Except with a view to acquire the useful hints of expe rience, as to the best manner of representing particular effects and objects, a judicious student strives less to ac quire the manner and mechanism of a great master, than the spirit and fire that inspired his genius. He is not, moreover, to follow with blind confidence even the great est masters, as if perfection followed every touch, for faults are to be found in most of them ; he must carefully and advisedly study their merits, nor suffer himself to be led away by any conceit of penetration. Repeated study sel dom fails to point out something to which we were blind before; which ought to satisfy us of the fallacious conclu sions so apt to follow that sort of first-sight acuteness which so many pretend to possess. It is accordingly not unusual to see the very worst parts of a master's works imitated, because they happened to accord with some par ticular view or fancy, which the copyist may have previ ously imbibed. It is always hazardous to imitate too close ly, for what most deserves imitation in a great master, is in truth inimitable; namely, his genius and invention, his address in working, and, in short, whatever falls beyond the scope of rules to teach. It is mere buffoonery to adopt the manner of any master inconsiderately, however great his name. Profit is to be derived from great and pa tient study alone, from cautious decision in choosing our study, both to the master and his qualities; with acute dis cernment to discover the faults to be avoided. And as the great secret of art is to conceal art, we cannot expect to discover it at once, but must search out its hidden virtues.
Nothing requires the aid of a master more than to point out the proper objects for study and imitation, to direct the student to the manner of handling, instead of imitating the identical strokes of the master's pencil, which would be more the work of a forger than of an imi tator. He must not attempt what is beyond his powers, which students are too apt to do; it is but a sorry em ployment of time to limp after any master, however per fect; and his very perfections may be so foreign to the conceptions of a student, as to render all attempts at imi tation fruitless. 'We must previously elaborate in our own minds the ideas conceived by another, before they can be employed to purpose : we must be ourselves, for there is not one in a thousand, whose cast of genius can in all points be made to quadrate with our own. We must, there fore, be able to discriminate what is suitable from what is not, so as to profit by all we see. And, above all, we must qualify the food, by drinking at the fountain-head of na ture; and, while we use the experience of others, give full sway to the bent of whatever genius we may possess. We must never lay aside our own strength, to lean on the strength of others ; for many are in reality capable of ex ertions which they never conceived to be within their reach ; and he is never far distant from the mark who re solves to strive for it. At the same time, inexperience, and the wantonness of imagination, often require a cur b to temper our speed, which the careful study of the works of acknowledged excellence will furnish.
In painting, we are not to expect prodigies any more than in other arts; it must advance to perfection by pro gressive degrees, where every succeeding artist takes ad vantage of all the experience of his predecessors. And there is nothing more likely to impede its progress than that mistaken bitterness with which all imitation, even the most judicious, is inveighed against, as if the character of an artist became thereby compromised. So that excel
lence is attained by an artist, every means used is equally lawful and commendable, whether he draws from the pure source of genius alone, or accomplishes a judicious im provement of the experience and attainments of others. Sir Joshua Reynolds very justly observes, " that it is by being conversant with the invention of others, that we learn to invent ; as it is by reading the thoughts of others, that we learn to think." He adds, "When we have had continually before us the great works of art to impregnate our minds with kindred ideas, we are then, and not till then, fit to produce something of the same species. We behold all about us with the eyes of these penetrating ob servers; and our minds, accustomed to think the thoughts of the noblest and brightest intellects, are prepared for the discovery and selection of all that is great and noble in nature. The greatest natural genius cannot subsist on its own stock. He who resolves never to ransack any mind but his own, will be soon reduced, from mere barrenness, to the poorest of all imitations; he will be obliged to imitate himself, and to repeat what he has before often repeat ed." An examination of the earlier works of most of the great masters will accordingly show, that they invariably worked out their excellence by industriously imitating the perfections of their predecessors, as a mine out of which they prepared to elaborate a purer metal.
We may mention, as another essential advantage of the exhibitions of good paintings, the influence it is likely to hav•in improving the public taste. For, until a general feeling for the real excellence of art is excited, the pain ter's efforts will prove fruitless, as he is naturally led to work on the model of what meets with general approba tion. It is only from the habitual and attentive study of the works of real genius, that this purifying of public taste can take place. And however paradoxical it may appear to those whose attention has never been turned to the study of painting, it is not the less true, that, although it is an art purely imitative of nature, it requires, notwith standing, both experience and study, either to understand, or correctly to appreciate its finest productions. It is no assumption of pedantry, or perversion of refinement, when we assert, that it is necessary to be familiar with the art, to derive pleasure and taste the merits of its productions. It were impossible to account for the general diffusion of taste for music and painting in Italy, not confined to the higher classes of society alone, but equally pervading those ranks which in this country never bestow a thought on such matters, but for the continued exhibitions and opportunities of freely cultivating that particular taste. Where the great bulk of society are more or less imbued with correct notions of art, there is less chance of artists stopping short in their career, as so frequently happens in this country, from overrating their own attainments. An artist who conceives he has reached an elevated point of excellence, seldom makes any farther progress, unless the persuasive voice of public opinion should dispel the delu sion, and induce him to resume with modesty, but with vigour, those efforts to advance still farther, which no art ist ought ever to relax. The life of a painter who aims at excellence is far from a life of repose. The moment he thinks he has done enough for fame, and may in future practise for amusement or profit, his improvement is at an end ; he begins to fall off, and will inevitably settle into and insipidity.