some interest in getting the vessel away; and that
I went with her myself to the island of Idra. Two circumstances occasioned
this interference on my part;--an Italian artist, the agent of Lord Elgin,
had quarrelled about the marbles with Monsieur Fauvelle, the French
Consul, a man of research and taste, to whom every traveller that visited
Athens, even during the revolutionary war, might have felt himself
obliged. Fauvelle was, no doubt, ambitious to obtain these precious
fragments for the Napoleon Museum at Paris; and, certainly, exerted all
his influence to get the removal of them interdicted. On the eve of the
departure of the vessel, he sent in a strong representation on the
subject to the governor of the city, stating, what I believe was very
true, that Lord Elgin had never any sufficient firman or authority for the
dilapidations that he had committed on the temples. Luseri, the Italian
alluded to, was alarmed, and called on me at the monastery of the Roman
propaganda, where I then resided; and it was agreed between us, that if
any detention was attempted, I should remonstrate with the governor, and
represent to him that such an arrest of British property would be
considered as an act of hostility. But our fears were happily removed. No
notice was taken by the governor of Monsieur Fauvelle's remonstrance. In
the evening I embarked on board the vessel at the Pireus, and next morning
was safely landed on the island of Idra, where the vessel, after remaining
a day or two, sailed for Malta.
But to return to the biographical narrative. On the death of Sir Joshua
Reynolds, in 1791, Mr. West was unanimously elected President of the Royal
Academy. The choice was not more a debt of gratitude on the part of the
Institution, to one who had essentially contributed to its formation, than
a testimony of respect deservedly merited by the conduct and genius of the
Artist who, when the compass, number, and variety of his pictures are
considered, was, at that period, decidedly the greatest historical painter
then living, who had been born a British subject. This event, at once so
honourable to his associates and himself, was confirmed by the sanction of
His Majesty on the 24th of March, 1792; on which occasion, on taking the
chair, Mr. West addressed the Academicians to the following effect:--
* * * * *
"GENTLEMEN,
"The free and unsolicited choice with which you have called me to fill
this chair, vacated by the death of that great character, Sir JOSHUA
REYNOLDS, is so marked an instance of your friendship and good opinion,
that it demands the immediate acknowledgment of my thanks, which I beg you
to accept.
"I feel more sensibly the dignity to which you have raised me, as I am
placed in succession after so eminent a character, whose exalted
professional abilities, and very excellent discourses delivered under this
roof, have secured a lasting honor to this Institution and to the
country; while his amiable dispositions, as a man, will make his loss to
be long regretted by all who had the happiness to know him.
"HIS MAJESTY having been graciously pleased to approve and confirm the
choice which you have made of me as your President, it becomes my duty, as
far as my humble abilities will permit, to study and pursue whatever may
be the true interest, the prosperity, and the glory of this ACADEMY. In
the prosecution of this duty, I can make no doubt of success, when I
reflect that all the departments and classes of this Institution are
filled with men of established professional reputation, selected from
professors of the three great branches of art, which constitute the
objects of your studies and, when I see this union of abilities
strengthened by many ingenious productions of other able artists, who,
although they have not as yet the honour of belonging to this body, will,
nevertheless, enable us to maintain the accustomed brilliancy of our
Exhibitions, and, consequently, to secure to us the approbation of a
liberal and judicious public.
"The Exhibitions are of the greatest importance to this Institution; and
the Institution is become of great importance to the country. Here
ingenious youth are instructed in the art of design; and the instruction
acquired in this place, has spread itself through the various manufactures
of this country, to which it has given a taste that is able to convert the
most common and simple materials into rare and valuable articles of
commerce. Those articles the British merchant sends forth into all the
quarters of the world, where they stand preeminent over the productions of
other nations.
