ure. Florence, called the Rape of the Sabines, affords further illustration of what we have said respecting the style of Art of this time; as a specimen of invention it is full of fire and expression, but the composition partakes too much of the corkscrew form, and is extravagant; it is impossible, however, not to admire the courage as well as ability of the artist who ventured to execute so daring a work. Other statues and several bassi rilievi exhibit in like manner the power of mind and hand, but at the same time the defects of style, of Giovanni di Bologna. Unfortunately the imitators of his "manner" were numerous. The beautiful and simple figure of S. Cecilia in the Church of the Convent dedicated to that Saint in Rome, would place its author Stefano Maderno in the very highest rank, if he had not forfeited his claim to the distinction by the production of later works in which all the finer qualities of Art are lost sight of. II This statue was executed when he was very young, probably before his taste had become corrupted, and its excellence arises from its simplicity and general truth to Nature. It is said, that when the coffin, in which the Virgin Saint was deposited after her martyrdom, was di scovered, her body was found undecayed, and lying in the position in which Stefano Maderno, by order of Clement VIII., has here represented it.* This will account for the superiority of this work over others of the same artist; prevented by the circumstances from introducing any of the prevailing bad taste of the time, he has, by making Nature his model, produced a work which excites the sympathy and engages the suffrages of all who see it.

One of the most extraordinary artists of the XVIIth century, and one whose practice tended more than any thing not only to check but to subvert all good taste in Sculpture, was Bernini. He was born at Naples, and at a very early age gave indications of talent in the Fine Arts; a head in marble is still preserved which he is said to have executed at nine or ten years of age. It is quite surprising, that, with so many fine works of antiquity before them, the admirers of Art should have so extensively patronised a Sculptor who set all the principles of true taste completely at defiance, and whose influence was so great that no Art was protected which was not conformable to that which he had established. Under him the distinctive bounds of the different classes of Art were trampled down; Sculptors were busied in imitating the works of the pencil, and Architects in seeking to introduce into their compositions the curved line of beauty. It would, indeed, be difficult to conceive two styles more directly opposed to each other than that which characterised the Sculpture of this Age, and that of the great artists of antiquity. In the one, simplicity was the pervading principle and expression united with fine form; in the other the eye is offended by strained actions, uncommon arrangement in composition, and draperies flying and frittered away. Undercutting, perforations, and all the other mere mechanical difficulties of the Art were also resorted to, to catch the attention and create surprise; thus the means were mistaken for the end, and the artists were content to rest their claim to distinction on the poor foundation of their ingenuity as handi

* Venuti says, nella positura medesima che si vede la sua statua scolpita. The inscription under the statue is, En tibi sanctissima virginis Cecilie imaginem quam ipse integram in sepul ehro jacentem vidi, eandem tibi prorsus eodem corporis situ hoc mar more expressi.

craftsmen. A few artists may be selected from this Modern. large class, possessing qualities which raise them some little above their contemporaries, but in these the great principle which should pervade all Sculpture is lost sight of, and the picturesque is everywhere substituted for simplicity; indeed the alti and bassi rilievi of the best of the artists of this time are but bad pictures done in marble, on no part of which can the eye rest with satisfaction. The works of Bernini are too well known to require particular notice; we shall content ourselves, therefore, with mentioning a few of the most celebrated, to illustrate our observations on the merits and defects of this artist. Two of his best, and they were two of his earliest productions, are in the Cascino of the Villa Borghese, at Rome; viz. the Apollo and Daphne, Plate VII. and David, (said to be a portrait of himself,) preparing to throw the stone at Goliath. These figures display great feeling for the respective subjects, and equal skill in the execution, and only want good taste to entitle them to a very high rank in Sculpture. The statue of S. Bibiana, the fountain in the Piazza Navona, the four Doctors of the Church supporting the chair of St. Peter, are all characteristic works of this artist. In St. Peter's, also, are the monuments of Urban VIII. and of Alexander VII., which surpass all his other productions in bad taste. A group, intended to represent the ecstasy of S. Teresa, in the Church of La Vittoria, in Rome, has merits of execution, but it is difficult, amidst the flutter and confusion of the drapery, to discover either the figure of the Saint, or the subject of the work. Bernini lived during nine Pontificates: no artist ever had greater patronage, and few greater talents, had they been properly applied; but the variety of his pursuits, and his inordinate love of picturesque effect, ruined the progress of Sculpture, and we are compelled to admit, that it would have been better for that Art if Bernini had never lived. In proof of the versatility of his talents, mention is made of a theatrical entertainment which had been given in Rome by him, for which he built the theatre, painted the scenes, cast the statues, constructed the engines, wrote the comedy, and composed the music, We could easily extend our observations on this extraordinary man, but our object, that of illustrating the History of Sculpture, is suffi ciently answered by noticing a few of the leading Sculptors, and making some observations at the same time on the peculiarities which mark their practice, and the improvement or decline of the Art.

