from the cross, is by no means juftifiable. He has fucceeded much better in that article, if a drawing I have which is imputed to him is really of him (it was once in the collection of Georgio Vafari, as appears by its border, which is of his hand ;) there the expreffions of forrow are very noble, uncommon, and extraordinary. But even Rafaelle himself could not have expreffed this accident with more dignity and more affecting than Battista Franco, and Polydore have done in drawings I have of them: if at leaft that laft is of the hand to whom it is afcribed, and not Rafaelle, or fome other not inferior to him in this inftance.

Polydore, in a drawing of the same subject (which I also have) has finely expreffed the exceffive grief of the Virgin, by intimating it was otherwise inexpreffible: her attendants difcover abundance of paffion, and forrow in their faces, but hers is hid by drapery held up by both her hands: the whole figure is very compofed, and quiet; no noise, no outrage, but great dignity appears in her suitable to her character. This thought Timanthes had in his famous picture of Iphigenia, which he probably took from Euripides; as perhaps Polydore might from one, or both of them.

Putting the fore-finger in the mouth to express an agony, and confufion of mind is rarely used. I do not remember to have feen it any where but in the tomb of the Nafonii, where the Sphynx is propofing the riddle to Edipus; and in a drawing I have of Giulio Romano, who could not have taken the thought from the other, that not being difcovered in his time; but in both thefe this expreffion is incomparably fine.

In that admirable carton of St. Paul preaching, the expreffions are very juft, and delicate throughout: even the back ground is not without its meaning: it is expreffive of the fuperftition St. Paul was preaching againft. But no hiftorian, or orator can offibly give me fo great an idea of that eloquent, and zealous apoftle as that figure of his does; all the fine things related as faid, or wrote by him can

not;

for there I fee a person, face, air, and action, which no words can fufficiently defcribe, but which affure me as much as thofe can, that that man muft speak good fenfe, and to the purpofe. And the different fentiments of his auditors are as finely expreffed; fome appear to be angry, and malicious, others to be attentive, and reafoning upon the matter within themselves, or with one another; and one especially is apparently convinced. These last are the free-thinkers of that time, and are placed before the apoftle; the others are behind him, not only as caring lefs for the preacher, or the doctrine, but to raise his apoftolic character, which would loofe fomething of its dignity, if his maligners were fuppofed to be able to look him in the face.

Elymas, the forcerer, is blind from head to foot, but how admirably is terror, and astonishment expreffed in the people prefent, and how variously, according to the feveral characters! the proconful has these fentiments but as a Roman, and a gentleman, the rest in feveral degrees, and manners.

The fame fentiments appear alfo in the carton of the death of Ananias, together with thofe of joy, and triumph, which naturally arifes in good minds upon the fight of the effects of divine juftice, and the victory of truth.

The airs of the heads in my holy family after Rafaelle, are perfectly fine, according to the feveral characters; that of the Bleffed Mother of God has all the sweetness, and goodness that could poffibly appear in herself; what is particularly remarkable is, that the Christ, and the St. John are both fine boys, but the latter is apparently humane, the other, as it ought to be, divine.

defcent of the Holy (I wish it had been

Nor is the expreffion in my drawing of the Ghost less excellent than the other parts of it. equally well preferved.) The Bleffed Virgin is feated in the principal part of the picture, and fo diftinguished as that none in the company feems to pretend to be in competition with her; and the devo

tion, and modefty with which fhe receives the ineffable gift is worthy of her character. St. Peter is on her right-hand, and St. John on her left; the former has his arm croffed on his breaft, his head reclined, as if afhamed of having denied fuch a mafter, and receives the infpiration with great compofure; but St. John, with a holy boldnefs, raifes his head, and hands, and is in a moft becoming attitude; the women behind St. Mary are plainly of an inferior character. Throughout there is great variety of expreffions of joy and devotion, extremely well adapted to the occafion.

I will add one example more of a fine expreffion, because, though it is very juft and natural, it has not been done by any that I know of, except Tintoret, in a drawing I have feen of him. The ftory is our Saviour's declaration to the apoftles at fupper with him, that one of them should betray him: fome are moved one way, and fome another, as is ufual, but one of them hides his face, dropped down betwixt both his hands, as burst into tears from an excess of forrow, that his Lord fhould be betrayed, and by one of them.

