great works, to be seen at a considerable distance, such as his celebrated ceiling at Whitehall-chapel1: which upon a nearer view, will illustrate what I have advanced with regard to the separate brightness of the tints; and shew, what indeed is known to every painter, that had the colours there seen so bright and separate, been all smoothed and absolutely blended together, they would have produced a dirty grey instead of flesh-colour. The difficulty then lies in bringing blue, the third original colour, into flesh, on account of the vast variety introduced thereby; and this omitted, all the difficulty ceases; and a common sign-painter, that lays his colours smooth, instantly becomes, in point of colouring, a Rubens, a Titian, or a Corregio.

1 The front of this building by Inigo Jones, is an additional exemplification of the principles for varying the parts in building; (explained by the candlesticks, &c. chap. 8.) which would appear to be a stronger proof still, were a building formed of squares on squares; with squares uniformly cut in each square to be opposed to it, to shew the reverse.

CHAPTER XV.

OF THE FACE.

HAVING thus spoken briefly of light, shade and colour, we now return to our lineal account of form, as proP.123 posed (page 91) with regard to the face. It is an observation, that, out of the great number of faces that have been formed since the creation of the world, no two have been so exactly alike, but that the usual and common discernment of the eye would discover a difference between them: therefore it is not unreasonable to suppose, that this discernment is still capable of further improvements by instructions from a methodical enquiry; which the ingenious Mr. Richardin his treatise on painting, terms the art of seeing. 1. I shall begin with a description of such lines as compose the features of a face of the highest taste, and the reverse. See fig. *, taken from an antique head, which stands in the first rank of estimation: in proof of this, Raphael Urbin, and other great painters and sculptors, have imitated it for the characters of their heroes and other great men ; and the old man's head, fig. †, was modelled in clay, by Fiamingo (and not inferior in its taste of lines, to the best antique) for the use of Andrea Sacchi, after which model he painted

son,

all the heads in his famous picture of St. Romoaldo's dream; and this picture hath the reputation of being one of the best pictures in the world'.

These examples are here chosen to exemplify and confirm the force of serpentine lines in a face; and let it also be observed, that in these master-pieces of art, P. 124 all the parts are otherwise consistent with the rules heretofore laid down: I shall therefore only shew the effects and use of the line of beauty. One way of proving in what manner the serpentine line appears to operate in this respect, may be by pressing several pieces of wire close up and down the different parts of the face and features of those casts; which wires will all come off so many serpentine lines, as is partly marked in fig. 97, B. p. 1. by the dotted lines. The beard and hair of the head, fig. 98, being a set of loose, lines naturally, and therefore disposable at the painter's or sculptor's pleasure, are remarkably composed in this head of nothing else but a varied play of serpentine lines, twisting together in a flame-like manner.

But as imperfections are easier to be imitated than perfections, we shall now have it in our power to explain the latter more fully; by shewing the reverse in several degrees, down to the most contemptible meanness that lines can be formed into.

Figure 99, is the first degree of deviation from figure 97; where the lines are made straighter, and

1 Note, I must refer the reader to the casts of both these pieces of sculpture, which are to be found in the hands of the curious; because it is impossible to express all that I intend, with sufficient accuracy, in a print of this size, whatever pains might have been taken with it; or indeed in any print were it ever so large.

I

reduced in quantity; deviating still more in figure 100, more yet in figure 101, and yet more visibly in 102; figure 103, still more so, figure 104 is totally divested of all lines of elegance, like a barber's block; and 105 is composed merely of such plain lines as children make, when of themselves they begin to imitate in P. 125 drawing a human face. It is evident, the inimitable Butler was sensible of the mean and ridiculous effect of such kind of lines, by the description he gives of the shape of Hudibras's beard, fig.

*

,

In cut and dye so like a tile,

A sudden view it would beguile.

2. With regard to character and expression; we have daily many instances which confirm the common received opinion, that the face is the index of the mind; and this maxim is so rooted in us, we can scarce help (if our attention is a little raised) forming some particular conception of the person's mind whose face we are observing, even before we receive information by any other means. How often is it said, on the slightest view, that such a one looks like a good-natured man, that he hath an honest open countenance, or looks like a cunning rogue; a man of sense, or a fool, &c. And how are our eyes rivetted to the aspects of kings and heroes, murderers and saints; and as we contemplate their deeds, seldom fail of making application to their looks. It is reasonable to believe that aspect to be a true and legible representation of the

* Fig. 106. L. p. 1.

mind, which gives every one the same idea at first sight; and is afterwards confirmed in fact: for instance, all concur in the same opinion, at first sight, of a downright ideot.

There is but little to be seen by childrens faces, more than that they are heavy or lively; and scarcely that unless they are in motion. Very handsome faces of almost any age, will hide a foolish or a wicked mind P. 126 till they betray themselves by their actions or their words yet the frequent awkward movements of the muscles of the fool's face, though ever so handsome, is apt in time to leave such traces up and down it, as will distinguish a defect of mind upon examination : but the bad man, if he be an hypocrite, may so manage his muscles, by teaching them to contradict his heart, that little of his mind can be gathered from his countenance, so that the character of an hypocrite is entirely out of the power of the pencil, without some adjoining circumstance to discover him, as smiling and stabbing at the same time, or the like.

It is by the natural and unaffected movements of the muscles, caused by the passions of the mind, that every man's character would in some measure be written in his face, by that time he arrives at forty years of age, were it not for certain accidents which often, though not always prevent it. For the ill-natured man, by frequently frowning, and pouting out the muscles of his mouth, doth in time bring those parts to a constant state of the appearance of ill-nature, which might have been prevented by the constant affectation of a smile; and so of the other passions :