This

Contemporary with Bernini was Alessandro Algardi, Algardi. of Bologna, whose principal work, a large basso rilievo, in marble, of Attila driven from Rome by the apparition of St. Peter and St. Paul, is well known. work is above 30 feet high, and 18 feet wide, and forms an altar-piece in St. Peter's Church. The observations which apply to the works of Bernini are equally applicable to those of Algardi, who, if he did not servilely copy the faults of the first-named Sculptor, was equally distant with him from the purity of the antique; in the basso rilievo alluded to, an attempt is made to obtain distance and picturesque effect by a variety of planes, and difference in the degrees of relief of the figures. The consequence is inevitable in Sculpture: it is a mass of confusion. Considerable intelligence is shown in parts of the composition, as well as in the execution of the work, but a principle of bad taste pervades the whole, which is not compensated by any other qualities. In short,

II Fiammingo.

Mocchi.

Plate VII.

Sculpture. the Art instead of rising was now fast falling to decay; the very facility of execution, which should have been the means of carrying it to a second perfection, equal to the best times of Greek Sculpture, only hurried it to its ruin, and to the artists of the XVIIth century we must, in a great degree, attribute the disgrace of its downfal. One Sculptor, however, who lived at this period, deserves to be distinctly mentioned, inasmuch as he did not suffer himself to be carried away by the prevailing false taste, with similar facility to that with which the generality of artists bowed to its influence; this was Fr. de Quesnoy, commonly called Il Fiammingo, a native of Brussels, who, although his taste was far from correct, has left a few works which secure him a respectable name with posterity. His statues of Sta. Susanna, and of St. Andrew, at Rome, in St. Peter's Church, as well as his bassi rilievi of children, have passages of great merit, and claim the attention of all admirers of Art. Francesco Mocchi executed two statues in the Duomo of Orvieto, representing the Annunciation; they are not grouped together but are distinct figures. The angel has been much overrated, the boldness of the conception and execution having excited greater admiration than the general merits of the work warrant. The figure is supported on a cloud, which rests on the pedestal. The Virgin is gently shrinking and starting back; the intention is good, but the figure is short and heavy, and has none of that beauty of form proper to the subject. But little advantage will be gained by enumerating the works of the Rusconi and others of the same School, which only tend to illustrate the further decline of Sculpture. The minute and laborious works of San Martino and Corradini, in the Church of St. Severo, at Naples, representing the dead body of Christ covered with drapery, Modesty veiled, and a figure of Deceit within a net, attest the patience of their respective authors, and remain monuments of their bad taste. The same may be said, with few exceptions, of the works of the Bonazzi, Tagliapietra, Toretti, and Morlaiter, at Venice, and an infinity of other Sculptors, who deluged the different cities of Italy with absurd productions of their misplaced ingenuity.

France.

This was the state of Art in the XVIIIth century; and the taste which pervaded Italy was the prevailing taste in other Countries in which Sculpture was practised, the artists of Italy being almost exclusively employed to execute whatever works were required; or if native artists were anywhere thought worthy of confidence, they were for the most part scholars or followers of some distinSculpture in guished or fashionable Italian practitioner. That this was the case in France will be evident on examining most of the Sculpture produced there from the time of Francis I.; the epoch from which the practice of the Art, and of its assuming any importance in that Country, is generally dated; and at which time Italian artists, Lionardo da Vinci, Primaticcio, Benvenuto Cellini, Rustici, and others were invited into that Country. The French Sculptors who arose out of this encouragement of Art, exerted themselves, it is true, with industry and success, and several have left distinguished names and valuable specimens of their abilities. A History of the French School of Sculpture will not afford any additional infor

The French (though a great improvement has taken place) were soon led away by a desire to display nice and curious execution; the Sculptors above named were their purest artists. For the ne plus ultra of bad taste we need only mention Pigal's extraordinary works,

mation on the general History of Art, but from their Moder most celebrated names we gladly select such as Puget and Girardon.

