University of South Carolina Libraries
[Vol. 1.1 (8. C.) TUESDAY. MAY.14. .1810. ' [v , -? ? ^rf^i r . ? ? i i?i *? I ? II I w nmiMU wiiitf > >? .f DY THOMAS W. LORHAItyf. 7Ynrn ?/ Tl?K?l)oJ?m n?dv in odimnce....Nt? piper lo bldwcimtirtlKa* buUt iti" option ol the Rditor, until nil ?rrears*ei tare paid. .n.hrrtUrneitu not exceeding fourteen line#, Inserted tlie first time for seventy-five cam, uh l f<>Hy cent* for ??itch subsequent insertion. Istter* to tlic Editor l^uit lie jvm tpakl.or the poitnpo will he cliniyrd tollie writer. TIIB FINE AR;f& iikim thr ronr royo. ANALYSIS OF MK. ALLSTOWi PICTURE The passage in scrlpturcf froth whicl^the sub ject of Mr. AUstini's pir.itiVo is'Jjkeii, docs nut eeem, to the gcm-i al reader, to offer any parti cular field fur a display of toe powers of the art ?>f painting. It would appear Indeed unfit to form tlio groundwork of a composition | as the miraculous part of it in connected with details which arc only calculated to excito disugreoabte aensations { and the delicate manner in which Mr. Atlaton has treatetl them, is not one of the leatt merits of the picture. Hut it is tho peculiar property of somas to create. It is raro that any single fact offers every requisite for a poem, or a picture, when unadorned,or not rondered prominent'by the subordinate fiction of the imagination. In the Iiroduction before ii.h, a high degrco of interest ias been given, and a great deal of animation is thrown into the surrounding groups by the ex pression of tho various emotions excitcd by tho performance of a miracle \ and above all by the touching episode of the family of the deceased, which is very naturally introduced as assisting at his funeral. Au account of the general disposition of these different groups, and of the emotions which the artist hss attempted to express in the counte nance of each individual,cannot bo better given than in his own words. " The sepulchre of Elisha is supposed to be in a cavern among the mountains t such places in those early age* being used for the interment of the dead. In the fore-ground is the man at the moment of reanimation, in which tho artist has attempted, both in the action and the color, to express the gradual recoiling of life upon death j behind Itim, in a dark rcceia, are the bones of the prophet* the skull of which U peculiariml by a preternatural light t at his head andftet ore two alaves,bearers of the body r the ropes ?till iti< their hands, by which they have let It doubt, as if sjlll requiring further confirmation of the miracle before him, while in the flguro at the head, ia iVt^ *tf fiffltljfHftri ?fcjunrcrt*'1WT tcr ror. M tKe roost tirbmiriet^ group above soldier, in the act of riih the violent and terrified a lung Irom the scene lltion of tfiis figure was t liosen to illustrate the miracle bv the contrast which it exhibita to that habitual firmness, sup posed to belong to the military character, show ing his emotion to proceed from no mortal causc. The figure graipilig the soldier's arm, and pres sing forward to look at the body, is expressive of terror, overcome by curiosity. The group on tho left, or rather behind the soldier, is com posed of two men, of different ages, earnestly listening to the explanation of a priest, who is directing their thoughts to heaven, as tho source of tho miraculous change) the boy clinzing to the old man is too young to comprehend tne na> turo of the miracle, hut, like children of his age unconsciously partakes of the general impulse The jgrdup on the right forms art episode, con f istirigof the wife and daughter of the reviving man. The wife, unable to withstand the con' dieting emotions of the past and the present, has faint'd ; and whatever joy and astonishment may have. Iicen excited in the daughter by the rudden revival of her father, they are wholly absorbed in distress anil solicitude for her mo ther. The young man with outstretched arms, actuated by'impulse, (not motive) announces to tho wife, by a sudden exclamation, the revivnl of her husband t the other youth, of a mild and devotional character, is still in the attitude of one conversing?the conversation beintj almint 1 v broken ofl'by his impetuous companion. The sentinels in tho distance, at the entrance of tho cavern, mark the depth of the picture, and in dicate the alarm which had occasioned this tu multuary burial." <)| (his description it inusf he ?ai?1. that it docs ; not promise mote than Mr. Allston has perform- i cd, He has been very kucccmI'u!, generally, in tlu?. delineation of the passion* j hut above all in the group of the wife and children.?'I'lie figure uf tlie mother MHUpineness itself.