mo] ANNUAL R_EGISTER, I769.

advanced,are arrived at that critical They muli therefore be told again
period oflludy,on the nice manage- and again, that luoour i: only the
ment of which their future turn of price efjq/lfame, and that whatever

talle depends.

At that age it is natural for them
to be more captivated with what is
brilliant than what is liiliti, and to
prefer fplendid negligence to pain-
ful atid humiliating cxacineis.

A facility in compofing, a lively,
and what is called a mallerliv hand-
ling the chalk or pencil, are, it muli
be confelied, captivating qualities
to young minds, and become of
courfe the objects of their ambition;
they endeavour to imitate thofe daz-
zling excellences, which they will
find no great labour in attaining.
After much time fpent in thefe fri-

volous purfuits, the difficulty will be from 1/1: Iii/Z’.

tto retreat; but it will be then too
late; and there is fcarce an infiance
of return to fcrupulous labour, af-
ter the mind has been relaxed and
debauched by thefe delightful trifles.
By this ufclefs dexterity they are
excluded from all power of advanc-
ing in real excellence. Whilfi boys,
they are arrived at their utmofi per-
feftion; they have taken the lha-
dow for the fubllance, and make
that mechanical facility the chief
excellence of the art, which is only
an ornament, and of the merit of
which few but painters themlelves
are judges.

But young men have not only this
frivolous ambition of being thought

_ malierly inciting them on one hand;

but alfo their natural iloth tempting
them on the other; they are terri-
iied at the profpcct b<i0re them, of
the tt-il required to attain exactnefs.
'£ he,» with to lind lorne {hotter path
to excellence, and hope to obtain
the reward of etnirirnce by other
means than thofe which the indifL

enfahie rules o: art have ‘i-refcribed.

Ibrirforce of genius may be, tbere i:

no ctr/y nzcl/xod of [Jecozning a good
painter.

To be convinced with what per-
fevering alliduity the moli eminent
painters purfued their fiudies, we
need only reflecl on the method of
proceeding in their mofi celebrated
works. When they had conceived
a fubject, they firli made a variety
of lketchea, then a finiihed draw-
ing of the whole; after that, a more
correft drawing of every feparate
part, heads, hands, feet, and pieces
of drapery; then they painted the
picture, and after all re-tour/Jed i:
The piéiures, thus
wrought with fuch pain, now ap-
pear like the effect of enehantment,
as if fome mighty genius had flruck.
them eff at a blow.

The fiudents, inllead of vying
with each other which (hall have the
reacliefl: hand, fhould be taught to

contend who ilhall have the‘ puny? and

mo]? cor-rec‘? OuIIKHE; inliead of liriv-
in which ihall produce the bright-
el tint, or, curioufly trifling, en-
deavour to give the glofs of Huff's
f0 as to appear real, let their am-
bition be directed to contend, which
{hall difpofe his drapery in the moll:
graceful folds, which lhall give the
moli grace and dignity to the hu-
man ngure.

In none of the academies that I
have vifited, do the [tudents draw ex-
acily from the living models which
they have before them. lt is not
indeed their intention, nor are they
direfiited to do it. Their drawings‘
reiembie tne mcdel only in the at-
titude. They change the form ac-

_ Cortiint; t0 their vague and uncer-

and incite a
dlawliig

lain ideas or beau-fr,