The National Register. — London, England, 1812-02-02 00:00:00

MOM IN% EN FLVE . ENGRAVING. Quid vetat apposito lumen de tumble sumi Mille Heel summit, 4eperit inde When the Muse of Painting recovered from that long state of lethargy, I mentioned in our last, and held up the reviving torch of genius over the classical ground of Magna Grecia, and of the rest of Italy, she was soon surrounded by numbers of votaries who vied with each other, who could adorn her altar with the freshest flowers and brightest garlands. She saw the vaulting cupola glow with the glory of the pallet ; the walls of every palace shone wi:h ad❑tirable delineations, and the domes of reli gious edifices spoke wonders to the eye, she gloried in the marvels she bad created, but yet her wpire was confined, and still subject to the de vastations of time, whose unrelenting scythe had destroyed what her hand had produced before. As she sat on - her throne, proud with the consciousness of what she had already done, she grieved at the indivi duality and destructibility, of the chef tteuvres she had inspired, and to prevent the future evils which she foresaw, borrowing the words and power of the Author of all Good, she, with confidence, exclaimed : " Let them increase and multiply,"—she said, and the art of Engraving was born. Soon all hands were at work to copy the beauties which the public eye admired so much ; and they committed to wood or copper, fac-similes of those astonishing pictures which fresco had fixed on the immoveable stone, or other modes of painting had spread on the canvas, ever to remain where th• y had once been embodied. Not unlike the lamp which yields light to a th iu,and others, and loses nothing of its own, (see the epigraph) every piece of workmanship was multiplied, and, im pressed on paper, flew on the wings of fame, to all other parts of the world. Every picture, far from bring impaired by the art of Engraving, received from it, not only the benefit of being multiplied, but a durabi lity which laughs at the destructive frown of time, and indeed several works which bad utterly decayed, or had been devoured by his rapacity or other causes, survive now in the copper-plates which have been en graved after them. Thus the. tribes of antidiluvian shells, as they are vulgarly called, being entirely lost in the regions of the deep, survive still in their representative fo►siles on the tops of high mountains, and in the bosom of marble quarries. This encomium upon the Art of Engraving is founded upon the most. correct truth; and we are happy t@ find, that it has met also in this country. hands to practise and liberality to reward it. At its dawn, Et.sena EL thOught it of so great a consequence, that he did not disdain to instruct MARC ANTOINE, his friend, and to superintend the Engraving of his own compositions. From the plains of Italy, winding through the vales of the Tyrol, the breadth of the beneficent Muse warmed the minds of the Germans, and AesE RT Dc R ER acquired an immortal fame. The genius flew to Holland, and at last alighted in France, where he had long been neglected or un known. But ANDRAN, PIsCARI 3 MELLAN, DREVET, and fig dads of others, soon fixed his empire under the canopy of the French Monarch. Still England could not boast much of his favours. Engaged in politics, - or distracted with civil wars, she could not find inclination or time to court the Fine Arts, and it is but lately that she holds a real claim to a glory which they never fail to reflect upon a great nation. Indeed she can now boast of being the mother of Artists, who rival the French in boldness and nicety of Engravine ; STRANGE, WODLET, SHARPE, aud several others which we could mention, can set at defiance the graver of any foreign countries. We are even bold enough to say, and feel- a national sense of well-grounded pride in asgerting, that the art in France . has not made of late any progress towards perfection, and hardly stands on a level with our best chalcographers. Let us substantiate our Thesis. A print representing NAPOLEON, as he appeared in his Imperial robe and costly dress in the year 18(15, has of late been imported, and most kindly exposed to inspection in the metropolis, by the desire of the au- thor of this admirable piece of workmanship. It is looked upon at this moment as the ne plus ultra of the graver in France, and becomes, therefore, a proper standard to judge of the state of the art, not only in that kingdom, but through all the Continent. Let us examine it with attention, minuteness, and, chiefly, with impartiality. We cop- 4 fess that at first sight the effect is grand, forcible, and wonderful ; but;' to do justice unequivocally, we must descend into particulars, and con-, eider it seriously and critically as to its intrilibic merit. 