affift the reader's imagination, when the original examples in art, or nature, are not themselves before him. And in this light I hope my prints will be confidered, and that the figures referred to in them will never be imagined to be placed there by me as examples themselves, of beauty or grace, but only to point out to the reader what forts of objects he is to look for and examine in nature, or in the works of the greatest mafters. My figures, therefore, are to be confidered in the fame light, with those a mathematician makes with his pen, which may convey the idea of his demonstration, tho' not a line in them is either perfectly straight, or of that peculiar curvature he is treating of. Nay, fo far was I from aiming at grace, that I purpofely chose to be least accurate, where most beauty might be expected, that no stress might be laid on the figures to the prejudice of the work itself. For I muft confess, I have but little hopes of having a favourable attention given to my design in general, by those who have already had a more fashionable introduction into the mysteries of the arts of painting, and sculpture. Much lefs do I expect, or in truth defire, the countenance of that set of people, who have an interest in exploding any kind of doctrine, that may teach us to fee with our own eyes. It may be needless to observe, that some of the lastmentioned, are not only the dependents on, but often the only inftructors and leaders of the former; but in what T. p. 1. what light they are fo confidered abroad, may be partly seen by † a burlesque representation of them, taken + Fig. 1. from a print published by Mr. Pond, defigned by Cavr. Ghezzi at Rome. To those, then, whofe judgments are unprejudiced, this little work is fubmitted with most pleasure; because it is from fuch that I have hitherto received the moft obligations, and now have reason to expect most candour. Therefore I would fain have fuch of my readers be affured, that however they may have been awed, and over-born by pompous terms of art, hard names, and the parade of seemingly magnificent collections of pictures and statues; they are in a much fairer way, ladies, as well as gentlemen, of gaining a perfect knowledge of the elegant and beautiful in artificial, as well as natural forms, by confidering them in a fyftematical, but at the same time familiar way, than those who have been prepoffeffed by dogmatic rules, taken from the performances of art only: nay, I will venture to fay, fooner, and more rationally, than even a tolerable painter, who has imbibed the fame prejudices. The more prevailing the notion may be, that painters and connoiffeurs are the only competent judges of things of this fort; the more it becomes neceffary to clear up and confirm, as much as poffible, what has only been afferted in the foregoing paragraph: that no one may be deterred, by the want of fuch previous knowledge, from entring into this enquiry. B 2 The The reason why gentlemen, who have been inquifitive after knowledge in pictures, have their eyes less qualified for our purpose, than others, is because their thoughts have been entirely and continually employed and incumbered with confidering and retaining the various manners in which pictures are painted, the histories, names, and characters of the mafters, together with many other little circumftances belonging to the mechanical part of the art; and little or no time has been given for perfecting the ideas they ought to have in their minds, of the objects themselves in nature: for by having thus espoused and adopted their first notions from nothing but imitations, and becoming too often as bigotted to their faults, as their beauties, they at length, in a manner, totally neglect, or at least disregard the works of nature, merely because they do not tally with what their minds are fo ftrongly prepoffeffed with. Were not this a true ftate of the cafe, many a reputed capital picture, that now adorns the cabinets of the curious in all countries, would long ago have been committed to the flames: nor would it have been posfible for the Venus and Cupid, represented by the figure †, to have made its way into the principal T. p. 1. apartment of a palace. + Under Fig. 49. It is also evident that the painter's eye may not be a bit better fitted to receive these new impreffions, who is in like manner too much captivated with the works of art; for he also is apt to pursue the fhadow, and drop the the fubftance. This mistake happens chiefly to those who go to Rome for the accomplishment of their studies; as they naturally will, without the utmost care, take the infectious turn of the connoiffeur, instead of the painter and in proportion as they turn by those means bad proficients in their own arts, they become the more confiderable in that of a connoiffeur. As a confirmation of this feeming paradox, it has ever been observed at all auctions of pictures, that the very worst painters fit as the most profound judges, and are trufted only, I fuppofe, on account of their difinterestedness. I apprehend a good deal of this will look more like resentment, and a design to invalidate the objections of fuch as are not likely to fet the faults of this work in the moft favourable light; than merely for the encouragement, as was faid above, of fuch of my readers, as are neither painters, nor connoiffeurs: and I will be ingenuous enough to confefs fomething of this may be true; but, at the fame time, I cannot allow that this alone would have been a fufficient motive to have made me risk giving offence to any; had not another confideration, befides that already alledged, of more confequence to the purpose in hand, made it neceffary. I mean the setting forth, in the strongest colours, the furprising alterations objects feemingly undergo through the prepoffeffions and prejudices contracted by the mind. Fallacies ftrongly to be guarded against by fuch as would learn to fee objects truly! Altho' the instances already given are pretty flagrant, yet it is certainly true, (as a farther confirmation of this, and for the confolation of those who may be a little piqued at what may be faid) that painters of every condition are stronger inftances of the almost unavoidable power of prejudice, than any people whatever. What are all the manners, as they are called, of even the greatest mafters, which are known to differ fo much from one another, and all of them from nature, but so many strong proofs of their inviolable attachment to falfhood, converted into eftablished truth in their own eyes, by felf-opinion? Rubens would, in all probability, have been as much disgusted at the dry manner of Pouffin, as Pouffin was at the extravagant of Rubens. The prejudices of inferior proficients in favour of the imperfections of their own performances, is still more amazing. Their eyes are so quick in discerning the faults of others, at the fame time they are fo totally blind to their own! Indeed it would be well for us all, if one of Gulliver's flappers could be placed at our elbows to remind us at every ftroke how much prejudice and self-opinion perverts our fight. From what has been faid, I hope it appears that thofe, who have no bias of any kind, either from their own practice, or the leffons of others, are fittest to examine into the truth of the principles laid down in the following pages. But as every one may not have had an opportunity of being fufficiently acquainted with the |