in front, that it presents a straight perpendicular line, as in No. 1, though actually full of undulations from passing over the entire profile; but, as these projections and recedings of the line are immediately under each No. 1. Fig. 19. No. 3. other, they reach the eye in the same manner as if a string was held up before the mask in a perpendicular direction. If, however, the mask is viewed when turned around halfway between a profile and front face, as in No. 2, those parts of the line which recede or project will assume exactly one-half of their true character and projection; while in the profile, No. 3, the line acquires its exact similitude, from its being undisturbed by those laws which regulate perspective. If we were to proceed and examine every feature in the same manner, we should find that the same laws lead us into a correct view of the alterations which take place upon every alteration in position. To explain this more clearly, if we take the mask and hold it with the chin toward us, so as to observe the curve on which the mouth is placed, as in Fig. 20, we can easily perceive that a person viewing it in the direction of the lines A B, which would give him a view of the face between a front and profile (or what is termed by artists a three-quarter), would see one side of the lip of its entire length, while the other side, lying in the direction of the visual rays, would be reduced to a very small space, as may be perceived by its breadth on the ideal line c, which cuts such rays at right angles. Such, also, is the case with the nose, in the same view of the face; one side remains undiminished, while the other side forms a mere outline, being seen entirely under the influence of perspective. In finishing this part of the essay, I cannot conclude without reminding the pupil of the extreme importance of the very first preliminaries of the work, teaching the eye the power of measuring the distances between several points, as it is the basis of correct drawing. In drawing a head, if the points where the eyes, nose and mouth ought to be placed can be correctly put down, one of the greatest difficulties will be conquered, and the detail of which each feature is composed rendered easy and effective," and the same remark applies to the power of combining the several parts of the largest assemblage of objects. The eye marks the distance of one or two leading points, which serve as a station to start from, and by a careful combination of exact dimensions moves over the whole space with a species of ideal trigonometry. Being also educated to observe the variations of the several lines according as they are more or less under the influence of perspective acting upon their form or size, a clear, defined outline will be the result, not only unattainable by any other method, but, even if attained, unaccompanied by the power of judging of its correctness. Fig. 20. A C The power of seeing objects correctly is gained by a careful examinanation of their general appearance, and of the component parts which produce such general appearance. It is necessary, therefore, before proceeding to delineate any object, to observe it attentively in the first instance, to examine it as a whole, so as to be convinced of its great leading features, the various shapes the principal lights take, also the forms of the darks, what occasions them, and why they are darker at one place than at another; 'Reynolds, speaking of Frans Hals, says, "In his works the portrait painter may observe the composition of a face, the features well put together, as the painters express it, from whence that strong marked character of individual Nature, which is so remarkable in his portraits, and is not found in an equal degree in any other painter. If he had joined to this most difficult part of the art a patience in finishing what he had so correctly planned, he might justly have claimed the place which Vandyck, all things considered, so justly holds as the first of portrait painters." In another place he says, "The likeness of a portrait consists more in the preserving the general effect of the countenance than in the most minute finishing of the features, or any of the particular parts.”—Sixth and Fourteenth Discourses. the size and shape of the smaller component parts, where they are congregated most, and where the greatest vacuum is situated; where portions are seen entire, and where they are intercepted. Without the eye taking cognizance of all these before proceeding, it will be impossible to give a just representation, either in the detail or in the general effect;10 it will, more over, have a prejudicial influence, inasmuch as it will lead to a style of drawing without feeling, character or decision. One reason why the drawings of eminent artists are superior to all others is the great intelligence every line indicates, the smallest touch being expressive of the character. Another advantage this previous contemplation of the subject has is the storing of the mind with materials for future occasions, when it is necessary to have recourse to the memory. Knowledge in drawing, as well as in other sciences, is having ready a mass of materials, which we can apply to the subject in hand. Drawing much improves us as little as reading much, unless we contemplate and understand as we proceed. Those who have acquired a readiness of hand without correctness and study have but the shadow instead of the substance, and, though to the unlearned their works have the appearance of excellence, yet to educated eyes they seem in the light of forgeries, or like the language of him who talks speciously of a subject he does not understand. After the hand has once acquired 10 To illustrate this, we may have recourse to Titian's bunch of grapes, which we will suppose placed so as to receive a broad light and shadow. Here, though each 'ndividual grape on the light side has its light, and shadow, and reflection, yet altogether they make but one broad mass of light: the slightest sketch, therefore, where this breadth is preserved, will have a better effect, will have more the appearance of coming from a master hand-that is, in other words, will have more the characteristic and generale of Nature, than the most laborious finishing, where this breadth is lost or neglected.Reynolds on Fresnoy, note 40. this delusive dexterity, the student becomes contented, and unable to execute anything correctly in future. Sir Joshua Reynolds remarks that "young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution inciting them on one hand, but also their natural