--Over* come liv excess of joy* her <i;jht become* dim. Iht liniW fail her, ami you tltut the figure do rives no support hut from the arms of her daugh ter, anil from (lie soldier hehind Iht, in whose countenance slei micm nod compa are hap Inly bended. The daughter upp<*:irK absorbed >y the situation of Iter parent t pily atone iaex Itressed on her countenance ; Air! tit?' painter tan recotded an instance of th?* triumph of filial afleetion over thft passion which it vulgarly tai led the general failing of the ?e\. There ate in all eighteen figure*. which, al? though calculated to arrest the attention xepar ately,are kept, by the general tone, subordinate to that of the dead nt'?n raided. He is wrapt in the fohU of a winding-sheet, the drapery of which is treated in a^ratiil <lyl?i of the art, while it contribute*essentially to the keeping of the picture, and forcibly attracts the attention to the principal tl^ure. Iti.4 body ir. naturally un covered by the eflorf he is making to ri*e, ami offer*, together with the head, a masterpiece both of drawing and coloring. it Is an instance of what t* seldom acamiplisned in painting; a grand and large *tylejoined toA degree of finish ins 'wt to be mirpnsfed by enamel. To glv* an instance by example of the impression it makes upon us?and of what we mean by tnis junction ?we should quote the heads of Carlo Dolce and Sassaferrato, (who possessed in somo/degrpo botli) in contradistinction to Denner, mil some ofthq Dutch school, who, possessed the latter without tho former. , ' Irf tliis figure, the pallid hues of death still linger over Ids frame, tlm purplo tint of which indicates the alow return of circulation) while the pain gtmaTftliy consequent upon 11 return of animation, is expressed by the rontraction^aiid spasmodic'affection ofvth6-muscle* of the ex tremities. The whole figure forms an admira ble pendant for the famous St. Jerotno j of which it reminds you forcibly, although the expression is diftc/cut j as in the latter is attempted to be shOwii the ecstatic effect of a blissful vision? the jMAKajze of the holy man from life to death j whereas the entrance, or return, over the thresh old of life, is dsgtined to be always accompani ed by apparent anguish. ' Tno enoct which such a picture must have on a person who has long been in the habit of stu dying the productions of the Italian school, is similar to that of a modorn poem, replete with classical imagery, upon a reader whose memory is stored witii tho beauties of the ancients Parallel passages from that groat fund of imita tion, which is open to every scholar, suggest themselves at every instant i he driuks of the waters of the classical spring at a vast distance from the source, but their inspiration has not been lost in the various meandering)* through which they have flowed. Ho, in thu picture uu der reviow we are reminded, at overy moment without any servility of imitation, ot the man ner, and in some instances, of the outline of ma ny of t!ie great masters. These arc, if we may so express ourselves, the parallelled passages of painting. Thus the fainting wife brings strong ly to our recollection tho Mater Dolorosa, at the foot of the cross, in the Descent, by Rubens. The figure and action of the soldier, that of one of thoTreacorca of the Vatican. Tho boy re minds us of that of tho possessed child in the Transfiguration. ThojIUvo at the head of tho man is in the style, ancl worthy of Michael An* gclo) while the coWftgof tne whole has all the beauty of tint, andenastonosa of tone, pecu liar to Titian. Of tho latter excellence, it is in deed impossible to say too rijuch. Tho flesh throughout is rendered with grept truth, and the ^various vhw of thediflerentv dresses Mfo blended w th so much art,aii W succes sion of brilliant tijPktg, which viewed asa *hole? cease to bo garish. Tho/orce of the shadows calculated to give relief t6m mc(ufe of tliis size, (which U thirteen by eleven,} is necessarily very great? and yet they are So e|6at, that every object in them is as distinctly marked by color and outline as in the lights.? The great breadth of shadow on the left in the picture is happily relieved by the light proceeding from tholiead of tho saint. The manner in which the artist has treated this supernatural light is not orthodox t it may be accounted for* as ho has represented it, by a vulgar cause.?But we think it* highly original, ana calculated to excite a train of reflections far more sublime and terrible, than all the gilt rays, and brilliant circles we usually sec encompas sing the heads of thoso persons, intended by the painter to be peculiariscd, and meant as in'dica* lions of their sanctity. # This light sti ikes on tha sole of the foot of tho slave, serving