Mantua), Francisco Maria (Duke of Urbino), the Marquis del Fafle, Pefcara, Alva, Francifco Sforza, Antonio de Leyva, Diego de Mendoza, Arretino, Bembo, Fracaftorio, Ferdinand (King of the Romans), and his fon Maximilian, both afterwards Emperors, the Popes Sixtus IV. Julius II. and Paulus III. the great Emperor Soliman and the Sultanefs Rofa, were amongst the illuftrious perfonages who had been painted by Titiano: the Emperor fat to him at Bologna, as he paffed through that city in the year abovementioned; he was in the meridian of life, and though he could not be faid to inherit the beauty of Philip the Handsome, he was nevertheless of a majestic comely afpect; the portrait pleafed him well, and though fo weak an ingredient as vanity was not to be found in Charles's compofition, yet he was not infenfible to impreffions, and henceforward determined never to commit his perfon to any other limner than Titiano. He was a lover of arts, not an enthufiaft; he knew the force of their effects, and reverenced them for their power, without being captivated by their charms; to men of eminence he was liberal without familiarity; in fhort, his affections in this particular, as in every other, were directed regularly to their object by reafon, not driven impetuously by conftitution or paffion: upon this principle he rewarded Titiano for his portrait with a thoufand golden feudi, confulting thereby no lefs his own magnificence, than the artift's merit he paid him 200 ducats for a fmall piece; and, upon Titiano's prefenting him with a picture of the Annunciation, for which his countrymen the Venetians had refufed to pay him more than 200 fcudi, Charles rewarded him for the prefent with a thousand. He invited Titiano into Spain, and preffed him to comply, ufing many promifes and fome intreaties; anxious to wreft the palm of glory from the brows of his rival Francis in arts, as well as arms, he perceived there was no ether living merit but Titiano's, which he could oppofe to that of Leonardo da Vinci. Carlos Rodolfi, the biographer of Titiano, fays he never came into Spain, but he is miftaken; it was not however till the year 1548 that he complied with the Emperor's invitation; from that period till 1553 he refided in Spain; during this refidence he compofed many admirable works, and received many princely rewards; Charles gave him the key, the order of Santiago at Bruffels, and in 1553 conflituted him a Count Palatine of the empire at Barcelona by an inftrument worthy to be recorded; viz. Carolus V. divinâ favente clementiâ Romanorum Imperator auguftus ac Rex Germaniæ, Hifpaniarumque fpectabili noftro et imperii facri fideli dilecto Titiano de Vecellis, five equiti aurato, et facri Lateranenfis palatii, aulæque nræ et imperialis confiftorii comiti gratiam Cæfaream et omne bonum.

Cum nobis femper mos fuerit, poflquam ad hujus Cæfariæ dignitatis celfitudinem divis aufpiciis evecti fuerimus, vos potiffimum, qui fingulari fide et obfervantiâ erga nos ct facrum Romanum imperium præditi egregiis moribus, eximiis virtutibus et ingenuis artibus induftriâq; clari et excellentes habiti funt præ cæteris, bene. volentiâ, favore et gratià noftrâ profequi. Attendentes igitur fingularem tuam erga nos, et facrum Romanum imperium fidem et obfervantiam, ac præter illas egregias virtutes tuas et ingenii dotes, exquifitam illam pingendi et ad vivum effigiendarum imaginum

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fcientiam, quâ quidem arte talis nobis vifus es, ut meritò hujus fæ culi Apelles dici merearis, &c. Motu igitur proprio et certâ nostrâ fcientiâ, animo deliberato, fano quoque Principum, Comitum, Baronum, Procerum et aliorum noftrorum et Imperii facri dile&torum accidente confilio, et de noftræ Cæfareæ proteftatis plenitudine te prænominatum Titianum facri Lateranenfis palatii, aulæq; nræ, et Imperialis confiftorii comitem fecimus, creavimus, ereximus, et comitatus Palatini titulo clementer infignivimus: Prout tenore præfentium facimus, creamus, erigimus, attolimus et infignimus ac aliorum Comitum Palatinorum numero et confortu gratanter aggregamus et adfcribimus, &c.