We possess some very early specimens of Sculp- In Eugla ture in England. Those who returned from the Crusades made attempts to imitate the Arts and magnificence of the Countries they had visited, and introduced some richness of decoration into the Architecture of their time; but no Sculpture in figures is deserving of particular notice till the reign of Henry III., Heary when efforts were made in that Art not unworthy our attention even at the present day. In the year 1242, the Cathedral of Wells was finished under the care and su perintendence of Bishop Joceline. This was about the time of the birth of Cimabue, the restorer of Painting in Italy, and the work was in progress at the same time that Niccolo Pisano, one of the earliest Sculptors after the revival of the Arts, was exercising his profession in his own Country. The circumstance is remarkable, and the late lamented Professor of Sculpture in our Royal Academy adduces strong arguments for believing the execution of the bassi rilievi and statues which decorate this structure to have been by native artists.* These Sculptures, consisting of subjects from the Scriptures, and some statues, larger than life, of our early Kings and Queens, exhibit much grace, beauty, and simplicity, and, making allowance always for the time at which they were executed, are well worthy the attention of the curious. The richly decorated crosses erected by Edward I., in those places wherein the body Edward of Queen Eleanor rested, (and of which three are still remaining,) were most probably by Italian artists; but under Edward III. it seems that our own Countrymen were capable of exercising the Art. To use the words of Flaxman, "it is a gratification to know that the prin cipal Sculptors and Painters employed by Edward III. Edward! in his Collegiate Church, (St. Stephen's,) now the House of Commons, were Englishmen ;" and he gives us the names of Michael the Sculptor, Master Walter, John of Sonnington, John of Carlisle, and Roger of Winchester, Painters. Passing on to the reign of Henry VII., Henry we find that Torregiano, an Italian artist of some celebrity, was much employed in England in the beautiful Chape! built in Westminster Abbey; but it is thought that much of the Sculpture of this period was by native artists. It will be sufficient to refer the curious reader to some of the statues that decorate the above Chapel, which are well worthy attention for the beautiful and simple arrangement of their draperies. From the reign of Henry VIII. to that of Charles I. Sculpture seems to have been much neglected; indeed works of Art were wantonly and purposely destroyed; but from the wrecks that remain it appears that from the year 1200 down to Henry VII., we have works in Sculpture, not only executed in England, but certainly in many very important instances by Englishmen. In Charles's time we meet with the names of Christmas Charles and Stone, Englishmen. The principal works in Sculp ture after this period were by foreigners, and we find that Cibber, Scheemacker, Roubiliac, and others of their School, had all the employment in Art. Their produc tions are well known, and a particular account of them

particularly the Tomb of Marshal Saxe, at Strasburg, executed in 1776. The Sculpture of other European Countries, Spain, Germany, &c., affords no information on the History of the Art, and we there fore omit them.

* Vide Flaxman's Lectures on Sculpture.

pture. would be both unnecessary and out of place. This was the state of Art in England till the middle of the last gelll. century, when, under the protection and auspices of George III., Sculpture and the sister Arts rose into notice, and were practised by native artists with honour to themselves and to their Country.

-m in

The Count Cicognara, in his valuable Work on Sculpture, considers that the epoch of a revolution in taste in Italy was the reign of Charles III. of Naples; of Popes Clement XIII., Benedict XIV., and of Leopold, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Besides these Princes, Cardinal Albani, justly called the Hadrian of his Age, attached the literati and best artists of the day to him, and his Palace was the resort of genius, taste, and learning. He formed a collection of the finest remains of antiquity, well calculated to remodel the taste, and excite the emulation of the artists of the time. To this princely taste of the Cardinal the World is indebted also for the learned labours of a distinguished antiquary, for under the immediate protection of the Prelate, Winckelman wrote his History of the Arts of Design. The Clementine Museum at the Vatican received important additions under Pius VI., after whom it was called Pio-Clementino; and the greatest activity prevailed at his accession throughout the Roman States to secure whatever fine works in Sculpture were discovered, forming a remarkable contrast to the carelessness which existed on these subjects a few years before. Amongst the Sculptors of that period were Cavaceppi, Penna, and a few others; the influence of the Bernini School had ceased, and as the false principles of its practice were discovered, the want of a just style was felt, and, in point of fact, Sculpture in the hands of the above artists will be found to have made considerable approach to purity, and to have acquired much of its lost character.