to mark the articulations of the joints, and it at the same time sheda a sickly glare on'tho receding body of the saint, whicli, as ho is supposed to have been buried not many months, is still enveloped in a shroud) represent ed as sinking Into the body where tho flesh may bo imagined to havo been partially corrupted, and marking tho form of thu skeleton. Upon tho whole, wo regard thiii picture ns a strong illustration of the fact, than an ottention to minutiie,?a fidelity to the representation of natural effects,?is by no means incompatible with grandeur of design. The diversity even of the texture and quality of the stuffs in it. are admirably expressed, and their colurs highly varied without being gaudy. Tho plcturo for tin* reason begins by pleasing tho sense, and afterwards the mind.?it is perhaps all that can be wished for in a production of the art, thatthe first should draw you towards it, and that the , last should detain you before it. The propriety however of the admiftstion of s'icli brilliant hue* in (renting n subject of ho grave n nature may he r|uefttionahle; but we nre of opinion, that if they nro wot requisite*, (h?y arc nt all events admissible. Nay, (hat the pro* (faction it* more or loan perfect, according ns they arc present or not.?-Whatever may Ihj the more elevated object df painting, it is desirable to the generality of *jiecta(oi!t that it should bo orna mental | and it any of the ancient inatrier* have been deficient in lively colouring, it in but rea sonable to AUpjpoie tluit they wanted the faculty of giving it) for we du not find by the uso of it in any of their minor productions, a proof of their having rejected it through system in their hi?torical compositions.?On (ho oilier hand, we have the authority of great painter* for (he use of it.?The pathetic feeling* excited by lluheiiH in hi* descent from tho Cross, nre not checked by the brilliant colour* of the dresses of those who are agisting at it.?In real life, on act i dent would not be leM affecting if happening to one clothed in scarlet and gold, than it Ida drew consisted of atuftj of the gravest colour*.?A field of battle in a sight not the less hari owing be cause the ruya of the <um may Im reflected by the highly burnished lielmel,?tho gaudy epau* let,?in a word, all (he pi ide aud pomp of war ! 'I'ho greater the contrast, tho moro awful aud impressive tho leHson of man overtaken by cala mity } and (he painter in ri^ht to make use of all *ticn circumstance* if oft'eied, or imagine (l;cm If not, in order <?> make his picture sub/arviant to (ho purposes of ornament 1 while the iptrtxl tion ol Ijioui only goes to prove his conscious trbduc^ outness of hiqpowerq, by liid disdaining to call in the aid of asMciation. #' We have Often thought it a contradiction in tho theory anil practice of sir Joshua lioynolds, Uiat although he dwells in the one on tho unim? portance of brilliant colouring an contributing to grandeur, nay, goes so far an almost to incul cate as a maxim that it ought to bo avoided, yet in his practice ho always anued nt*perfcction in that branch of the art, by the study of the Vene tian school. In one of hi* notes, indeed, fresnoy, when speaking oi Micliuel Angelo, (Ju lio Komano, and Kanhacl, who are justly ranked first an painters, (although two of them were ap parently ignorant of, and the lattor deficient in (he management of colouring, and disposition of light and shadow,) ho goei so far as to say, that " although the merits of those two great painters are of such trancemlency as to make us over took this deficiency, yet a subdued attention to these inferior excellencies must bo added to complete tho idea of perfection." ' As this is not meant as n panegyric, but as an enquiry into tho merits of Mr. AUston'ii picture a few words must bo said of what ap|?cai- to us the prominent defects of it. They lire to be found principally in the drawing and relative proportions of some of tho figures ; particularly in those of the group in the second plan, which are certainly shorter than can bo warranted by the distance from the principal figure ;?tins circumstance may arise liowei er from the colos sal size of the slave in the left of the picture.