Thefe favours alarmed the jealoufy of the nobles both of Germany and Spain; but their envy drew no other anfwer from Charles, than that he had many nobles in his empire, and but one Titiano; the artift, who was at fome diftance, employed upon a picture, overheard the retort with confcious fatisfaction, and, as he made his reverence to the Emperor, dropt a pencil on the floor; the courteous monarch took it up, and, delivering it to him confounded by this fecond mark of his condefcenfion, added, that to wait on Titiano was a service for an Emperor. Charles did not only grace this eminent artist with the fplendid ornaments and titles above mentioned, he gave him more folid marks of his favour, appointing him rents in Naples of two hundred ducats annually each, befides a munificent compenfation for every picture he executed : Palomino fays, that Charles regarded the poffeffion of a capital piece of Titiano more than he did the acquifition of a new province to his dominion; but Palomino was a painter, and more familiar with the pictures of Titiano, than with the politics of the Emperor: this would have been a caprice unworthy of any prince; but Charles's character was not the fport of caprice; whilft to the very moment of his life, when he refigned his dominions, it was evident that ambition was his ruling paflion; had he been capable of that preference, which Palomino ascribes to him, he would hardly have taken fuch pains, to the laft hour of his reign, to perfuade his brother Ferdinand to make a facrifice of his fucceffion of the empire, nor have retired into the unfurnished cell of his convent with his puppets and his birds, without one confolatory remembrance of his favourite author to cheer his folitude, or to enflame his devotion: I can hardly be perfuaded, that Charles's abdication of his empire was any proof of caprice; he plainly enough perceived his health was gone, and he was not willing that his fame fhould follow it.'

The Efcurial, which has fo often been condemned for the clumfinefs of its architecture, is reprefented by Mr. Cumberland as a repofitory of noble arts. The care taken to adorn it, produced in his opinion an Auguftan age in Spain. Among the artifts who were employed in furnishing its decorations, he records El Divino Morales, who was born at Badajor, in the province of Eftremadura, in the beginning of the fixteenth century.

He was inftructed (fays our Author) at Seville in the academy of Pedro Campana, a difciple of Raphael; from his conflant choice of

of divine fubjects, and the extreme delicacy of his pencil, he acquired the appellation of El Divino, and is known to the prefent age by no other name than that of El Divino Morales. All his paintings are upon board or copper, and almoft generally heads of the crucified Saviour; no inftance occurring of his having executed any Compofition or figure at full length. His heads are finished off with infinite care and laboured to the utmoft, yet not fo as to diminish the force of the expreffion; for I have feen fome examples of his Ecce Homo of a moft exquifite and touching character; alfo fome heads of Chrift bearing the crofs approaching very near to the Saviour in the famous Pafmo de Sicilia. Though Morales never fails to impress the countenance with the deepeft tints of human agony, I never met with any inftance of his doing violence to our ideas of the divinity of the object he reprefents: his conception of the countenance feems to be original and his own, more resembling. however the face of the Chrift in Raphael's picture above-mentioned, than any other; and worked, as it appears to me, after the manner of the highly-finished heads of Leonardo da Vinci. He was un-` doubtedly an artift of a very limited invention and defign; in aerial perspective and the clear obfcure I have fometimes found him evidently deficient, nor has he any tincture of art or academy in grouping his figures and difpofing his attitudes; every thing is left to a fimple expreffion of affecting nature: his Mater dolorofa is the very extreme of forrow; nor is he anxious to maintain any trace of beauty amidst his expreffions of affliction: I am of opinion that no imagination, which had not been aided by the fpectacles of exhaufted nature, which a nunnery exhibits, could have devised an object fo extremely woe-begone: it is in fhort the aggravated portrait of an emaciated devotee expiring in her vigils. It may readily be believed in a country, where paintings of this fort are amongst the objects of devotion, and where every private houfe is furnished with its oratory and its altar, that the pictures of Morales muft have been in general requeft; it has been for the fame reafon extremely difficult for travellers to extract out of Spain any piece of this author; and as he worked very flowly, and was not very induftrious or interested in his art, his pictures are both very rare and very permanent in their stations *. Enough may be had of illegitimate or fufpicious pretenfions, but in general they are easily to be diftinguifhed. One would expect to find in Morales's private life a character in unifon with his ftudies; but the contrary of this appears from his hiftory. When Morales was fummoned to the Efcurial by Philip, he left Badajoz at the King's command, and putting himself in the beft array that his whole fubftance could procure, prefented himself to the fovereign more like an ambaffador upon the delivery of his credentials, than a rural artist, called to labour at his profeffion for hire: upon the King's remarking on

* Since this book went to the prefs, I have received out of Spain an Ecce Homo by Morales, painted upon ftone, which was affixed to a private oratory in the houfe of the Duque de Osuna, and tranfmitted to me by the favour of that diftinguished grandee.