8 1 .. • THE NATIONAL. REGISTER. FEB'. 2 The composition.—Buo N APA RTZ, his head loaded with laorels, and ti t ; imperial sceptre in his right hand, stands before the coronation char, or fauteuil de ceremonie, with his imperial mantle and the coital and badge of the Legion of Honour thrown around his neck and should, re A table, well ornamented, stands on his right side, and upon it arc th e insignia of royalty. His feet -rest on the highest of several steps ci e vered with a rich velvet carpet, strewed with bees. If there is any thing defective and awkward in the arrangement of the whole, sercly it is not the engraver's fault, and we must chide the painter for th e cumberous load of drapery heaped at the side of the ;'igure, for tT e c lumsiness of the folds of the mantle on the g r ou n d , for the diagona s l position of the step, and several other inaccuracies in the disposition. Let us only compare this tout ensemble with the print of Bosseee b y DREYET, after the immortal RIGAUD, and even with one of later da.e, the engraved whole-length figure of the unfortunate Louis XVI. what a striking difference in the composition as to taste and minute propriety and yet this is the subject which has been intrusted to the superior ta- lents of DES NOY ER S, to give the world a specimen of what Engraving can do ;—let us conclude from this, and draw the undeniable corollary, that portrait Painters in France are at this moment much inferior to our LAWRENCE, PHILLIPS, O*'EN, and several others whose works are constantly the subjects of well-deserved admiration. With re. gat d to— The Execution.—lt is undoubtedly very great, and of a powerfd style; every part is well told; and, we are persuaded, does full justice to the Painting ; but we cannot disguise that the Artist (as if in tion of the extraordinary man be intonded to represent) seems to have been determined to get his point, route qui route, and by whatever means he found more easily conducive to it—he saw obstacles and dif ficulties before his eyes, and used all sorts of tactics to overcome tle - r The aquafortis of CA Lecer—the swelling and uncrossed line'of MEL LA N, could not alone insure him the laurels of victory ; he called to his assistance the Stippling niggardness of modern and inferior Artists, and even admitted the hardly allowable tricks of Prince RUPERT'S lifet:o. (into. Bent upon the ultimate praise due to effect, he was obliged to hire in his service, as auxiliaries, all the branches of Engraving, and we are astonished that he did not rouse to his advantage the humble power of the modest Aquatinta. Did the old French Engravers, who brought the art to such an acme of pefection, employ such ruses de guerre to produce effect ? and did they not produce as great, if. Dot greater, effects without this unnatural coalition ? Any unlawful union of distinct branches of the art Cannot generate but bastard effsprings, and we are proud to find, that our own observation has coincided with the opinion of the best connoisseurs in this country. We should be very sorry if any one of our Readers was to misunder• stand our meaning, and to suppose fur a moment, that our intention is to depreciate the merit of a performance so much talked of and ad mired; but we have consecrated our pen oil the altar of truth, and ‘;e must write down our opinion as genuine as it exists in our breasts:--lf we are mistaken, let evidence hold up her unfailing light—we are open to conviction. Ibkii. LAIV REPORIS. COURT OF EXCHEQUER CHAMBER, SATURDAY, Fin. I. THE KING V. BENJAMIN WALsii, ESQ. This case, which had been reserved from the last Old Bailey Sessions, came on to be argued in this Court, before the Twelve Judges, when i\jr. Scarlett was heard at considerable length on behalf of the pri• sorter: and it Gurney was in part heard on the part of the prosecution; but the Chief Justices ELLENBOROUGu and MANSIfLEI.D being obliged to attend the IVSsi Prins sittings at Guildhall, the future consideraticn of the case was postponed to the 14th instant. COURT OF KING'S BENCH, W EDNESDAY, JAN. "9• THE KING V. MANSELL PHILLIPS) ESQ. M. P. The iittoriwy-G e neral moved the judgment of the Court against the defendant for publishing a libel on the Bish©p of Derry. The record being read, Mr. Phillips, by his Counsel, made a full and ample aro logy for the offence he had committed; which•being ac cepted on the part of the Bishop, Mr. Phillips was discharged, on jving his ONVII re cognizance to appear to receive the judgment of the Court when called for.. In the Consis(ory Court, on Friday, Sir W. Scorr annulled the mar riage cf William Peter Paugett, a minor, with Lucretia Tonikins, in consequence of • the banns published in the name of William 014 , though the party was baptized and Len -:rally known by the name a _William, Peter. • F] sal