-? Their limbs do not appeur to us as exactly pro portioned to the bodies ; a circumstance the more extraordinary, because, in every other in stanco the relativu* proportions are good, and the drawing, nbovc all, of the extremities, correct. In speaking of the productions of an artist of such eminence, we can only mean by " bad drawing," a departure from the ideal beauty of the antique. There is in the group in question no want of proportion, such as it may be found in vulgar nature. If this be a fault, the painter certainly err* on tho right side ) for if the pro ductions of the Flemish school are deficient in dignity, from tho representation of that vulgar nature, on tho other hand, wo find it result still less from tho coloured bas-reliefs of the school of David, Tho perfection ofdrawimr must be found in a happy medium between both these extremes t and with the exception of tho instances alluded to. Mr. Allston has been successful in the deline ation of either muscular force or dignified pro portion! and the drawing, generally speaking, of the extremities, as well as the foreshortening and keeping.of the whole, is not to bo surpassed oy a?j pwWr. Wct?Dt or modern. 1 If wo may bo allowed an observation an to tin: general composition, the bustle which pervades throughout tlio whole scene would not seem to bo ^illiell by tho performance of the miracle, as .4ne subject of it is in u pit, urul removed from tho sight of most of those represented in action ; tho mu?d la not cmito satisfied as to tlio possibili ty of the news of his recovering having been so rapidly circulated an to cause uti the commotion from vf hence the picture derives its interest and animation. Hut these, after nil, m e minor de fects, and not incompatible with the general li cense usually granted to artists in their compo sitions. Upon the whole, we may bo perfectly safe in pronouncing it the finest production of any modern artist. Air. West, in a letter to lord Elgin, relative to tho Athenian relievos, speculates on tl\e pro bable degreo of eminence in the art attainable by a young man of genius, if aided by the uninter rupted study of these sculptures. Should such a result ensue, it would make amends for the sacrilege his lordship has committed by their re moval from a spot where they harmonised with every surrrounding object. Mr. Allston is now a resident in !?ondon j the monuments of Phidias are within his daily reach. : lie evinces in the picture before us. n coinbina ; Hon of genius and talent rarely to lie met with in modern times. We have therefore every rea son to hopo that ho is destined to realize the supposition of the president of the royal acade my | and that art will attain, through nim, a de gree of excellence unknown since the days of Alichnol Angelo and Raphael. A monument is now erccting in Trinity Church, (I'hilad.) to the memory ot the much la | mooted Lawrence. It represents a broken co | liimti of whito marble of the doric order, the cap | of which is broken oft'and rests on tho base'. On the plinth in front is tho following inscription >? lu Memory of I Captain JAJMlM l.AWJtKNCK, of die United fttate< Navy, Who fell on the first day of June, 181;), in the 23d year of his age, In the action between the frigutea <;hc?i)Ci*ke rikI Shannon, lie distinguidtcrf huii*elfon various oecns'onsi Hot particularly when ho commanded sloop of war li nnet, 11/ capturing nii<l n,liking Hi* IVitann.n Majo?ty'**|t>opnf war Peacock, After a <le?pct'utc action of 14 minute*. Ilm bravery in art ion, %Vu? only cr|iinllc<t hy hi* modt^ty in triumph, And ni< magnanimity to the v;in<pii?hcd. In private life, Mr was ag<*jitk-manof themojt generous and endearing <pialitie?. \n<l so iM-knnwIeriged wa* In* public Worth, 'I'lnt tho whole u ition mouioeJ his loa* i A'. J thf eix'.ny contended with hit country men, Who imwt should honor his rem&.n* ' lUM TilS RKYKMC.1 The. Ilero, Who? c remain* are here depot',ted, With his expiring breath, Expressed Ins devotion to Ills Country. Neither the fury of battle ; The anguish of a mortal wound i Nor the horrors of approaching Death, CouM subdue lit* gallant tpirit. Hi* dving word* were, " don't oivKi ?jr tiih sim v ?????gggaMH-l..Ill L.Jl' *- (ECONOMICS. CAMKLH. , [We copy the following letter of Gen. Raton, from a Connecticut patter printed in the year 1800, in the hope that tin- useful hint* contained in it, though an long ncglccted, ill not he en* tircly lost upon those who posse** the means of | profiting by them.] TO TlIK apITOR or TKB MOST* AMMIICAK. SIR?Accidentally, on my passage through thin ?State, I met with an extract from your iwt lpcr recommending the introduction of tho Ca mel to tho Southern sections of the Union, a* an animal of burthen. Mnny yearn ago I held a command on the southern frontiers of Georgia, and had occasion to rcconnoitrc a very consider able part of that country. I remarked much inconvenience in transporting the productions of interior plantations to navigable waters, by reason of the working cuttle and horses; ob | structions of loose sands and slippery clay hot ? I touts, and the want of forage to supjtort teams; for these arc impediments which can never be wholly removed?