sloth tempting them on the other. They are terrified at the prospect before them of the toil required to attain exactness. The impetuosity of youth is disgusted at the slow approaches of a regular siege, and desires, from mere impatience of labor, to take the citadel by storm. They wish to find some shorter path to excellence, and hope to obtain the reward of eminence by other means than those which the indispensable rules of art have prescribed. They must, therefore, be told again and again that labor is the only price of solid fame, and that, whatever their force of genius may be, there is no easy method of becoming a good painter." In another place he justly observes that "the first business of the student is to be able to give a true representation of whatever object presents itself, just as it appears to the eye, so as to amount to a deception; and the geometric rules of perspective are included in this study. This is the language of the art, which appears the more necessary to be taught early, from the natural repugnance which the mind has to such mechanical labor, after it has acquired a relish for its higher departments." Also in his first discourse he says: "A lively and what is called a masterly handling of the chalk or pencil are, it must be confessed, captivating qualities to young minds, and become, of course, the objects of their ambition. They endeavor to imitate these dazzling excellencies, which they will find no great labor in attaining. After much time spent in these frivolous pursuits, the difficulty will be to retreat, but it will be then too late; and there is scarce an instance of return to scrupulous labor after the mind has been debauched and deceived by this fallacious mastery." " We find in many of the drawings of Michael Angelo, Raffaelle, and even Rubens, some portions carefully studied and finished with the greatest correctness from the model, some difficult passage which required labor and finish to overcome, or some portion of great beauty, 11 "Freedom of execution, or masterly handling, as it is termed, is often taught to pupils that they may appear to be making great strides in the art. The master frequently finds his pupil too dull, or too inattentive, to acquire a correct knowledge of his subject, therefore gives him the power of displaying an appearance of dexterity. To an uneducated eye, a sketch of a tree, for example, may be hit off by the pupil with sufficient resemblance to satisfy all parties; the parents see nothing in the original different from the copy, for that which appears to them but a scribbled appearance, in the original indicates to the eye of an artist foliage, branches, and shadows; thus their education seems finished before it is in reality begun, and they leave school without the power of drawing a line. In after-life, when they wish to delineate objects correctly, they find this dexterity rather an incumbrance; the eye, previously debauched, is incapable of receiving a true impression; while the hand, necessarily confined to the several spaces allotted to the different forms, feels cramped and awkward, and obliges them to throw down the pencil in despair. In other branches of science we find this dexterity checked in its infancy. What would be thought of a child who had been taught to run over the keys of a pianoforte without any definite meaning? Or of a master who encouraged the scribbling of a boy to imitate a free hand? I remember an artist who always took an opportunity of disconcerting the pretensions of such precocious geniuses in drawing, by laying down a key or a pair of snuffers for them to delineate. which nothing but fidelity could represent. From the contemplation of the works of the great painters we perceive a comparative dryness and stiffness in their earlier productions, compared with their later pictures. We, therefore, are naturally led to conclude that we can accomplish by a shorter method what they have shown us to have been their aim--breadth, grandeur and freedom of execution. It will be found, however, that, though a few strokes by the hand of a master often express in his later works as much as the most careful finishing of his early pictures, yet that arises entirely from his having acquired, by long practice, a mastery over his materials, and, by long contemplation, a perfect knowledge of what are the leading features and peculiar character of every object. Notwithstanding the foregoing remarks, careful drawing and minute finishing are to be regulated in a great measure by the nature of the work in hand, otherwise these qualities, excellent in themselves, are liable to be caught at, as an excuse for doing something which requires the least exertion of the mind. Though it is absolutely necessary to be able to draw correctly whatever may be placed before you, yet it does not follow that the same labor is to be carried into the subordinate parts, otherwise a long portion of life might be spent in delineating the intricate ramifications of trees and plants, or in mapping out with painful fidelity the hedges and ditches of a whole county. The correctness of which it is necessary to be possessed is to be employed in rendering with accuracy the vital portions of all works, frequently leaving the minor passages to be filled up from our general knowledge and practice. How vexatious is it to see young men attending academies and museums, month after month, drawing from antique statues, in place of bestowing their whole care in giving the outline and form correctly, waste their youth in industrious idleness, in representing the flaws and excoriations of the mutilated marble, or in smoothly stippling in a surrounding mass of background! AERIAL PERSPECTIVE. Lineal perspective being that part of drawing which is produced by the means of lines only, aërial perspective is made use of to designate those changes which take place in the appearance of objects, either as to their receding or advancing, from the interposition of the atmosphere; therefore, to the application of this quality the artist is mainly indebted for the power of giving his work the space and retiring character of Nature; but, though the eye is at all times pleased and gratified with the power of viewing distant prospects, yet objects require a certain definition to lead the imagination, without perplexing and troubling the mind. Neither are we pleased by sudden jumps from the foreground to the extreme distance. The eye is more delighted, therefore, in being carried over a gradual diminution of many intervening objects, or in searching for outlets through |