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the unexpected fplendor of his appearance, he answered with an air of national gallantry, that being refolved to dedicate every thing he poffeft by nature or by fortune to the fervice of his fovereign, he had prefented himself in the best condition and attire, that his means admitted in obedience to his fummons. It does not appear that his reply displeased, neither was the king diffatisfied with his performances, for which he liberally rewarded him: however, when upon completion of his undertakings he returned to Badajoz, he feems to have carried home the fame fpirit of extravagance; for, when Philip paffed through that place in 1581 on his way to take poffeffion of the kingdom of Portugal, Morales prefented himself in a far different condition, reduced by poverty and age, for he was then 72 years old; Morales, fays the King, methinks you are grown very old fince last I saw you. True, Senor, replied he, and aijo very poor. Philip (of whom the arts at least have nothing to complain), directly turning to the city treasurer ordered him 205 ducats, telling him it was to purchase him a dinner-and a fupper too? faid M.rales. No, anfwered the King, give him a hundred ducats more: a fortunate rencounter for poor Morales: he furvived this event fome years, and died in 1585. Some of his paintings are preferved at Cordova and Seville; and at Madrid in the chapel of our Lady of the Soledad, belonging to the convent of the Trinitarians, I have been fhewn a Santa Veronica by his hand: there is alfo an Ecce Homo in the convent of the nuns of Corpus Chrifti, which, with other fpecimens I have met in private cabinets, confirm to me his title to the appellation of El Divino.'

Philip II. was not lefs a benefactor to the arts than the Emperor Charles; and the genius they called forth did not decline in its force during the reign of Philip III. Philip IV. imitated the generofity of his predeceffors; and men of very illuftrious talents did the greatest honour to his patronage. Under thefe reigns, the Author is ftudious to enumerate the moft eminent artists, and to afford all the hiftorical notices which he could collect concerning them.

From the extracts we have given, our readers will eafily be enabled to judge of the ability and manner of the Author; and we might now be contented to difmifs his work with a recommendation to them to perufe it. But having departed from his fu' ject in the conclufion of his fecond volume, and exhibited a political picture of Spain which has great merit, we are tempted to give it a place in our journal.»

Unhappy kingdom! as if fome evil genius had dominion of thy fate, perverting the course of every natural bleffing, and turning the molt gracious difpenfations of Providence to thy lofs and disfavour. All productions, which the earth can yield both on and below its furface, are proper to Spain; every advantageous accefs either to the ecean or Mediterranean, every fecurity of an impaffable frontier against its continental neighbours, are proper to Spain; in fhort, it has all the benefits of an infular fituation, and none of its objections. Though formed to be a feat of empire and a land of peace,

it has been little elfe but a provincial dependency, or a theatre of internal war and bloodshed. Though it has thrown out many great and eminent characters both in arms and arts, it was to fill the anBals of other countries, and not to grace their own; if emperors, they fat on other thrones; if warriors, they fought for other ftates; if philofophers, they taught in other fchools and wrote in other tongues. If every fpecies of fubjugation be difgraceful to a fase, Spain has paffed under every defcription of tyranny, and has experienced a variety of wretchedness. When Carthage was her miftrefs, it is not easy to conceive a fituation more degrading for a noble people, than to bear the yoke of mercantile republicans, and do homage at the fhopboards of upfart demagogues; furely it is in human nature to prefer the tyranny of the moft abfolute defpot that ever wore a crown, to the mercenary and impofing infults of a trader: who would not rather appeal to a court, than a counting, houfe? Who would not rather fubmit and be made a facrifice to a kingly fiat, than a fhopman's firme? Let the Rajahs of Bengal de cide upon the alternative. From the dominion of Carthage he was transferred to that of Rome; her struggle was obstinate against the tranfition, and miracles of bravery were exhibited in the persevering contention; in the choice of yokes it is probable the preferred the Roman, her objections were to wearing any; at length the submitted, and came into the pale of the empire; we are told of Roman toleration, and the happy condition of Roman provinces; but we have it on the authority of their own historians, and fo far as one infignificant opinion goes, I reject it utterly; I cannot comprehend how the fervile act of digging in a mine for ore and marble, to fupply the avarice and encrease the splendour of antient Rome, could conftitute the happiness or gratify the ambition of a native Spaniard. As Rome made fome advances in civilization, though at beft a very barbarous and ferocious people, Spain perhaps partook of her advances; but it was following at a diflance, and fubordinate improvements feldom reach far; what the gained by her annexation to Rome is easily counted up, what the loft by it involves a great ex, test and compass of conjecture; and though modern Spain may celebrate the Apotheosis of Trajan. I am of opinion a true Spaniard will neither compare him to Viriatus, nor Seneca to Ximenes. The next revolution which Spain fuffered was by the general inundation of the northern barbarians. To aim at any defcription of these times, is to put to fea without a compafs and without a flar; the influx of their Mahometan conquerors furnished the first light that broke the general obfcurity; the courts of Grenada and Cordova were profufely fplendid, and not devoid of arts and Sciences: their commerce with the Eat fupplied them with abundance of wealth, and their intercourfe with Conftantinople gave fome faint fhadowings of Grecian elegance: the heroic virtues were difplayed in a romantic degree; legends of chivalry, poetical tales and love-fongs, where courage and chastity were liberally difpenfed to the refpective fexes, mufic and dances of a very captivating fort, pharmacy with the ufe and knowledge of fimples, and a folemn peculiarity of architecture were accomplishments of Moorish importation; the infurmountable barriers of religion would not however admit of their

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