FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115  
116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   >>   >|  
mself the double office of public and private instructor of students in painting, ought not surely to retain a secret in the art, which he considers of real value."--P. 287. He was, in fact, too honest to mislead; and that he did not think the right discovery made, the author must have known; for Northcote says--"when I was a student at the Royal Academy, I was accidentally repeating to Sir Joshua the instructions on colouring I had heard there given by an eminent painter, who then attended as visitor. Sir Joshua replied, that this painter was undoubtedly a very sensible man, but by no means a good colourist; adding, that there was not a man then on earth who had the least notion of colouring. 'We all of us,' said he, 'have it equally to seek for and find out--as, at present, it is totally lost to the art.'"--"In his economy he was close and saving; while he poured out his wines and spread out his tables to the titled or the learned, he stinted his domestics to the commonest fare, and rewarded their faithfulness by very moderate wages. One of his servants, who survived till lately, described him as a master who exacted obedience in trifles--was prudent in the matter of pins--a saver of bits of thread--a man hard and parsimonious, who never thought he had enough of labour out of his dependents, and always suspected that he overpaid them. To this may be added the public opinion, which pictured him close, cautious, and sordid. On the other side, we have the open testimony of Burke, Malone, Boswell, and Johnson, who all represent him as generous, open-hearted, and humane. The servants and the friends both spoke, we doubt not, according to their own experience of the man. Privations in early life rendered strict economy necessary; and in spite of many acts of kindness, his mind, on the whole, failed to expand with his fortune. He continued the same system of saving when he was master of sixty thousand pounds, as when he owned but sixpence. He loved reputation dearly, and it would have been well for his fame, if, over and above leaving legacies to such friends as Burke and Malone, he had opened his heart to humbler people. A little would have gone a long way--a kindly word and a guinea prudently given."--P. 319. Opened his heart to humbler people! was the author of this libel upon a generous character, ignorant of his charity to humbler people, which Johnson certified? Why did he not narrate the robbery of the black servant, an
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115  
116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

people

 

humbler

 

colouring

 
Joshua
 
generous
 

painter

 
saving
 

economy

 

public

 

friends


master
 

Malone

 

author

 

servants

 

Johnson

 
Privations
 

experience

 

testimony

 

rendered

 
overpaid

suspected

 
strict
 

opinion

 

sordid

 

humane

 

pictured

 

hearted

 
cautious
 

represent

 

Boswell


dearly

 

kindly

 

guinea

 

prudently

 

opened

 

Opened

 

narrate

 

robbery

 

servant

 

certified


charity

 

character

 

ignorant

 

legacies

 

leaving

 

continued

 
system
 

thousand

 

fortune

 

failed