"But important as this is, there is another consequence of a more exalted
kind; I mean, the cultivating of those higher excellences in refined art,
which have never failed to secure to nations and to the individuals who
have nourished them, an immortality of fame, which no other circumstances
have been equally able to perpetuate. For it is by those higher and more
refined excellences of painting, sculpture, and architecture, that Grecian
and Roman greatness are transmitted down to the age in which we live, as
if it was still in existence. Many centuries have elapsed since Greeks and
Romans have been overthrown and dissolved as a people; but other nations,
by whom similar refinements were not cultivated, are erased from the face
of the earth, without leaving any monument or vestige to give the
demonstration that they were ever great.
"It may, therefore, be fairly assumed, that an ACADEMY, whose objects and
effects are so enlightened and extensive as those which are prosecuted
here, is highly worthy of the protection of a patriot-king, of a dignified
nobility, and of a wise people.
"Another circumstance, permit me, gentlemen, to mention, because I can
speak of it with peculiar satisfaction, as important to the best
interests of this Institution, and with the fullest assurance of its
truth, from the personal knowledge I have had of you all, and the intimacy
in which I have stood with most of you; it is this, that I have ever found
you steadily determined to support the regulations under which this
ACADEMY has been governed, and brought to its present conspicuous
situation, and by an attention to which, we shall always be sure to go on
with the greatest prudence and advantage.
"It is a matter of no less satisfaction to me, when I say, that I have
always observed your bosoms to glow with gratitude and loyal affection to
our August Founder, Patron, and Benefactor. I am convinced, it is your
wish to retain His friendship, and the friendship of every branch of His
Illustrious Family. I know these to be your sentiments, and they are
sentiments in which I participate with you. In every situation of my life
it shall be my invariable study to demonstrate my duty to my sovereign, my
love for this Institution, and my zeal for the cultivation of genius, and
the growth of universal virtue."
Mr. West having thus been raised to the head of an institution, embracing
within itself the most distinguished artists at that time in the world, it
might be proper to pause here to review the merits of the works and
exertions by which he acquired this eminent honour, had he not, since that
time, attained still more distinction in his profession. I shall, however,
for the present, suspend the consideration of his progress, as an artist,
to trace his efforts, in the situation of President of the Royal Academy,
to promote the improvement of the pupils, by those occasional discourses,
which, in imitation of the excellent example of Sir Joshua Reynolds, he
deemed it an essential part of his duty to deliver.
Chap. VIII.
The first Discourse of Mr. West to the Students of the
Academy.--Progress of the Arts.--Of the Advantages of Schools of
Art.--On the Natural Origin of the Arts.--Of the Patronage which
honoured the Patrons and the Artists.--Professional Advice.--Promising
State of the Arts in Britain.
Mr. West's first discourse to the students of the Royal Academy was
delivered on the 10th of December, 1792, on the occasion of the
distribution of the prizes. Without ostensibly differing in his views from
Sir Joshua Reynolds, who by his lectures acquired, as an author, a degree
of celebrity equal to his fame as an artist, the new President confined
himself more strictly to professional topics. He recalled to the
remembrance of his auditors the circumstances in which the Academy
originated, and reminded them of the encouragement which the efforts of
artists had received from the countenance which the King had given to the
arts. "Let those," said he, "who have traced the progress of the fine
arts, say among what people did the arts rise, from such a state as that
in which they were in this country about forty years ago, to the height
which they have attained here in so short a period. In ancient Greece,
from the retreat of Xerxes, when they were in their infancy, to the age of
Alexander the Great, when they reached their maturity, we find a period of
no less than one hundred and fifty years elapsed. In Rome we can make no
calculation directly applicable; for among the Romans the habit of
employing Greek artists, and the rage of collecting, suffered no distinct
traces to be left of the progress of the arts among them. Even in
architecture, to which their claims were most obviously decided, we see
not sufficiently the gradations of their own peculiar taste and genius.
But in modern Italy, leaving out of view the age of Cimabue, and even that
of Giotto, and dating from the institution of the Academy of St. Luke at
Florence, it required a hundred and fifty years to produce a Michael
Angelo, a Raphael, and a Bramante."
