The daily national Whig. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1847-1849, 1847-11-26
THE PoRTRAIT.--oontinucd.


.i..,s ,,sre cited MS having occurred amongst the
lower classes, where the loans of the mysterious
usurer had brought misfortune in their train, one
man previously a sober and honest artisan, hau DC
come n confirmed drunkard, and died in the hospi-
ta; n shopmun had robbed his masIerj an HNo,'-
chik. for years noted for his honesty had cur .'e
throat of customer, in order TO ROD nm VI "n IL"
significant sum- All these persons, and many o'heis
who sank into misery and crime, OF persheu ny wy
lent deaths had been customers OF the Mysterious
Asiac of whom these stories reiateo as 'hey oiteh
were, with additions and eSnggerauons, lnspifoa the
quiet and peaceable inhabitants OF the holomna win
san involuntary horror. NOBODY doubted tiie ieai
nresence If the evil spirit in this man. They said
TINT he exacted conditions which made ones very
hair stand ON end and which none of his unhappy
clients dared disclose; that his money had mystic
riops property of attraction; that the coins were
marked with strange characters and grew red-hot of
their own accord In short, there were thousand
extrayapant reports. But what is most remarkable
is, that this population of Kolomna, made up Of pen
sioners ha-pay officers petty functonaries, obscure
artists and others equally necessitous preferred bear
ing the utmost distress TO having recourse TO the
dreaded money-lender They all declared they would
rather mortify their bodies than destroy their souls
Those who met him in the street hurried by with
uneasy sensation, making way for him with anxious
submssiveness and looking long over their shout
ders at the tall lean figure It lost Itself in the dis
lance His singular frame might well have been the
receptacle Of supernatural and unholy spirit The
wild and deeply-cut features had something different
from humanity; the extraordinary thickness of the
shaggy eyebrows; the bronzed glow of the counte-
nance; the frightfnl eyes, with their steady unsup
portable gare even the broad folds of the Oriental
dress were, each in turn the subject of uneasy and
suspicious comment. My father told me, that when
he met him he could not avoid stopping to gaze at
him and il invariably occurred to him that he had
never seen, either in painting or life face that so
completely came up to his notion of demon But
! must make you, as briefly as possible, acquainted
with my father who is the real hero of my tale. He
was remarkable man, self taught painter, seeking
principles In his mind and celebrating without
master or school, rules and laws Of art led onward
by the mere thirst for excellence, and advancing
under the influence of which he himself, per-
haps, could not have defined, along path marked
out for him only in his own mind. He was one OF
those children Of genius whom contemporaries SO
often sgmatze as Ignorant because they have struck
out track for themselves and whose ardor is to be
chilled neither by censure failures; whence, on
the contrary they derive fresh vigor and courage
Aided only by his own lofty instincts he attained to
the true understanding of what historical painting
should be. Scriptura SUBJECTS the last and otiest
step Of high ART chiefly occupied his pencil Free
from the feversh irritable vanity and paltry envy so
common amongst artists, he was u firm, upright,
honorable man, little rough and unpublished in ex
ternals-the husk rather rugged-and with share
of honest pride and independent feeling which some
times impaired TO his manner air of mingled
bluntness and condescension. u care nothing for
your fine folks he would say Il don't work for
them. don't paint drawing-room pictures. Those
who understand my work best reward ME for it. l
do not blame fashionable people for understand
ing art: how should they? They understand their
cards; they are Judges Of wine and horses. IT'S
enough. When they do pick up crude notion or
two on the subject of painting, they become ntoer-
able by their assumption. PREFER thousand times
the man who honestly coniesses he knows nothing
about art, to your ignoralnus who comes in with
solemn atiectation Of connosseurship, claiming to
be Judge talking about things he does not UNDER
stand, and consequently talking nonsense. BY no
means covetous man, my father painted for very
modest remuneration, contented to sufficient
for the support Of his fdmily and for providing Tie
means OF exercising his art. Generous in the ex-
treme, his hand was open TO less successful ar
lists, Imbued with fervent and profound sense of
religion Ii that, perhaps which enabled him to
communicate to the faces he painted an elevation of
religious sentiment that the most brilliant pencils
obstinate industry and unAnching perseverance, his
talent attracted the attention and commanded the
respect even of those who had at first sneered at
him us homemade artist. He received numerous
orders for pieces and other church pictures and
abored necessarily. One picture in particular en-
gagged his closest attention The subject forget but
know that the great enemy Of mankind was to be
introduced. Long did my father mediate on this
figure; he desired to embody in the countenance the
expression of every evil passion that affcts fallen
humanity. Whilst rejecting on the subject and con-
juring up horrible countenances in his Imagination,
the strange features of the mysterious
frequently required to him; and, often they did
So he said to himself The usurer would be fine
model for my Devil
One day whilst he was busy planning his great
work, and making sketches, with which he had diff.
Guilty in pleasing himself. there knock at his
studio door, and the instant to his infinite
constituent, the usurer entered the ROOM My father
has since told me that behoding him he felt an in
applicable chill and shudder come over his whole
frame.
"sYou are an artistl said the intruder abruptly.
go i am replied my father, wondering what wal
coming next
az want my portrait painted, have not long Il
live. ! have no children, and do not wish to d
altogether. Can you paint portrait of me that shal
=
my father reflected for a moment. 'Nothin
could be more opportune, thought he to himself; n
comes of his own accord 10 sit TO me for my Devil
And he agreed to satisfy his singular visitor
Hour and price stipulated and the next day m
father bearing palette and brushes, repaired to tn
abode Of his new sitter. aa
The gloomy courtyard surrounded by high walls;
the lwatch-dogs; the iron doors and shutters; tn
arched windows; the huge Golfers covered with
strange, misunderstanding carpets and, above all
the grim, gloomy yisage Of the master Of the house
seated immovable before h.nall these conspired to
produce strong impression on his mind The win
dows were closed and darkened single pane in the
upper part of one Of them admitted strong ray OF
light. He forgot the strange repute Of his sitter in
zeal for his art.
How splendidly the fellows face is lighted up he
thought TO himself, and Sc, TO work with furious en-.
gerness though fearful OF losing the favorable mo-
meut. What vigor wha, light and shade he ex-
claimed, inaudibly. Ifl can get him in only half
vigorously as he sits there the portrait will beat every
thing have done; he viii walk out of the canvass
What extraordinary features wha, depth in the lines