In Portraits it must be feen whether the perfon is grave, gay, a man of business, or wit, plain, genteel, &c. Each character must have an attitude, and drefs; the ornaments and back ground proper to it every part of the portrait, and all about it must be expreffive of the man, and have a refemblance as well as the features of the face.

If the perfon has any particularities as to the fet, or motion of the head, eyes, or mouth (fuppofing it be not unbecoming) thefe muft be taken notice of, and ftrongly pronounced. They are a fort of moving features, and are as much a part of the man as the fixed ones: nay, fometimes they raife a low fubje&t, as in the case of my marble head already spoken of, and contribute more to a furprizing likeness than any thing elfe. Van Dyck, in a picture I have of him, has given a brifk touch upon the under lip which makes the form, and fet of the mouth very particular, and doubtlefs was an air which

Don

Don Diego de Gufman, whose picture it is, was accustomed to give himself, which an inferior painter would not have obferved, or not have dared to have pronounced, at least fo ftrongly but this as it gives a marvellous fpirit, and fmartnefs, undoubtedly gave a propor

tionable refemblance.

If there be any thing particular in the hiftory of the perfon which is proper to be expreffed, as it is ftill a farther defcription of him, it is a great improvement to the portrait to them that know that circumftance. There is an inftance of this in a picture Van Dyck made of John Lyvens, who is drawn as if he was liftening at fomething; which refers to a remarkable story in that man's life. The print is in the book of Van Dyck's heads: which book, and the heads of the artists, in the lives of Giorgio Vafari, are worth confidering with regard to the variety of attitudes fuited to the several characters, as well as upon other accounts.

Robes, or other marks of dignity, or of a profeffion, employment, or amusement, a book, a fhip, a favourite dog, or the like, are hiftorical expreffions common in portraits, which muft be mentioned on this occafion; and to fay more of them is not neceffary.

There are feveral kinds of artificial expreffions indulged to painters, and practifed by them, becaufe of the difadvantage of their art in that particular, in comparison of words.

To exprefs the fenfe of the wrath of God with which our Bleffed Lord's mind was filled when in his agony, and the apprehension he was then in of his own approaching crucifixion. Frederico Barocci has drawn him in a proper attitude, and not only with the angel holding the cup to him (that is common) but in the back-ground you fee the cross, and flames of fire. This is very particular, and curious. I have the drawing.

In the carton where the people of Lycaonia are going to facrifice to St. Paul, and Barnabas, the occafion of all that is finely told: the

man who was healed of his lameness is one of the forwardest to exprefs his fenfe of the divine power which appeared in those apoftles; and to fhew it to be him, not only a crutch is under his feet on the ground, but an old man takes up the lappet of his garment, and looks upon the limb which he remembered to have been crippled, and expreffes great devotion, and admiration, which fentiments are also seen in the other with a mixture of joy. When our Saviour committed the care of his church to St. Peter, the words he used on that occafion are related by Rafaelle, who has made him pointing to a flock of fheep, and St. Peter to have juft received two keys. When the ftory of Jofeph's interpretation of Pharaoh's dreams was to be related, Rafaelle has painted thofe dreams in two circles over the figures; which he has alfo done when Jofeph relates his own to his brethren. Ilis manner of expreffing God's dividing the light from darkness, and the creation of the fun, and moon, is altogether fublime. The prints of those last mentioned pictures are not hard to be found, they are in what they call Rafaelle's Bible, but the paintings are in the Vatican; the best treasury of the works of that divine painter, except Hampton-court.

The hyperbolical artifice of Timanthes to exprefs the vastness of the Cyclops is well known, and was mightily admired by the ancients. He made feveral fatyrs about him as he was afleep, fome were running away as frightened, others gazing at a distance, and one was meafuring his thumb with his thyrfis, but seeming to do it with great caution, left he fhould awake. This expreffion was copied by Giulio Romano with a little variation. Correggio, in his picture of Danae, has finely expreffed the fenfe of that ftory, for upon the falling of the golden fhower, Cupid draws off her linen covering, and two loves are trying upon a touchftone a dart tipped with gold. I will add but one example more of this kind, and that is of Nicolas Pouflin, to exprefs a voice, which he has done in the baptifm of our Saviour, by making the people look up, and about, as it is natural.

for