The honour, however, of giving a new direction to Taste, and of establishing this Art on true principles, is certainly due to Flaxman and Canova; and the works of Banks may also be cited as valuable specimens of improvement. In the Theseus of Canova, one of his best and earliest works, we recognise the long lost purity of form, and a decided devotion to the simplicity of the antique; in the designs of Flaxman, in like manner, simplicity, grace, and expression resume their influence in the place of long-established affectation and distortion. The simple taste of which the earlier works of Canova gave promise, it must be allowed, is occasionally less conspicuous in some of the later productions of this master: exceptions will also be made to Flaxman, in whose works execution will be found a very secondary object compared with design; but the works of these distinguished artists are before the World, and their merits have been too often discussed to render it necessary here to enlarge upon them; besides, a critical examination of them would be quite out of place, our object, that of tracing the History of Sculpture down to our own times, being fulfilled. The influence of these second

restorers of Sculpture, as they may justly be called, on the Art of their day is acknowledged, and though distinct Schools have arisen out of those which they formed, to them must be attributed the merit of having at least directed the attention of artists and the admirers of Art to that which is really excellent.

ture

Modern.

The mechanical process of Sculpture is now so Mechanism generally known, that it seems hardly necessary to of Sculpnotice it here, but as it may be considered to form a part of our subject, we shall conclude by a short explanation of the manner of proceeding. The Sculptor having invented or conceived his subject, proceeds from a small sketch, drawn on paper or, modelled in clay or wax, to build up his statue or group, for which purpose a general nucleus or skeleton is first formed of wood or iron; to this, small crosses are generally attached, in order to make the clay adhere to it; the figure is then built up in clay, of which different sorts are used, according to the fancy of artists; the figures, even if they are intended to be draped, should always be first carefully modelled naked, and the drapery should be added afterwards. In modelling alto or basso rilievo, a plane or ground (generally of clay) is prepared, upon which the Sculptor draws his proposed design; the clay is then placed upon this, the outline of the figures being carefully preserved by attending to the drawing already made upon the surface. The model being completed, and kept moist, a mould of plaster of Paris is made upon it, which when dry (or set) is removed, and the model is destroyed; the mould being oiled, is then filled up with fresh plaster, which is prevented from adhering too firmly by the oily substance with which it has been saturated; the mould is then broken off, and a cast of the model is produced entire. The next process is copying it in marble; for this purpose two stones of the same size, each having a scale in front, are prepared; the model is placed upon one of these, the block of marble on the other; a movable instrument or beam is applied to the scale of the model, and a needle branching from it, and capable of being extended and withdrawn at pleasure by means of screws and ball and socket joints, is made to touch the particular part of the model intended to be copied ;* this is carefully removed to the corresponding number on the scale on which the rude block is fixed, and the marble is cut away till the needle reaches as far into the block as it had been fixed at upon the model; this process is repeated till the whole is copied, the joints on which the needle works being so constructed that it can be carried round to any part of the work. The statue being thus rudely blocked out, or pointed, as it is technically termed, is delivered over to a carver, who copies the minute parts of the work, and by degrees, with chisels and files, brings it to a surface, ready to receive the finishing strokes of the Sculptor.

The construction of these instruments for pointing is not always the same, but the principle upon which they act is exactly similar.

Painting. Origin of To renew that inquiry of the over-curious, as to the Painting. country wherein the Art of Painting was first invented, is nearly as absurd as to raise a question with regard to the persons who may have originated the Art of dressing skins or cooking meat, or introduced any of the commonest occupations of life; so natural is imitative Art to man, and so common is it to find some efforts in this line even among the rudest people, and those who are the farthest removed from the chance of intercourse one with another. We shall only observe, then, generally, that the extreme antiquity of this Art is fully shown, when it is admitted as a fact, that the use of representation by outlines, imitating the external forms of things, preceded the use of arbitrary and conventional signs amongst Mankind. Hieroglyphics were used before Letters, and the Art of Drawing is therefore undoubtedly prior to that of Writing; and we might fairly substitute this simple statement for the more common and fabulous part of its History. Of the fact we have proof enough in the painted and engraven monuments of Egypt, Persia, and India, as well as in the stained leather of the savages of the Ohio and the Mississipi, who relate a battle by figures of men fallen and falling, just after the same fashion. Very forcibly indeed are these ancient and primitive, and necessary habits of the human race brought before our eyes, in the accounts we daily receive of those uncivilized nations, among whom we view Man as a social animal during the time that the state of society is in its infancy.

HISTORY OF ANCIENT ART.