*,** remedy can be had by in troducing the Camel. I formed this opinion soon after becoming acquainted with tlie cus I toms and habits of tho Moors and Arabs on tho I coast of Africa ; and it was my intention to have sent a number of that and other animals from that const to some of my friends in the southern | states, hud not adversity defeated my designs. All which is stated in the piece above alluded to, concerning the usefulness of the Camel, I | can confirm from actual experiment. About : fivohundrcd Camels bore our baggage, provision*, and camp equipage from tlie borders of Egypt to tho eastern provinces of Tripoli. They wero driven by Arabs. Tlie region through "whjcli^ we passed was extremely sterile. In a march*' | of about six hundred miles in the desert we saw. neither a cottage, a fruit tree, nor a natural | stream of water. On tlie borders of the moun tains and in thu raviuos wo found a miserable shrubby, wild thyme, thistle, a kind of dwarf | sweet briar, low and knotted thorn bushes, and hero and there a little heritage. No provisions were made for tho subsistence of our Camols. I Tho proportionate burthen on each of them was | about 700 weight. The vallies between thu high grounds and mountains are plains of sand, in some places deep and quick. In many in stances we were compelled to march two,'thrc^ or four days through this dreary plain without affording any forage to thoso patient animals { | and it was only when we fell in with such coarse vegutation as I have before described, that thev were loosed from their hampers ami permitted to roam under the vigilence anil responsibility of their drivers\ they seemed to prefer the. roughest weeds, ami were peculiarly fond of the thistle' and wild thyme. 1 nough, from the tcan tines* of this wretched kind or forage, they be came low in flesh, not one of them failed j -nnd I am persuaded from my own observation that they did not have water more than four or five times duringa passage of fifty days* The scan ty supplies which we took from accidental cis terns and rare reservoirs hardly kept alive our famishing ho?t, and our cavalry horses, which cannot subsist without drink. One Arab was allowed tho care of ten Camels. How useful might this animal he rendered on the plain^ of our southern climates ? Cold, freezing wreathe is destructive to them * and they mako a labori ous and weaver progress among rocks. |n sucn parts orihe southern states as where roads at^imperfcct, and where the mails and o ? other communications are carried by horse*, the Dromedary would also be a useful introduction. This animal seems to be a species of the camel, less in size, not calculated for burthen, slender of frame, easy of motion, and speedy of. travel. Its general daily march is about sixty j miles? when pushed one hundred. It feed* on tho same plants as the camel, and is equally docile, and obedient. It is remarkablo that tho Camel always kneels to receive ltsburtheu,and ha* tho sagacity to know and complain when too much is imposed for his Strength} it kneels also to bo unladen. Other kinds of useful animals might: also be brought froifr Africa. They have tho finest mules on tho Barbery coast 1 have over seen in any country | and the mean* of pre ducing the same quality here may bo oh tained and transported. An excellent spec'uM of Sheep are found there, Upon which beneficial experiments have been made upon the planta - tioiis Of Judge Peters of Pennsylvania. Horn.*, valuable tropical fruit trees from that coast, un known 111 oar c&ttntrv* I think mjkht be. made to flourish In the vieinlty of New-Orleans, on tho banks of the Mississippi* and on our southern frontiers* particularly the, palm-tree. It pro duces a fruit extremely nutrlcloup, which form? a cldef article of subsiHtenco to tho sun-brown ed wanderers of the interior of Barbary and K gypt j is very delicious, and (s a rare treat as a desert upon the boards of gentlemen in Europe and America. The skotch is imperfect?-but not income'. A passenger and a late hour must apologize for imperfection. 1 Shall bo glad to correspond with any gentleman who feel and will take an inte rest in this subject) and, if circumstances al low, would willingly have u concern in an en terprise which f believe might*in process of time, be rendered very useful to our country. Accept,Su, &c. " v WILLIAM RATON. AthfonI, Con. Jnnr 17, 1800. COTTON 8BKD OIL. The following is exti acted from a northern paper printed in the ycar 1809 ?*-u We nre in'4 formeu that a person in Massachusetts has at - tempted to convert to an eminently useful pur pose, a substance that has hitherto been considei ed as worthless and of no account He has t'ir ?