THE following Letter regards an ingenious Sett of Gentlemen who have done me the Honour to make me one of their Society. Mr. SPECTATOR, ·Dec. 4. 17122 'HE Academy of Painting, lately established in •T London, having done you and themselves the Honour to chufe you one of their Directors, that noble ⚫ and lovely Art, which before was entitled to your Regards, as a Spectator, has an additional Claim to you, • and you seem to be under a double Obligation to take fome Care of her Interest.. THE Honour of our Country is also concerned in the • Matter I am going to lay before you: We (and perhaps other Nations as well as we) have a national false • Humility as well as a national Vain-glory; and tho❜ we boast our felves to excel all the World in Things wherein we are out-done abroad, in other Things we attribute to others a Superiority which we our felves poffefs. This is what is done, particularly in the Art of Portrait or Face-painting. • PAINTING is an Art of a vast Extent, too great by much for any mortal Man to be in full Poffeffion of, in all its Parts; 'tis enough, if any one fucceed in • painting Faces, Hiftory, Battles, Landscapes, Sea-pieces,, Fruit, Flowers, or Drolls, &c. Nay, no Man ever was ⚫ excellent in all the Branches (tho' many in Number) of these feveral Arts, for a diftin&t Art I take upon me to ⚫ call every one of those several kinds of Painting, AND as one Man may be a good Landscape Painter, but unable to paint a Face or a Hiftory tolerably well, ⚫ and fo of the reft; one Nation may excel in fome kinds of Painting, and other kinds may thrive better in other Climates. ITALY may have the Preference of all other Nations for Hiftory-painting; Holland for Drolls, and a neat finish'd manner of Working; France for gay, janty, fluttering Pictures; and England for Portraits: But to give the Honour of every one of these kinds of Paint-*ing to any one of those Nations on account of their Ex⚫cellence in any of thefe Parts of it, is like adjudging the Prize of Heroick, Dramatick, Lyrick or Bur lefque lefque Poetry, to him who has done well in any one <of them. • WHERE there are the greatest Genius's, and moft Helps and Encouragements, 'tis reasonable to fuppofe an Art will arrive to the greatest Perfection: By this Rule let us confider our own Country with respect to Face-painting. No Nation in the World delights fo much in having their own, or Friends, or Relations • Pictures; whether from their national Good-nature, or ⚫ having a Love to Painting; and not being encouraged in that great Article of religious Pictures, which the Purity of our Worship refuses the free Ufe of, or from whatever other Caufe. Our Helps are not inferior to thofe of any other People, but rather they are greater; for what the antique Statues and Bas-reliefs which Italy ⚫ enjoys are to the Hiftory-painters, the beautiful and noble Faces with which England is confeffed to abound, are to Face painters; and befides we have the greatest • Number of the Works of the best Masters in that kind of any People, not without a competent Number of thofe of the most excellent in every other Part of Painting. And for Encouragement, the Wealth and Generosity of the English Nation affords that in fuch a Degree, as Artifts have no Reason to complain. AND accordingly in Fact, Face painting is no where fo well performed as in England. I know not whether it has lain in your way to obferve it, but I have, and pretend to be a tolerable Judge. I have feen what is done abroad, and can affure you, that the Honour of ⚫ that Branch of Painting is juitly due to us. I appeal to the judicious Obfervers for the Truth of what I affert. If Foreigners have oftentimes, or even for the most part excelled our Natives, it ought to be imputed to the Advantages they have met with bere, join'd to their own Ingenuity and Industry; nor has any one Nation diftinguished themselves fo as to raise an Argument in favour of their Country: But it is to be obferved, that 'neither French nor Italians, nor any one of either Nation, notwithstanding all our Prejudices in their favour have, or ever had, for any confiderable Time, any Character among us as Face-painters. THI THIS Honour is due to our own Country; and has been fo for near an Age: So that inftead of going to Italy, or elsewhere, one that defigns for Portrait-painting ought to study in England. Hither fuch should come from Holland, France, Italy, Germany, &c. as • he that intends to practise any other kind of Painting, fhould go to thofe Parts where 'tis in greatest Perfection. 'Tis faid the bleffed Virgin defcended from Heaven to fit to St. Luke; I dare venture to affirm, that if • she should defire another Madonna to be painted by the Life, fhe would come to England; and am of Opinion that your prefent Prefident, Sir Godfrey Kneller, from his Improvement fince he arrived in this Kingdom, would perform that Office better than any Foreigner living. I am, with all poffible Respect, SIR, Your most humble, and Moft obedient Servant, &c. THE ingenious Letters fign'd the Weather-glafs, with feveral others, were received, but came too late. POSTSCRIPT. IT had not come to my Knowledge, when I left of the Spectator, that I owe feveral excellent Sentiments and agreeable Pieces in this Work to Mr. Ince of Gray's Inn. R. STELLE. THE THE INDEX. A A. CTION, a neceffary Qualification in an Orator; Actor, abfent, who fo call'd by Theophraftus, N. 541. Allegories; the Reception the Spectator's allegorical Wri- Audience, the Grofs of an Audience of whom compos'd, B B. Acon (Sir Francis) his extraordinary Learning and Bamboo (Benjamin) the Philofophical Use he refolves to Beauty, the Force of it, N. 510. Beings the Scale of Beings confidered by the Spectator, : N. 519; Biting, a kind of Mungrel Wit defcribed and exploded Biton and Clitobus, their Story related, and apply'd by Body (human) the Work of a transcendently wife and C Alamities not to be distinguish'd from Bleffings, N. Cato, the Grounds for his Belief of the Immortality of Celibacy, the great Evil of the Nation, N. 528. Charity, the great want of it among Christians, N. 516, Children, a Multitude of them one of the Bleffings of Cicero, the great Roman Orator, his extraordinary Super- Clarendon (Lord) a Reflection of that Hiftorian's, N.485. Contemplation, the way to the Mountain of the Muses, Cot-queans, defcribed by a Lady who has one for her Coverly (Sir Roger de) an Account of his Death brought Country-wake, a Farce, commended by the Spectator, N. 502. D. Apperwit (Tom) his Opinion of Matrimony, N. 482. in the Spectator's Club, N. 530. Diagoras the Atheist, his Behaviour to the Athenians in a Storm, N. 483, |