The Sun.
London, England, 1802-01-25 00:00:00

TILE ARTS'

TUE recent publication of M. DE I',NFANS, on
the subjeft_of Painting, has made a great impres.-
sionon the Professors of that beautiful Art. Many
of the more liberal of the fraternity have testified
their approbation of the acute and erudite Criticisms
with which the work abounds, bqt others who
either find themselves incapable of rising. above
mediocrity, or, at least, find /the world perversely
!disposed to place them-in that rank., are highly-in-
censed.witjt the ingenious Author for remarks which
they have thought proper to apply to theMselves.
These discontent3d votaries of the '.Pencil have
vented, their splepn in peevish complaints, and
anonylißottsepitl.es„ The work has already reached
a secoild,cAtiori; and the Author. has given the fol-
lowing general answer to all whom he ha's banded
by observatidns- which, rightly employed, would
improve,their taste, and enable them to make a more
distinguished figure in their profession.'

" When we published about three weeks since,
. ,
ie 'first edition of this little Work, we jierc not

--,:- -
conscious it contained ought that might incur the

slleasure of any one ; as..however some Actists-,
oThers Nvho believe themselves to be so, have
_

written to reproach is with an intention olinjuring
thein in their profession, and haVe censured several
passages, that are not suppressed in the present edi-
tion ; we think ourselves called upon to Say•a few

words in our oWri justification. ,
We are, in the first place, reproached with
having degraded In the eyes of the Public, the whole
body of Painters, by accusing, them, generally, of
envy and jealousy. As we have alledged nothing
slightly, or inserted any
strictly
in the Catalogue, but
what we believe-to he true, we should he
wanting. to ourselves were we to retract what we
then advanced. The fact is as follows :

" Having occasion, during the last Autumn, to
peruse the Lives of the different. Painters, for the
purpose of procuring the best information resped-
ing the works that we had to describe, we were
struck by-observing that many of the most cele-
brated Masters had.been susceptible of so grovel-

. _ .
ling a passio❑ as jealousy, and it reminded us of
an observation we had' before, made, of some Artists
of our 'own time, who are stibjeit to the same in-
firmity ; for we have not unfrequently witnessed
the cruel pleasure that they have taken in degrading
the works of their Fellow-Artists, and with a
warmth that nearly bordered on rage.
" Such was our inducement to observe it to be a
misfortune thatinsread of a low envy, the bosom of

the Painter did not glow with the:noble emulation
that existed in other liberal professions.
c, What would haVe become of us, or what would
have been the fate of. Britain, if, about five years
ago, when insurrection reigned ,througliour her
Fleets, our, brave OffiCers had, like many of our
Artists, been jealous' of eaeh•other, and had not,
with an united hand,. crushed the rebellion,' and
restored subordination ?
" Fa&ion, in an Academy of Painting, is neither
dangerous nor of much consequence-to the State-, but
much more difficult to suppress, and more tedious in
its duration, than a political revolt.
Far from intending injury to any one, we have
avoided%mentioning,- or pointedly attacking any'
individual ; but
.in contributing our 'endeavours to
root out art evil which ha's been' Of-Considerable in.-
jury to the -most meritorious' Painters, and. parti-
cularly- to young Students, who stand in need of
every assistance and advice, we have, on the autho-
rity of those Authors mentioned in our Preface,
taxed Lanfranc, Claude, Rubens,. and Velasquez,
with jealousy and' envy.. We however solemnly
declare we had ,no intention of alluding' to those
Artists who have written to us on the subject ; on
the contrary, we freely'confess we are not aware of
anrresemblance that they bear in any resped what-
ever tp those Masters.' •
" We intreat they will review the Catalogue
impartially, and they will observe that we have
adopted great caution -in mentioning the jealousy
that exists among Painters, and made very consider,
able exceptions to ies being general. We trust
it will'appear evident' we have only attacked the
guilty.
" In a word, far from wishing 'to injure the
body of 'Painters, our attachment and zeal for their
interest, is so well known, that within a short time
past, the Royal Academy of London, and the So-
ciety for the Encouragement of Arts and Sciences,
have respeetively honoured us with a. Vpte of
Thanks,• at one of their public meetings.
" The next accusation against us is, our having
said in No. 142, that the Art of Painting admits
of no middle
,degrees, by which assertion, they, pre-
tend, we have discouraged a number of men, who
never can rise, above.mediocrity.. •
" We have indeed:aSsertedlvhat is perfealy true,
and continue to say, that such Painters will never he
tanked .amongst Artists, not withstanding the vast
quantity of canvas, which, by a natural quickness
of hand, they colour in the course of a twelvemonth ;
and we appeal to those who are acquainted, with the
difficUlties of the Art, to the professional men who
really aim at fame, and are reminded of its trouble
and fatigue, by their daily painting, rubbing,
effacing, and correcting works with which they are
themselves never pleased, till .they are brought to a
certain degree of perfection, by labour and great
efforts of genius—on them we call, to say whether
our assertion is not just.- "
A set of men, stiling themselves Artists, with-
out any claim to the appellation, and a set of taste-
less-Collectors, who satisfied with the most indif-
ferent pictures, have filled. their rooms, at a few
Guineas expence, offended by our candour,, hayse
already raised the war-whoop against ourselves, and
a colleEtion they have not yet seen. But we rellea
on it with indifference, as we look forward with
Confidence to the approbation of the true,,,Artist
and the iinpartial Connoisseur. Far, therefore, froth
retracting whaf we have advanced about those pre-
tended Painters, who,toofrequently usurp the place
of meritorious ones, we are more than ever con-
vinced that their knowledge and a total ignorance
are perfectly on a par.
• •

cc Any man blessed uHith common sense only,
may, by study and labour, -acquire science and suf-
ficient knowledge to distinguish himself in most of
the professions of life ; but notwithstanding good
sense, labour, study, and knowledge are also neces-
sary to form a Painter, they are by-no. means suf-
ficient, for he mustbesides, be endowed with that -
celestial fire called Genius.

" In time of yore, kind fairies, or Apollo him
.self; used to preside at the birth ,of Poets and-
Painters, in order to bestow on them that precious
gift ; and as no one dared then, write verses, of
paint without it, taste was not orTended,and plagued
with the works of a fop, foolish poems, and bad pit;
tures ; but in our days, in. spite of taste and of
Apollo, and quite a stranger; p Genius, and ,to the
Art itself,, any.man• who can buy. 4 few yards of.
.cloth, a pint of oil, and a pound of colourt,, -sets uf•
as, a Painter, and feels affronted if John Bull, not,
awed by the prOduetions of his pencil,'enters his,:
painting room in boots, and With his, hat on, 'for;
the new Appelles says, it ought not to,be the case-
. •
in a polite country."