Mr. West, after a few general observations on the necessary union between
moral conduct and good taste, adverts to the alleged influence which such
institutions as the Royal Academy have in producing mannerism in the
students, than which nothing can be more obnoxious to the progress of
refined art. "But," said he, "while I am urging the advantage of freedom
and nature in study to genius, let me not be misunderstood. There is no
untruth in the idea that great wits are allied to great eccentricity.
Genius is apt to run wild if not brought under some regulation. It is a
flood whose current will be dangerous if it is not kept within proper
banks. But it is one thing to regulate its impetuosity, and another very
different to direct its natural courses. In every branch of art there are
certain laws by which genius may be chastened; but the corrections gained
by attention to these laws amputate nothing that is legitimate, pure, and
elegant. Leaving these graces untouched, the schools of art have dominion
enough in curbing what is wild, irregular, and absurd.
"A college of art founded in this part of the world cannot be expected,
like a college of literature, to lay before its young members all that may
be necessary to complete their knowledge and taste. What is to be had from
books may be obtained almost every where; but the books of instruction by
which the artist alone can be perfected, are those great works which still
remain immoveable in that part of the world, where the fine arts in modern
times have been carried to their highest degree of perfection. I trust a
period will come, when this Academy will be able to send the young artist,
not from one spot or one seminary to another, but to gather improvement
from every celebrated work of art wherever situated. But the progress and
all future success of the artist must depend upon himself. He must be in
love with his art or he will never excel in it.
"That the arts of design were among the first suggestions vouchsafed by
Heaven to mankind, is not a proposition at which any man needs to start.
This truth is indeed manifested by every little child, whose first essay
is to make for itself the resemblance of some object to which it has been
accustomed in the nursery.
"In the arts of design were conveyed the original means of communicating
ideas, which the discoverers of countries show us to have been seized
upon, as it were involuntarily, by all the first stages of society.
Although the people were rude in knowledge and in manners, yet they were
possessed of the means by which they could draw figures of things, and
they could make those figures speak their purposes to others as well as to
themselves. The Mexicans conversed in that way when Cortes came among
them; and the savages of North America still employ the same means of
communicating intelligence.
"When, therefore, you have taken up the arts of design as your profession,
you have embraced that which has not only been sanctioned by the
cultivation of the earliest antiquity, but to which their is no antiquity
prior, except that of the visible creation.
"Religion itself in the earlier days of the world, would probably have
failed in its progress without the arts of design, for religion was then
emblematic; and what could an emblematic theology do without the aid of
the fine arts, and especially the art of sculpture? Religion and the arts,
in fact, sprung up together, were introduced by the same people, and went
hand in hand, first through the continent of Asia, then through Egypt,
next through Greece and her colonies, and in process of time through every
part of Italy, and even to the north of Europe. In the pagodas of India,
in some caverns of Media, and among various ruins in Persia, are still to
be seen the early monuments of emblematic art, and wrought in all the
possible difficulties of skill.
"When in the space of two thousand years, after the erection of some of
those monuments, the fine arts came to be established in Greece in a
better spirit as to taste, a higher estimation could not be annexed to any
circumstance in society, than was given to the arts by the wise and
elegant inhabitants of that country. They regarded them as their public
records, as the means of perpetuating all public fame, all private
honour, and all valuable instruction. The professors of them were
considered as public characters who watched over the events that were
passing, and who had in their hands the power of embodying them for ever.
And is not this still the case with the artists of every country, how
varied soever may be its maxims, or its system of action, from those of
Greece? Is the artist indeed not that watchman who observes the great
incidents of his time, and rescues them from oblivion?
"When he turns from these views to contemplate the patronage which has
been given to the fine arts, will he have less reason to esteem his
profession,--a profession so richly cherished by all the greatest
characters of the earth? and which in return has immortalised its patrons.