Raphael Mengs remarks with great truth, that it might have happened that the Art of design was invented at the same time in Greece, Egypt, and in Tuscany, or that some of these people, of whom Historians speak as inventors, did themselves receive the Art from others who practised it before their day; but, after what has been observed above, this is of little consequence. We must consider, therefore, the stories related by ancient authors, as to the invention of the Arts of Painting and Statuary, not as relating actually to the first discoverer, but to that person of whose successful efforts the earliest tradition has been preserved,-to the improver, rather than the originator. Such was Gyges, a native of Lydia, who, as Pliny informs us, was a teacher of the Art of Painting amongst his countrymen in Asia Minor; and by whom the practice was afterwards carried into Italy by a colony from those parts, known under the name of the Hetrusci or Tuscans. Of the degree of skill possessed by these Hetrurians, some writers have asserted, that specimens may yet be seen in the painted figures discovered in the tomb of an ancient monarch, on the site of Clusium, and in some similar relics at Arezzo and Viterbo.

In a like view must we regard the stories of the love-sick girl tracing the shadow of her suitor's profile

of the

Ancien

on the wall, by the light of a lamp, or of the shepherds Schoo marking with their crooks the outline of their shadows, projected by the sunshine upon the sand. Such, too, are the claims usually put forward on the part of the Egyptians to the invention of the Art of design; that people probably were inventors, as many other people were so; but only among themselves, and for themselves. And no doubt there were attempts made by other countries as well as these, and perhaps at as early a date: we certainly read of Pictures being in use amongst the inhabitants of the land of Canaan, at the time that the Israelites took possession of it; the words in our translation of the Bible, in which Moses addresses the Israelites, are these, destroy all their Pictures, and destroy all their molten images.' Exod. xxxiii. 52. And whether borrowed from Egypt or otherwise, it is clear that the Art of design was not unknown amongst the Jews themselves, either as Statuaries or Painters: for we read of the image of a calf set up by them in Dan; and we read in the prophet Ezekiel, of the "form of creeping things," &c." portrayed upon the wall." Ezekiel, viii. 10.

66

All that is here mentioned under the name of Picture or Painting was probably no more than a simple delineation of form, the interior of which was occasionally filled up with colour; such as the earliest specimens of Egyptian Art present to our view; the capacity of executing such matters in such sort, being, as we have said, natural to Man as an imitative animal.

The further developement of the Art of Painting, of Its pro that, indeed, which alone gives it a title to the name of Art, has been to a certain extent detailed to us by the ancient writers of Natural or Civil History. And the successive degrees of improvement which were achieved in these early days, afford to our contemplation a curious analysis of the nature of those ideas relative to Painting, which in the present more advanced state of our knowledge appear so simple in themselves, and to need so little elucidation. In our HISTORICAL and BIOGRAPHICAL DIVISION, we have already stated a few particulars relative to some of the Early Painters of Greece, (vol. ix. p. 404.) Without repeating what has there been said, we shall here notice the several steps by which they appear to have advanced the Art of Painting. One of the first instances of the progress of this Art is shown in the attempt to give a greater durability to the colours than had hitherto been attained. Polygnotus, (the elder of that name,) an Athenian, is s said to have been the first who subjected his works to b the action of fire for this purpose: but it is uncertain whether it was the encaustic method, the mode of Painting in enamel, which he invented; or, whether it was simply that he first adopted the use of wax with his colours, which of course could not be applied without some degree of heat; or it may be, that he merely invented the style of delineating by means of burning the surface

466

1

unting.

onochro

Chiaro

го

was D

first

e of t

of wood with hot irons, producing something similar to that which we now know under the name of poker drawings. Polygnotus lived about the XIVth century before our Saviour.

The next step in Art was made, as we are told, by ic style, the Greeks, who invented what is called the Monochromatic style or the use of a single colour, or that which we now describe under the title of Painting in chiaro-oscuro. It might be black and white that was made use of for this purpose, or a brown or a gray colour, or indeed any other, so long as the difference of the parts was marked only by the intensity or strength of the respective shades of colour, not hy by a variety of colours. It may seem singular at ot first sight, that the use of many colours should have preceded the simple use of one colour only: but when we regard the nature of the means by which an effect is to be produced, we must instantly recognise the proof of a greater progress in Art having been made in this case than the former; for to paint trees as green, or sky as blue, is one of the easiest and most obvious of the efforts of imitation, but to distinguish them by degree of shade alone, or, which is the same thing, by the intensity of the colour, when one only is employed, requires no small degree of knowledge and skill: it is, in fact, the power of giving relief to one body beyond another, and representing on one even plane surface the appearance of a variety of objects or parts which stand out or recede

one from the other.