Posterity has never ceased to venerate the names of the Cosmos and
Lorenzos who sought art, and fostered to their full maturity the various
talents of their countrymen. The palace of the Medici, still existing in
Florence, exhibits not only in its treasures the proofs of their
munificence, but also within its walls those apartments and offices for
artists, in every branch which those great men considered requisite to the
decoration of their residence. And history has immortalised the solicitude
with which the vast fortune of the family, acquired originally in
honourable commerce, and rising gloriously to sovereign power, was made
contributory to the nourishing of the arts and literature; of every thing
that was intellectual, liberal, and great."
Mr. West then continued to enumerate the honour which the successive
illustrious patrons of the fine arts have acquired, deducing from it
motives of emulation to the young students to strive for similar
distinction, that their names may be mingled with those illustrious races
and families to whom Heaven is pleased to give superior eminence and
influence in human affairs. In doing this he took occasion to animadvert
on the base adulation of the artists of France in the age of Louis XIV.;
or rather of the dishonour which the patronage of that monarch has drawn
upon himself, by the unworthy manner in which he required the artists to
gratify his personal vanity. He then proceeded to give some professional
advice. "I wish," said he, "to leave this impression on the minds of all
who hear me, that the great alphabet of our art is the human figure. By a
competent knowledge of that figure the painter will be enabled to give a
more just character and motion to that which he intends to delineate. When
that motion is actuated by passion, and combined with other figures,
groups are formed. These groups make words, and these words make
sentences; by which the painter's tablet speaks a universal language;" and
he concluded with saying, "Gentlemen, It is a great treasure and a great
trust which is put into our hands. The fine arts were late before they
crossed the British Channel, but now we may fairly pronounce that they
have made their special abode with us. There is nothing in this climate
unpropitious to their growth; and if the idea has been conceived in the
world, enough has been done by the artists of Great Britain to disprove
it. I know that I am speaking to the first professional characters in
Europe in every branch of elegant art, as well as those who are most
distinguished in taste and judgment. If there be diffused through this
country a spirit of encouragement equal to the abilities which are ripe to
meet it, I may venture to predict that the sun of our arts will have a
long and glorious career."
Chap. IX.
Discourse to the Royal Academy in 1794.--Observations on the Advantage
of drawing the Human Figure correctly.--On the Propriety of
cultivating the Eye, in order to enlarge the Variety of our Pleasures
derived from Objects of Sight.--On characteristic Distinctions in
Art.--Illustrations drawn from the Apollo Belvidere, and from the
Venus de Medici; comprehending critical Remarks on those Statues.
The prizes in the Royal Academy being distributed every second year, on
the 10th of December, 1794, Mr. West delivered another Discourse, in which
he took a more scientific view of the principles of the fine arts, than in
the desultory observations which constituted the substance of his first
lecture. As it contained much valuable information, mixed up with remarks
incidental to the occasion, I have taken the liberty of abstracting the
professional instruction from the less important matter, in order to give
what deserves to be preserved and generally known in a concise and an
unbroken form.
"It may be assumed," said Mr. West, "as an unquestionable principle, that
the artist who has made himself master of the drawing of the human figure,
in its moral and physical expression, will succeed not only in
portrait-painting, but in the delineation of animals, and even of still
life, much better than if he had directed his attention to inferior
objects. For the human figure in that point of consideration, in which it
becomes a model to art, is more beautiful than any other in nature; and is
distinguished, above every other, by the variety of the phenomena which it
exhibits, arising from the different modifications of feeling and passion.
In my opinion, it would, therefore, be of incalculable advantage to the
public, if the drawing of the human figure were taught as an elementary
essential in education. It would do more than any other species of oral or
written instruction, to implant among the youth of the noble and opulent
classes that correctness of taste which is so ornamental to their rank in
society; while it would guide the artizan in the improvement of his
productions in such a manner, as greatly to enrich the stock of
manufactures, and to increase the articles of commerce; and, as the sight
is perhaps the most delightful of all our senses, this education of the
eye would multiply the sources of enjoyment.