We have an account given us by Cheselden, of a young man originally born blind, and afterwards receiving his sight from the operation of couching, at a time when his judgment was sufficiently advanced to give an account of his observations; namely, at the age of thirteen years. He says, 66 we thought he soon knew what Pictures represented, which were shown to him, but we found afterwards we were mistaken; for about two months after he was couched, he discovered at once they represented solid bodies, when to that time he considered them only as particoloured planes, or surfaces diversified with variety of paint; but even then he was no less surprised, expecting the Pictures would feel like the things they represented, and was amazed when he found those parts, which by their light and shadow appeared now round and uneven, felt only flat like the rest; and asked which was the lying sense, feeling or seeing?" (Smith's Optics, 1, 5, p. 43.) This story makes us acquainted with the progress of the human mind in these particulars. The distinctions of colour were natural, they seemed, from the first, familiar to the patient's comprehension, or at least were acknowledged as soon as perceived: but that an apparent variety of prominence and recess should result from adopting a variety of shade, was by no means an idea so soon to be acquired. His mind had not made the necessary observations on the appearance of objects in Nature to enable him to comprehend this fact; and hence it seemed to him quite easy to distinguish the object by different colours, but he required an explanation with respect to their distinction by means of light and shade. It is difficult for us in these days to recur even in imagination to the thoughts and ideas of an unenlightened mind; but we may learn much from this story. Thus, it is clear that the Painters in chiaro-oscuro showed greater skill than the Painters in various simple colours: it was indeed, perhaps, the most important discovery yet made by the artist; and we may add, that it was only

the application of this same principle of the monochromatic style to a number of colours so combined together, that afterwards introduced the most perfect and beautiful of all the artificial processes with which the Art of design is acquainted. All the exquisite delight that is to be derived from variety of light, shade, and tint, flowed from the developement of this single principle of the monochromatic style.

School

of the

Ancients.

The next invention of which we find notice, regarded skill in Drawing, with respect to the attitude and posture of animate figures; and as former Painters had made all their figures stiff, alike, and upright in their. lines, he was a great improver who first ventured to represent them with their heads looking upwards or downwards, or sideways, (the catagrapha of the ancient writers ;) in short, who represented them in any way except that which was the most inefficient representation of the original, and yet the easiest to accomplish. The honour of this improvement is attributed to Cimon Cimon of of Cleone; who also, with similar boldness of mind, Cleone ventured to make a fresh innovation in established attitudes. practices, by marking out the muscles and veins of the human body, and the folds of garments.

diversifies

We next hear of Phidias, a person most cele- Phidias. brated indeed as a Sculptor, but who also exercised the sister Art of Painting: he flourished about the IVth century before the era of Christ. He is stated by Pliny to have painted a Medusa's head at Athens with wonderful skill. Of other artists of this date we may mention the name of Mycon, also an Athenian born, Mycon. and, like Phidias, a Sculptor as well as Painter. He is celebrated for his preparation of a famous black pigment out of some part of the vine, (trigynon,) and seems to have turned much of his attention to the matériel of the Art; he is said also to have been the first person that made use of Attic ochre as a colouring substance in his Pictures.

Apollodorus of Athens also possessed skill in both Apollodorus these lines of Art. It is recorded of him, that he was so fastidious as to destroy his finished works, and was in the practice of breaking them up, (whatsoever might have been the pains and cost expended,) if they did not correspond in the end to the conception which he had formed in his mind. The expression of Pliny with regard to him, that he was the first whose Painting fixed and absorbed the attention of the spectator, leads us to form a high idea of the improvements which he effected in this Art; and this idea is strengthened by the fact of his being noted as first showing the method of discriminating with delicacy the various gradation of shades in Painting. He seems also to have noticed that the colours of objects were to be preserved even in those parts which were darkened in shade, and hence he obtained among his countrymen the name of the Shade-Painter. It must be added, that this merit, asserted of Apollodorus by Plutarch, is attributed by Quinctilian to Parrhasius.

Parrhasius was a native of Ephesus who flourished Parrhasius. about the same time, and a person who certainly greatly added to the advancement of the Art. He is universally praised for the attention which he paid to the symmetry of the human figure in Drawing, for his attempts to give an improved expression to the countenance, to form the curls of hair with grace, and carefully to finish the extremities of the hands and feet. But of all the great names among the Painters of antiquity, none, perhaps, are more celebrated than that of Zeuris, Zeuxis.